Page 56 of Kissing Danger

My gaze flickered toward Caprice in the corner of the room, who had stayed unusually silent since I arrived, and the final piece of the mystery slotted into place.

“One of the things I couldn’t figure out was how Caprice’s hitman managed to poison the cloth I gave Deacon. It was in the custody of someone from our family the whole time.” The barrel of my gun waved lazily at my brother, as non-threatening as a loaded gun could be. “You gave them access and helped them try to poison me.”

Zaur merely scoffed as he stored his own gun back in its holster. “Please, like you’d actually fall for that. I knew their little trick wouldn’t work on you, but it would draw attention to you. I’d hoped that if the authorities came down on you hard enough, you’d give up this whole charade and come take your proper place as the leader.”

I almost felt bad for Caprice. No wonder she was so bold when antagonizing me. She thought she’d made a powerful ally, but instead of a king, she’d found herself in league with the court jester.

“All this just to make me squirm.” I sighed and shook my head. “Do I even want to know what false promises you made to the Vidales family.”

Zaur started to answer, but before a single sound could leave his mouth, a vase suddenly came flying at him. He managed to raise his arm in time to avoid a serious head wound, but the broken porcelain still managed to leave a few good cuts on his face and hand. He was drenched in water and crumpled flowers, looking absolutely pathetic as he stared in shock at something just behind me.

Deacon came flying past me, wielding a small decorative statue that he’d picked up from somewhere.”

“You fucker.” He wielded the statue like a club.

I managed to grab Deacon around the waist before he could get close enough to bash my brother’s head in, but that didn’t stop him from flailing.

“Let me go. I’m gonna fucking kill him.”

Zaur darted to the other side of a nearby couch to put space between him and Deacon. “Nathan. What the hell is wrong with your boy-toy?”

I was just as confused as Zaur for a moment, but as Deacon kept struggling and shouting curses, I heard Kiki’s name mentioned.

Right.

Zaur may not have done the poisoning himself, but without his help Caprice never would have even gotten close. In a way, Kiki’s brush with death was Zaur’s fault.

There was no point in trying to calm Deacon down. He was enraged, and for good reason.

Instead, I just kept a tight hold around his waist and pinned him at my side.

“Your stunt may not have harmed me, Zaur, but there were still casualties. A designer on my payroll was killed, and a close friend of Deacon’s was seriously harmed.” When I looked down at the seething man in my arms, who looked ready to tear my brother’s throat open with his teeth, I couldn’t keep the fond look off my face. “He’s very protective.”

Zaur made a shooing motion with his hand, as if he could chase Deacon away the same way he swatted a fly. “Well, keep your crazy bitch away from me.”

My fond expression disappeared and was replaced with a cold glare. “Don’t you dare give me orders right now. Not after the stunt you just pulled. Do you remember what happened last time you threw a tantrum like this?”

It was a rhetorical question. We both knew he remembered.

From my pocket, I pulled out the small box with the single red pill that D’Angelo had given me. I still owed the other man for getting me the first pill a few years ago. CreatingFantaisisteto compete with Caprice was supposed to pay that debt, but all I’d done was double it.

Luckily, I liked D’Angelo, because it seemed I’d never be free of the man.

As soon as he saw the pill in my hand, Zaur immediately shut up.

I clicked my tongue at him like a disappointed parent.

“Zaur. Zaur. Zaur. What am I going to do with you?”

CHAPTER 18

Deacon

The strugglein Zaur’s eyes was apparent for everyone to see as he stared at the small box in Nathan’s hand. It was no bigger than a quarter, and didn’t look particularly threatening, but Zaur acted as if Nathan had just pointed a loaded missile at him.

“Go ahead,” Zaur said, desperately trying to hide the tremor in his voice. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve already forced me to take that shit. A second dose won’t make a difference.”

One of Nathan’s arms was still wrapped around my waist, keeping me from tearing into Zaur like a wild animal. I’ll be the first to admit, when people I care about are threatened, I see red and lose all common sense. The hand on my hip gave a brief squeeze, silently asking if I was all right.

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