Page 36 of King of Ruin

Though all my attention is focused on the conversation, I feign ignorance by keeping my eyes on the guards. I wink at the one who almost killed me my first day and blow a kiss at the other. I sit back and smile at their confused gazes at one another.

Kane sighs. “I’ll take over her territory. I’ll give the men the option to join, leave town, or die. Slowly, after a few years of reform, we’ll start to add in Murphys to the other side.”

My pulse races through my ears, a heat unfurling in my limbs. I want to reach out and break Kane’s nose, but I also don’t want them to know I understand them.

Phineas sucks his teeth. “That will take too long. I may as well leave this slut to run it.”

Kane clenches his jaw and drops his hand. This demeanor is new territory for me, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it wasn’t rather intriguing. I’ve yet to figure out his angle, what he really wants, but his mix of indifference and annoyance is beginning to shine through and tell me all I need to know.

“It’s the most cost efficient way to combine the territories. If you do it too quickly, too many will die in the process. Then you have to consider law enforcement. They will come looking to collect on any damages done to the city. Then you’ll have to worry about new recruits. There will be a time when you have no money and not enough gun power to fight off any neighboring families who decide to take advantage.”

Like I said before, if Kane had been the son of my parents, he’d be unstoppable. No doubt in my mind.

Phineas works his jaw back and forth, his eyes flashing to me. “So have her sign it over to you then. Is that what you’re suggesting?”

Kane nods once.

“I thought you didn’t want this life. You asked me for your freedom in return for giving her to me.”

I hold my breath waiting for his answer. But instead of an explanation, Kane lazily shrugs one shoulder. “I think it’s too late for that.”

“And how do I know you aren’t really working for her. I did walk in on you two seconds away from fucking on Lenny’s corpse.”

Kane chuckles, switching back to English. “She’s my whore for the time being. Nothing more.”

Whether he’s putting on a front or if this is the real thing, I’m not sure, but my anger overflows and I move quickly, slamming my head into Kane’s with a force that makes me dizzy. He spits blood on the floor, wiping away the residual on his nose while smiling at me and holding up a hand to the guards who’ve yet again, unnecessarily raised their guns.

“Doesn’t seem like she thinks of herself as yours.” One of the guards says, a smirk on his face.

Kane ignores him and keeps his gaze on me. “Oh, she’s mine. At least for the next few days. You’d do well to remember that or you’ll end up like Lenny.”

Phineas grunts. His lack of response and all around submission toward his son is not only surprising, but bothersome. Just before the guard, Lenny, made an advance, he mentioned something about the “bastard walking around like he owned the place”. Which means Kane is much more prominent in the Murphy family than he lets on.

Just another reason why I shouldn’t trust him.

I should have pulled the fucking trigger.

“Kane.” Phineas gets his son’s attention, before continuing to speak in his native tongue. “You’re smart. Smarter than me, even. But that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. When she signs the papers, you put a bullet between her eyes or I’ll put one in both of your heads. No more playing house. Do you understand?”

Kane tilts his head and finally breaks eye contact. “Tá.”

The phone rings again, but the melody is different, which must mean something because this time, Phineas actually takes the phone from his pocket. “What?”

“They blew up five warehouses.” The voice is not only loud enough for me to hear him, but for me to recognize.

That voice.

Every muscle in my body seizes and my breathing stops altogether. I’m fourteen again, hiding in a limo and begging my mother to let me help. To let me save them.

“You can have some dignity and get out on your own. Or we can blindly shoot into the limo before tearing your bleeding corpses out anyway. You decide, Embros.”

Sam is on the other line, I know it with every fiber of my being, and suddenly, my goal is right back in front of me. It isn’t obscure and hanging on a limb I’m still wondering how I’ll reach. No, I’ve been led right back to it and there’s no better time than now.

“Yes. Lucian says Alexi has him doing a few things and he can’t finish the paperwork till the end of this week,” Phineas grumbles into the receiver, his gaze pinned on Kane who is folding up a sleeve that came loose.

“Hmm. Yes.” He switches to Irish. “We’re taking her to the mansion. Every guard who isn’t on duty needs to be on standby, and send a message to the Embros estate that if they cross over into my territory, I’m putting her head on my mailbox, Ports be damned.”

Phineas mumbles a few other meaningless things before hanging up and returning his phone to his pocket. A tepid calm works into my nerves, hearing his words. My soldiers are bold, but only my family would do something as drastic as blowing up warehouses. I could bet my life it was Maddy who started it. She’s been looking for a reason to use her launcher.

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