Page 48 of Vicious Souls

44

KINGSLEY

The fear is gone.

In its place are a myriad of emotions. Shock. Disbelief. Anger. And fury.

I’d never been afraid of Tate. At some point, I had come to despise him – still did – but at the same time, he had never instilled in me any fear, and I think that’s what is making him angrier and angrier by the minute.

I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. He had sent men in to Dante’s home to ‘rescue’ me, in the process killing Helga, and who knew how many others? And now he had me tied to a chair? Somehow I didn’t think he had my best interests at heart.

“What is this place?” I ask him, my gaze gliding across what looked like a huge hangar.

Tate is leaning down looking into my face intently when I ask this question – anything to divert his attention away from me – and he lifts himself and looks around the industrial space with pride. The helicopter I rode in on is in a nearby hangar. I was brought to this one to meet with Tate, the men accompanying me – not even soldiers, but militants – told to wait outside while we enjoyed our ‘reunion’. As soon as Tate realized the hostility in me, he pulled back, shook me, then proceeded to tie my hands and feet to a chair to ‘knock some sense into me’.

“This is just one of the properties in the kingdom you and I will rule over, King.”

He breathes in deeply, inhaling the stale, musty air like he appreciates it. I understand from his words that this is one of my father’s properties – now technically mine – and he has some fancy plans for us to take over the empire together. I don’t know what he’s thinking, and I don’t know where his head’s at, but there’s no way he wouldn’t have picked up on my immense dislike for him and my wish to be rid of him. No way.

And my name on his lips. I can’t stand that he has reverted to his childhood name for me. I have always hated him calling me King, and I hate the way it sounds coming out of his mouth even more now. He has always known this, and yet he continues to do this. I can’t help but make the comparison between the way he said my name, and the way that my name simply rolls off Dante’s tongue like it is melted butter.

“What kingdom would that be, Tate? My father’s dead.”

He gives me a scathing look while his lips remain pressed into a flat smile.

“Your father’s legacy remains, King. Together, we can run this town and take this empire to new heights.”

“I don’t belong in this world, Tate. I’m a woman. I don’t belong in a world of guns and gangsters.”

“Your participation in this life is not optional, King. This is the way it’s going to be, and I’m going to ensure that everything your father built lives on.”

I press my lips in a firm line as my blood thickens with fury. Tate has well and truly lost his mind if he has appointed himself head of the family. I may have now been the last and only heir to the Murray dynasty, but that did not mean I would relinquish ownership or hand him the keys tomykingdom.

“Tate, what are you saying? Do you even hear yourself?”

“This is what your father wanted,” he says, his anger rearing its head.

“My father left a will. Which will dictate what happens. You have no right and no authority to tell me how to run things. And you sure as hell don’t have the right to lock me up here and keep me prisoner.”

Tate drops to his haunches until he is by my side, looking up at me angrily. From the storm brewing in his eyes, I can see that he has plenty to say.

“You didn’t seem to be complaining when you were holed up with Accardi,” he spits, his venom like a poison I have to stop myself from inhaling.

“Hetookme,” I remind him. “I was a prisoner. I wasn’t exactly able to pick up a phone, call you and complain about being ‘holed up’ with him.”

“Nevertheless, you seem to be healthy and well cared for. I can’t imagine you were much of aprisoner,” he hisses.

“As in all rules of battle, women and children are not to be touched. I can’t say you’ve learnt much.”

The slap comes out of nowhere. As unexpected as it is biting. I can’t believe that he raised his hand to me. Can’t believe that he actually just assaulted me. I fix him with venomous eyes, telling him wordlessly that I will look forward to destroying him the first chance I get.

“I hope you know the moment I’m out of here, you’ll be out of a job. And you’ll never work in this city again.”

He gives me an arrogant smirk, daring me to see my threat through. He thinks he has the upper hand. But I know something he doesn’t know. Something I believe in the deepest recesses of my heart. Tate may think he got the last laugh taking me from Dante’s house, and he probably thinks he has sent a strong enough message to him, but if I know Dante, there is no way he is going to let this slide. He would have his revenge one way or another. And I would be right there cheering him on.

“You have no say in the matter,” he says.

“I won’t need to have a say. The minute Dante Accardi wipes you off the face of the earth, he’ll be doing us both a favor.”

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