Page 20 of Explode
He took Miles’ hand after mine and they shook before Georgiopointed to the girl. “And this is my daughter, Sofia,”
Sofia was beautiful. Aside from the olive skin, she didn’t look likeGeorgio or Rafe. Her long chestnut hair cascaded down her back, and her eyes were as blue as the Caribbean ocean. She had a stunning figure, her tits and ass perfectly in portion, and with her slim waist, she had the perfect hourglass figure.
She too stood, and I found she was the same height as me. Shedidn’t offer her hand, instead just gave me a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wolfe,” she said politely, her voice soft.
“Please, call me Riley,” I replied, returning the smile. She noddedher head and turned to face Miles. When she met his gaze, her eyes turned wary. Turning to him, I saw why.
For some bizarre reason, he was scowling at her, his eyes filled withhate, and even though we were in a room with the Wolfes arch-nemesis, Miles hadn’t shown any hatred towards Giorgio or Rafe, so I was somewhat bemused as to his sudden hatred towards Sofia.
“Milo,” she said, giving him an ice-cold smile.
“It’s Miles,” he replied through gritted teeth.
“Oh. My apologies,” she replied with zero sincerity, before returningto her seat.
I caught Miles’ eye and raised a brow, silently questioning what thehell that was about. He subtly shook his head, and in an instant, the scowl disappeared, replaced with a completely emotionless expression.
“Please, take a seat. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather get straightdown to business,” Georgio said.
Miles and I took our seats on the opposite side of the table toGeorgio, Rafe, and Sofia. Antonio, who had loitered by the door since he brought us here, remained in his place, and the scowl was ever-present.
He really didn’t like fraternizing with the enemy.
“Mrs. Wolfe, I understand from our mutual friends that when Kai died,he did not have a child or a nominated second in command, and therefore left the reign of Hollows Bay to you, correct?” Georgio said.
“Yes, that’s correct. And please, call me Riley.”
“Of course. And am I to assume you know about the treaty we havein place with the Wolfe family?”
“Yes, Sir,” I replied, beginning to wither under the intense stareGeorgio was casting my way.
“Good. Now, I would be very grateful if you could tell me why the fuckHendrix Becker is parading around claimingheis the King of Hollows Bay, and why the fuck he has stopped paying me my money,” he growled, and instantly tension filled the room.
I took a deep breath and hoped like fuck this was not going to comeback and bite me on the ass.
And so, I launched into the tragic tale that had led us to this point.
How Kai had a brother he didn’t know about who was the current Chief of Police, and we were pretty sure he was bribing government officials into doing his bidding. How Max claimed he’d spent twenty years plotting the downfall of the Wolfe family. How Kai had beaten Max to a pulp when Hendrix shot and killed Kai.
And finally, how we believed Max and Hendrix were still workingtogether, but Hendrix was effectively a placeholder until Max was ready to take the throne from him.
“There’s more to it, but those are the headlines,” I said, wrapping upmy story of woe. Credit where it’s due, none of the Bianchis interrupted me, the three of them, four if you included Antonio, had listened with interest and no doubt a heap of questions on their lips.
“Do you know why Hendrix betrayed Kai?” Georgio asked, breakingthe silence that had descended.
“He claimed it was because he wanted to take the organization widerthan Hollows Bay. His father had spent his life working for Christopher Wolfe and the pair planned to take over other cities, but when Kai took over from Christopher, he wanted to focus solely on Hollows Bay, something Hendrix didn’t like. It basically boiled down to greed, and I suspect that’s why they have stopped paying you your money,” I replied, recalling the information Hendrix had told me when we were alone in the warehouse before Kai arrived to rescue me.
“Hmm, we’ll come back to Hendrix,” Georgio said with a hint ofvenom. I wasn’t surprised. Georgio really didn’t like it when men betrayed their boss, it’s how his wife, and the mother of Rafe and Sofia met her fate.
One of his men, someone he thought he could depend on, wasworking for a rival, and had kidnapped Maria. Sadly, Georgio didn’t get to her in time before she was killed.
“Let’s talk about this Max Thorne. If what you are telling me is thetruth, then Maxisthe heir to Hollows Bay if he was born before Kai.”
My eyes narrowed on him as a spark of anger ignited under my skin. “Max is not, nor will he ever be the heir to Hollows Bay,” I hissed. “Kai was the one who had to deal with Christopher Wolfe right up until that bastard died, he was the one who put up with his father’s tyrant ways. Kai was the one Christopher left Hollows Bay to, not Max.” My voice became angrier as I spoke. How dare Georgio claim Max was the rightful heir. Hollows Bay was Kai’s legacy.
Under the table, Miles put a calming hand on my knee, stopping mefrom telling Georgioexactlywhat I thought of him and where he could shove his claim.
“Mr. Bianchi, you and I both know that’s not how it works. Justbecause Max was born first, does not make him heir to Hollows Bay. Christopher left Hollows Bay to Kai, and Kai left Hollows Bay to Riley,” Miles said, thankfully giving me a moment to compose myself.
