Page 32 of Wicked Love
If I seemed weak, he’d consider it pointless to entertain my questions. If I outright challenged or insulted him, he might withhold the information I needed out of pride.
It was a precarious path with innumerable unpredictable obstacles.
Before I could begin, Doom’s Seed cleared his throat. “Reaching out to a fellow member between official meetings over unestablished business is highly irregular. I trust you have a good reason for breaching typical protocol?”
“Of course,” I said evenly. “Unfortunately, a matter has come up that couldn’t wait. I recently discovered that one of your people has taken hostile action against me and therefore the Storm’s empire as a whole. If you or one of your people are aiming to start a war on our territory, I don’t plan on sitting back for weeks until the moon is right.”
As I spoke, I studied his expression on the screen. His eyebrows rose slightly at my comment about war, but otherwise his face remained neutral. I willed my jaw not to clench.
If we’d been able to meet in person, I’d have had so much more body language to go by when evaluating his intentions. Communicating through a computer was an inadequate substitute. But it was all I had.
“I’m disturbed to hear that,” Doom’s Seed said as if he hadn’t known already. He furrowed his forehead. “I was unaware that anyone who answers to me had acted against the Storm, and I’d certainly have wanted to know. What exactly happened?”
He was acting startled and confused, but not exactly upset. No one made it to the level of the Devil’s Dozen without being good at subterfuge. Was his surprise an act, or had his lackey really gone rogue?
Not for the first time since I’d come back home, I wished I had Rowan here with me. Rowan was a master at reading people. He’d have picked up on more from the man across from me than I could.
But he wasn’t here, and I needed to be able to make those judgments on my own.
I kept my gaze trained on Doom’s Seed as I spoke. “I’ve been monitoring a group of college students who’ve gotten a taste for vigilantism. They’ve been investigating local criminal activities, recently some that appear to fall within your domain. One of your people tried to deflect those amateur detectives by claiming I was responsible instead. I’m sure you can recognize that the consequences of framing me, especially to civilians who might turn to the police, could be severe.”
Doom’s Seed rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful but still not particularly concerned. I hadn’t mentioned anything about the ties I’d formed with the students in question or about the connection to Evan Silver, not wanting to show too much of my hand.
I’d hoped my adversary might give away some telling detail, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that he had an unshakeable poker face. My hands balled under the desk in frustration as I waited for his response.
He hummed to himself and gave me a look that felt irritatingly patronizing. “While I keep an iron fist with most of my people and operations, I give a certain amount of leeway for them to defend me as they see fit without informing me of every detail. It makes my underlings feel more comfortable in their positions. Less like I’ll kill them for small indiscretions.” His lips spread in a smirk. “It boosts morale.”
I couldn’t imagine anyone feeling all that happy working under the flamboyant brute on my screen no matter how much morale-boosting he did, but there was no accounting for taste.
“I would have hoped you wouldn’t give them enough leeway to launch a turf war with one of your own,” I said, letting an edge creep into my voice.
Doom’s Seed gave a careless wave of his hand that only raised my hackles more. Whether he’d initiated the move against me or was only hearing about it now, he clearly didn’tmindthat his people had attempted to sabotage my family’s business.
“It’s possible whoever acted against you didn’t even realize they were turning on a fellow member of the Dozen,” he said.
I swallowed a snort. That was unlikely. I’d dealt with this specific lieutenant before—Lindell was perfectly aware of who I was and my familial connections. But harping on the issue would only make me look too easily shaken.
I raised my eyebrows at the man across from me. “Whatever the case, I trust you’ll sort out the problem quickly and thoroughly, taking all appropriate measures to ensure it won’t happen again? Or should we be prepared to deal out proper sanctions ourselves?”
Doom’s Seed shrugged. “I’ll tell my people to back off on anything directly to do with the Storm. But they aren’t going to sit back and allow some kids to screw with my operations. If those ‘vigilantes’ impose on my dealings again, they’ll face appropriate consequences too.”
Was that meant as a threat toward me?Didhe know that I was interested in that group of students from more than just the standpoint of caution?
I held my expression as implacable as his own. He might be testing me, checking to see whether I was invested in their fate. And if he knew that I was, I could turn them into even more of a target in the game he seemed to be playing.
“The students don’t appear to be an issue anymore. Your men did a thorough job scaring them off. But of course you’ll handle that matter however you see fit—as long as it doesn’t impinge on the Storm’s work.”
“Naturally,” Doom’s Seed said, rolling the word off his tongue far too casually for me to believe he meant it. “Was that all you called on me for?”
I shaped my next question with even more care than the ones before. “Actually, there was one more matter I wanted to address while we’re already speaking. A name has come up that seems to have some significance. Do you remember anything about a death about fifteen years ago—a man named Evan Silver?”
I didn’t expect Doom’s Seed to admit it even if he did. I only wanted to see his reaction to my tossing the name out there without warning.
But I was dealing with a tough customer. Doom’s Seed didn’t show any sign of emotion other than disdain with the purse of his lips. “Do you know how many deaths I’ve heard mentioned in the time I’ve been doing this job, Storm’s heir? Most of them are barely memorable. I don’t recall even a fraction of the names. That one means nothing to me.”
“I understand,” I said. “I simply wanted to check.”
His gaze veered to something beyond the camera, and his eyes narrowed. His attention flicked back to me. “You’ve gotten your time and presented your complaints. This conversation is over.”
