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I try to grin, but I know it comes out like a snarl.

“The game? Enlighten me, Uncle.”

I keep my relaxed pose, and Lakeland takes a long sip of his wine, draining the glass.

“I heard about your incident a few weeks back. Something about you getting into a situation over a piece of ass. You’ve gotta learn how to control that fiery temper, Little Storm Cloud.”

Yeah, I’m fucking snarling now.

“That’s none of your business,” I rasp.

“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong, Storm. Oh, so wrong. You see…” He trails off, probably able to sense my heart racing and the furious anger raging along my nerve fibers.

“The thing is,” he continues after pouring another glass of cabernet and taking a long drink. “There is balance in the universe, Storm. For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. That’s science. That’s spirit.”

“What the fuck are you getting at?” I spit.

“I’m getting to it—you really need to learn the art of patience. One day, your impulsivity will be your downfall. You think you’re invincible, but you’re not a god, Storm.”

Our attention fixes on each other, and I’m irritated it takes so much effort for me to regain my cool.

But he’s talking about Shae, and I can’t…I can’t be calm when it comes to her…or the thought that he might do something to harm her.

“Anyway, Nephew,” he drawls, “you will be held accountable for your actions. If not by the authorities, by the other powers in charge.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Such as?”

He spans his hands wide. “Namely…me.”

The statement lands like a thunderbolt in my brain. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Lakeland grins. “You think your nerdy ass father could cover up a murder? Really, Storm. You’re smarter than that.”

The room starts to tilt to the side, the air beginning to buzz.

“You….”

“Yes, I. I was the one who facilitated your cleanup. I was the one who made sure Jaxon Samuels was wiped from the face of the earth. And, I’ll want payment for that.”

“What do you want?” I grit out.

“I’ll get into specifics later, but to give you an idea, you’re going to do some work for me.”

I bark out a laugh.

“What the fuck? I ain’t doing shit for you. I ain’t your bitch.”

His smile is peaceful.

“But aren’t you? Because the way I see it, you’ll do whatever I tell you. Especially if you want to keep that little piece you got tucked away at Asheford safe. It’s too easy to let the wrong information slip to the right people.”

My face burns. “You. It was you who gave all that information to McAdams about Samuels.”

Lakeland doesn’t respond right away.

“Actually, no. Thankfully, I was able to clean it up for you. And for your father, but that’s a whole different situation…” He trails off, looking at his wine glass before taking another sip.

“But you don’t have to worry about that. Not as long as you do what I tell you,” he adds.