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It’ll be a battle of whose bullet flies the quickest. Or whose aim is the truest.

My shoulders are tight with tension as I look over the evil bitch who’s responsible for so many lost and broken souls. Her bright red hair is perfectly curled around her head, with matching lipstick and black liner smeared over her lids. She dons an all-white pantsuit, which is a message in itself. She expects to walk out of this building with her clothing just as pristine as when she walked in. No blood to be shed—at least not hers.

As fucking if.

A murderous rage arises—not because she had me kidnapped and nearly sold off to a wicked man, but because she went after my mother.

I guess I should thank her for the free therapy for my mommy issues. I’m not sure where we stand right now, but what I do know is there is a desire to fix our relationship that wasn’t there before Claire turned my world over and fucked it sideways.

“Lovely to see you both again,” she remarks, her tone posh, as if we’re going on a stroll in a garden, holding our little teacups and biscuits.

Pious bitch. There’s nothing classy about her nor the way she does business.

“Why did you come if you knew it was a trap?” I ask.

“This isn’t going to end in bloodshed, my dear. I think it’s time we settle this. Z has proven to be resourceful, as have I. Instead of… fighting each other, I think we can come to an agreement instead.”

I train my gaze on Zade, who has his brow arched, but an otherwise blank expression.

Facing Claire again, I wonder if this is an attempt to get a target from one of the world’s most dangerous men off her back. She’s right—she is resourceful. The hag has an entire government at her disposal. But she is as weak as the shield she hides behind. Forced to use others to protect herself because she’s incapable of doing it herself.

She only has the brains behind the operation, but not the strength. Whereas Zade… Zade has both brawn and brains.

Claire knows she can’t hide on that island forever, not any longer than she can evade Zade’s wrath. She’s backed into a corner and knows that Zade would be hard to kill. She’s met her match, and the only way out is with a bargain.

“Let’s sit, shall we?”

“Let’s,” Zade murmurs, turning his back to grab the back of the chair Jeff is sitting in, literally dump him out of it, and motion for me to sit in it as if he’s pulling out my seat in a fine-dining restaurant. Claire takes the one across from me, Jeffrey’s bound body between us.

His face has turned a concerning shade of purple from both anger and embarrassment. Claire hardly glances his way, flicking her eyes to one of her men and ordering, “Dispose of him.”

Seconds later, a bullet is sluicing through Jeff’s brain and out the other side. He’s dead before his head hits the floor.

Mine and Zade’s gazes clash, an amused glint in his mismatched eyes as he grabs the third chair, twists it, and straddles it backwards, turning his intense gaze to Claire.

Her pulse thrums in her neck, and she works to swallow. I snort softly. If I didn’t know any better, it seems that her lady bits are no more impervious to Zade than any other red-blooded woman. Given the chance, she would gladly fuck Zade before she put a knife in his throat.

“Before we start, how about we establish a mutual trust? All of my men are tucked away out of sight, not a single barrel down your throat, so how about you send your cronies to the door? They can stay if they must and will have a perfect shot at me, but they need to back the fuck off, yeah?”

Thinning her gaze, she considers Zade’s request for a moment before acquiescing. Reluctantly, her guards spread out across the front entrance, ensuring they all have a perfect view of us.

“Lay it on me, Claire. What’s your proposition?” Zade asks but then holds up a hand to stop her when she opens her mouth. “Make sure it’s good, too. You had my girl kidnapped, raped, and tortured, and her mother nearly killed.”

Her red-stained lips tighten into a firm line, seeming not to appreciate the reminder of all her wrong-doings. Makes me wonder how the fuck she sleeps at night. Or maybe she’s secretly a reptile and doesn’t need to. That’s honestly more believable at this point.

“I will help you eliminate trafficking,” Claire says. When Zade and I stay silent, processing her offer, she continues, “While the skin trade is vastly profitable, there is something more that I desire.”

“And what is that?” Zade prompts, voice deep and low.

“Absolute control over the human population, of course. Right now, people are too self-aware of their useless existence. I want full power—us both to have full power.”

My brow pinches, a nasty look on my face.

“To do what with?” he asks. “What exactly do you intend to do with this power?”

“Create a whole new era, of course. We can do anything we want. We could make their lives useful, give them a real purpose.”

“And what would that purpose be?” I cut in. “To be mindless robots that would serve you?”