Page 62 of Her Wicked Husband (The Huxleys #2)

Josh

Am I doing the right thing?

Neutrality isn’t going to work in the war between Mom and Harvey.

They’re going to do whatever it takes to pull me and my brothers into their power struggle.

And both of them will do whatever it takes to win.

Although Vincent disapproves of their hurting family, I don’t trust them to heed his warning.

I’ll never forget how he sided with Mom, not us, when she nearly killed Ares.

Still, there are so many things that I don’t care for about what Vincent is doing. He has to have an heir in mind, but he’s letting his children fight it out, with us as little more than pawns. It’s almost like he’s taunting them— neither of you is good enough, so fight it out for my amusement .

“This way,” a nondescript man in a crisp black suit says. He’d be a great companion to keep around if you didn’t want to be noticed.

He opens the door and gestures me inside. I walk into the suite and see an elderly man in a leather armchair.

Was he always this small? He used to be so big and thick, like a tree. But now thin skin hangs off his bony face and rather slim body. If he didn’t have the respect of—and dirt on—everyone, somebody might’ve eliminated him a long time ago .

“Josh,” he says in a reedy voice.

“Hello.”

“Come closer.” He gestures. “Let me see you.”

The old resentment and fury over the injustices my brothers and I have suffered start to simmer, but I hide them with a smooth smile, the kind I wear to court before I fuck the other side over. “Yes, Grandfather.”

He gives me a long look up and down. “As I expected. Sharp. Ruthless. A true Dunkel.” Vincent’s eyes shine with pride. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

A man steps out of the shadows behind Vincent.

He towers like a century-old oak, much like Grandfather did in his prime.

A small white scar by his left eye stands out against his tanned complexion.

Other than that, he’s a carbon copy of Vincent.

Too old to be some hidden love child gotten late in his life.

Bryce’s mention of the other brother Mom allegedly killed flashes in my mind.

The man smiles. “Hello, nephew.”