Page 17 of King of Ashes

"No one?" I lean nonchalantly against the desk. "That's interesting, considering Miss Kean was caught sneaking around last night."

Keira stands at my side, her cheeks flushed with anger or embarrassment, probably both. Good. Let her squirm.

"Sir," the butler clears his throat. "I can assure you that none of us would dare?—”

"Spare me the lies." I hold my hand up to stop him. "You all worked for the Keans. Your loyalty means nothing to me."

A young man catches my eye. He can't be more than twenty. His gaze keeps darting to Keira then away.Found you.

"You." I point at him. "What's your name?"

"T-Thomas, sir."

“Phoenix,” Keira hisses at me under her breath, and now I know for sure who’s she’s fucking.

I close the distance between me and Thomas. "And how long have you worked here, Thomas?"

"Two years." His voice shakes.

"Two years." I tap my chin. "Plenty of time to develop… certain arrangements with the lady of the house."

I grab Thomas by the collar and slam him against the wall. His fear is palpable, exactly what I want the staff to feel. But something's off. He's too young, too green.

“Sir, I promise my son would never disrespect the family?—”

I whip my head to a man in his forties. “Thomas is your boy?”

“Yes sir. He works with me. Parameter. We’re rarely in the house.”

"Please, sir." Thomas's voice cracks.

"Phoenix." Keira steps forward, her gray eyes blazing. "Stop this. You're terrorizing innocent people."

I release Thomas but keep my gaze locked on him. "All women are free to get back to work. The men remain."

The female staff scurry from the hall like rats abandoning a sinking ship. Only Keira remains, her chin lifted in that defiant tilt that I both admire and hate.

“Phoenix, what are you doing?” Blaise asks, his brow furrowed. He’s the only brother here with me. Ash is attending to Hannah while Flint is off meeting with our law enforcement contact about arranging for the Keans to rot in prison while keeping us safe from criminal prosecution. After all, they’re locked in the basement. That’s a crime.

“I’m looking for the man my fiancée tried to fuck last night.”

“For God’s sake, Phoenix, there is no lover." Keira crosses her arms. "You're seeing ghosts where there are none."

"Then why were you sneaking around in the middle of the night?" I close in on her, backing her against the desk. "What other secrets are you keeping, besides the girl in the attic?"

Her breath catches. There it is, that flicker of fear when I mention Brigit.

"She's my god-sister. She’s not a part of this.”

"No." I shake my head. “I may have been gone ten years, but I’m not stupid. There’s something off about her being here."

"You're paranoid." But Keira’s voice quavers, telling me I’m on to something.

"And you're lying." I lean closer, our faces inches apart, trying to keep her scent from fogging my brain. "But that'snothing new, is it? You've been lying to me since the day we met."

"That's not true. I never lied?—”

I scoff. "Then prove it. Tell me what you're hiding."