Page 9 of King of Ashes (Kingdom of Sinners #4)

PHOENIX

I scan the faces of every staff member gathered in my office, searching for signs of guilt or deception.

The girl in the attic, Brigit, has thrown me off balance.

Her existence here makes no sense. When Blaise was undercover here, he’d mentioned Brigit saying she was a god-child of the Keans.

Hampton and his wife had two children, but to my mind, it was more out of duty than the love of parenthood.

Why would they take in a child who wasn’t theirs?

I recall Blaise saying that Keira was the one who gave the child the most attention. But whose child is this? The daughter of someone they killed? The Keans strike me as people who’d send a kid into foster care, not take them in.

Maybe she’s Ronan’s kid. He definitely wouldn’t want to be a father, but perhaps duty required that he keep the child. Where’s the mother? Now that Ronan is dead, the Keans apparently still feel a duty to keep the kid.

What I don’t buy is that Keira was sneaking out to see the kid last night. First, it was the middle of the night. Second, she was dressed for sex. So for now, the kid takes a back seat to finding out who’s been fucking my fiancée.

"I'll make this simple." My voice echoes through the room as I force Keira to stand next to me. "Someone here has been meeting with Miss Kean in secret. Step forward now, and I might let you keep your job. Maybe even your life."

The staff shifts uncomfortably, exchanging nervous glances.

A maid near the back wrings her hands in her apron.

The butler's face remains impassive but sweat beads on his forehead. Only Blaise at the back of the room is unaffected, although a quirk of his eyebrow suggests he’s surprised by my assertion.

"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's nothing 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."

“I’m not hiding anything.”

“The fuck you aren’t.” I turn my attention to the men. "Someone knows something. I’ll reward anyone who can give me information."

The butler shifts his weight. "Sir, if I may… perhaps Miss Kean was just checking on the little one? Miss Brigit, I mean."

My jaw clenches. "At three in the morning? Half-dressed. No one visits a child dressed like that. Try again."

“I was in my pajamas?—”

My jaw clenches. “I know. I saw you. Remember what it did to me?” I lean toward her. “Remember what it felt like pressed against you?”

She sniffs and looks at me with disdain.

The remaining staff exchange uncomfortable glances. They're hiding something. I can smell the deception, but what is it? And why protect Keira after I've taken control? Is it just loyalty?

I scan their faces one by one. Someone in this room knows the truth about Keira's midnight wanderings. And I'm going to find out who.

I yank Keira against me, her back to my chest, her body flush with mine. "You see, gentlemen, Miss Kean here thinks she can fool me. But I know exactly what kind of woman she is."

My fingers dig into her waist. She tries to wrench away, but I hold firm.

"The kind who spreads her legs for anyone who'll give her attention." I drag my nose along her neck, breathing her in while watching the men's reactions. "Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

"Let go of me." She struggles harder.

"Why? So you can run back to whatever pathetic excuse for a man you've been letting touch you?" I reach around and push her chin up. "Look at them. Is it one of them? Have you been letting the help satisfy your needs?"

None of the men do anything.

"You're disgusting." Keira spits the words.

"Am I? I'm not the one sneaking around in the middle of the night wearing next to nothing.” I slide my hand over her belly, up just below her tit. “Tell me, does he know how to make you scream?"

A collective intake of breath from the men. Good. Let her lover reveal himself through his anger.

"I bet he's gentle with you." I trace her bottom lip with my thumb. "Treats you like you're made of glass. But we both know that's not what you really want, is it?"

Keira's eyes flash with rage and something else, hurt maybe, but I don't care. I need to know who she's been with, who dared touch what belongs to me.

"You want it rough." I tug her hair, exposing her throat. "You want to be owned. And trust me, Princess, by the time I'm done with you, everyone will know exactly whom you belong to."

Keira's face goes blank, her earlier fire extinguished. She stares past me like I'm nothing but air, and something in my chest constricts. This isn't the reaction I wanted. I need her angry, need to see that spark of defiance.

"Nothing to say?" I release her hair but keep her pinned against me. "Where's that sharp tongue of yours now?"

She blinks, slow and deliberate. The staff watch our exchange with growing unease, but still, no one steps forward. No one defends her honor.

"Look at them." I sweep my arm toward the men. "Not one of them has the balls to stand up for you. Is this really who you've given yourself to? Some coward who won't even claim you?"

Nothing. Not even a flinch. Not even from her.

Her indifference irks me more than her smart mouth and defiant attitude. I spin her to face me, searching her eyes for any crack in her mask.

"A real man would fight for you." My fingers dig into her shoulders. "He'd tear me apart for touching you like this. But these pathetic excuses for men just stand there and watch. Is that what you want? Someone weak?"

She lifts her chin, but her eyes remain distant, detached. Like I'm beneath her notice.

Rage burns through my veins. "Answer me!"

"Why?" Her voice is soft, empty. "Nothing I say matters to you, anyway."

The quiet dignity in her tone slashes through my control. I've seen Keira angry, seen her scared, but this… this emptiness is wrong. She's turned to stone in my arms, and I've never felt more powerless.

“These men have no honor, Keira. Surely, you demand more than this.”

Her laugh surprises me even as it sends me into a rage with its mocking tone. "Honor? You wouldn't know honor if it slapped you across the face."

My grip tightens on her shoulders as I catch the staff's reactions. Their eyes round in surprise, and a few even dare to smirk. She's making me look weak, challenging my authority in front of these men who need to fear me.

"You want to talk about honor?" I lean in close, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "How about I strip you naked right here? Let everyone see what kind of woman you really are? Because that's my right now. You're mine to do with as I please."

"Phoenix." Blaise's voice carries a warning edge from the doorway. "A word?"

"Not now." I keep my eyes locked on Keira.

He doesn’t defy me, but I’m sure that growl of frustration is from him.

I lift my gaze to the men. “You really going to let her be humiliated like this?”

Suddenly, Keira drops to her knees. I think she’s about to beg for mercy, but then she reaches for my belt. My body reacts instantly, but my mind screams in protest. What the fuck is she doing and how has this turned into such a shitshow?