Page 28 of Vicious Kingdom (Dynasty of Queens #3)

T he murmur of voices abruptly stopped the moment I stepped into the office.

“Don’t you know how to fucking knock?” the cousin spat.

I didn’t spare the man a glance. “We need to talk, Hertz.”

Alfred looked up from his desk. His brother swiveled in the second chair at the opposite end of the elongated structure. “Me? Or him?” Jon jerked a finger at his brother.

This space made it feel as though spiders crawled down my spine. “Since you’re both partners,” I ceded, “you need to understand that this marriage will happen on my terms. Tonight’s party? This will be the last stunt of the kind that you pull.”

The bastard’s lip twitched. He not only hadn’t told his daughter, he hadn’t told me until it was too late for me to back out. Everyone knew, all the guests, and then the bomb was dropped in my lap so I couldn’t refuse.

Afred steepled his hands. “Why does that matter?”

I stopped before the desk, pinning the businessmen with a hard look. “It will matter to several of your most prominent investors if you do it again.”

“We should cut ties while we still can!” the cousin insisted, his tone imperious and self-important. “He’s going to ruin us.”

I would. But not here. Not today.

“Are you threatening us? Over a simple soiree thrown in honor of our little girl?” Alfred’s voice dripped with eagerness.

“If you want a social gathering, you run it by me first.” I reached slowly into my suit jacket pocket.

Jonatan yelped.

Haha, pussy.

“Relax, son, he’s not armed,” the uncle chuckled.

The uncle might be a jolly fellow, but he was stupid. I was armed to the teeth.

Producing the only weapon I needed, I set down an envelope. “These photographs won’t go public if you don’t pull another stunt.”

Jon reached over his brother to pluck the envelope. He peeled back the flap and thumbed through the photos. Alfred peered over and, a moment later, snorted.

“These are circumstantial at best,” he countered.

“Be that as it may, if I found them, I can find others. Your shareholders won’t be happy to learn their chief officers have had dealings with countries on the Eastern Continents.” I held my ground. These had been hard to come by, and they weren’t the greatest quality.

But I played the men, not the cards.

“So what? You’re the one who asked for an engagement,” Alfred bit out.

“I’m marrying your daughter as we arranged.” My words sent relief through both men. “But the affair will be done on my terms and on my timeline.”

A strangled groan came from the other side of the room. “This is madness! She’s not a cow to be sacrificed. You two are out of your minds!”

He must really be fond of his cousin if he didn’t want her to be a pawn in this game of power. For that, and that alone, I was willing to give the spoilt prick some grace.

“Then I don’t foresee any issues. You stick to your part of the bargain, and rest assured that any wedding arrangements will be graced with your approval,” Alfred dismissed me.

“We only wanted an alliance,” Jon added. “There’s nothing malicious in this arrangement. Right, brother?”

“Right.” Alfred held my stare.

“You can’t let her marry him,” Jonatan shouted, breathing hard. “He’s not a good man!”

He had no idea. Men who generally got on my nerve as badly as he did, didn’t live to see the sunrise. I shot him a warning look. He wrung his hands, shifting and squeezing each palm in desperation. He was sweating bullets.

“We shouldn’t be doing business with him,” Jonatan insisted. “Why don’t you two ever listen to me?!”

“Come on, son, we’ve talked about this.” His father jumped from his seat and padded over. “This is all working out. Just like we said it would.”

But the younger man rushed out of the room, grabbing at his hair with vicious tugs. Throwing a temper tantrum when he didn’t get his way.

If he wasn’t careful, he’d lose those lush locks and be as bald as his father in just a few short years.

“You’ll have to forgive my nephew,” Alfred said dryly. “He rarely acts like this in public. He won’t embarrass you—everyone likes him.”

“He’s so passionate about our company,” Jon added.

Passionate? Then why wasn’t he behind the desk? Taking a more active role? He was spoilt, allowed to be rude and think his shit didn’t stink. That was core to the problem.

“How long has he been working with you both?” I genuinely wanted to know.

“Since he was twenty.” His father beamed.

While at the same time, Alfred muttered, “Twelve-ish years.”

It was clear that their company wouldn’t survive them.

“What obligations do you anticipate Annaliese having to Hertz Media once we are married?” I pressed, sliding a hand into my pocket.

“None,” Alfred scoffed.

“Anna doesn’t have any interest in the company,” Jon added. “She’s content to let her cousin run things. So nice of her!”

Somehow, I found that hard to believe. “Hmm,” I growled. “That’s interesting.”

Jon continued to ramble about her pastimes as I made my way to the door. He never once mentioned that his niece spent her days glued to her keyboard, which was hilarious because that was how most of our encounters happened. After a clipped goodbye, I exited the cloying space.

My body very much craved a shower.

Something was off about this family.

And my own is Hallmark perfect?

Shaking my head, I took a sharp turn out of the office. I guessed right that there was a second staircase back here. It was time to do a little of my own digging. My pretty little fiancée was full of secrets, and what better opportunity to snoop than right now?

I made it to her room without interruption.

I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I knew I would see it when I found it.

Starting with the shelves, I scanned the titles.

There was an endless collection of books here.

If she’d read all of these, she probably hadn’t done much else in her short life.

Each shelf was decorated with trinkets. Some were bookmarks, others art pieces.

There were rocks and bobbles, pressed flowers trapped between sheets of plastic and little notes captured in tiny frames.

I moved to her desk, pressed against the foot of her bed.

I would never say I had OCD, but looking down at the clutter, my heartbeat doubled.

There was no rhyme or reason to the mess.

Yet I assumed that if I asked for a specific sheet of paper, Annaliese would easily be able to pluck it from the piles.

Something about her closet called to me.

Wandering over, I stared into the abyss of clothes. Just a little bit ago, I tasted her lips…right there. On that spot.

I flicked on the light and stepped inside but paused at the vanity tucked into the array of hanging skirts. It was small, not a central part of her life.

On top was a jewelry box. There were a few gems, but the majority were comical pieces compared to the glittering society ladies normally wore. A half-heart, with the letters BFF, was worn so badly that the colored metal was fading.

Where had I seen that before?

I frowned.

The other half wasn’t there.

Most of the pieces were heart-shaped, however. Hearts and moons, suns and stars. It was funny that I couldn’t seem to remember Annaliese wearing any of these.

The handle on the door twisted.

I poked my head out, a delicious anticipation of being caught by the room’s inhabitant thrumming in my veins.

When the smug face appeared, the inner switch flipped to annoyance.

Jonatan pulled himself up to his full height. Whatever was wrong with him in the office was toned way down. He looked the same imperious man I’d seen on the patio, minus the girls.

“You have no business in here,” he sneered.

“Actually, I do.” I stepped out of her closet, shutting the door behind me.

“This isn’t your room.”

The moment the other man put a foot forward, the beast in my chest growled in warning. He might be her blood, but the cousin seemed to defile the place with his presence. I couldn’t place the feeling, but something about him seemed toxic.

Just another spoilt rich kid being groomed to take over the family business.

“You should leave,” I warned.

Jonatan crossed his skinny chicken arms over his chest. “This is her room.”

“And she’s going to be my wife. Technically, it’s mine now.” The glint of satisfaction in my words tripped the man into a frenzy.

“I can’t let you marry her!” he stepped forward, anger glinting in his eyes.

I barked a laugh. “A pretty little daddy’s boy like you can’t stop me.”

“Get out!” He reached for the nearest object, which of course was a book, and launched it at me.

I dodged and sprang forward.

Jonatan was quick, but not fast enough. I slammed him against the wall.

“Touch another one of her books, and you’ll be sorry,” I menaced.

“You can’t have her! I’ll stop you,” he spewed.

I frowned. Maybe he wasn’t just spoilt. Maybe the explanation for this behavior was that he hated me for almost stealing his company.

Well, now I was stealing his cousin.

I laughed darkly. “I’ve already had her, and now she’s going to be mine…forever.”

The man struggled and wriggled. He was surprisingly strong for how skinny he was. I wrestled him to the door and tossed him out, but I was breathing harder than I should have been.

“She’s not even wearing your ring,” the cousin protested. “There’s nothing real about you two!”

“Run along.” I jerked my chin.

“What’s going on?” Annaliese appeared at the end of the hall, her eyes widening with surprise.

“He was snooping in your room!” Jonatan protested.

Annaliese folded her hands in front of her. The pretty, demure picture of politeness. “I asked my fiancé to fetch my shawl.”

“It’s not proper for men to be in your room.” Jonatan scrambled to his feet. His fingers twitched at his side. His body vibrated with a nervous energy.

The fighter in me cataloged his movements, ready to tackle him again if he should move.

“Run along. Uncle Jon is looking for you.” Annaliese pointed to the stairs behind her.

A wordless burst of anger croaked from the man, but he obeyed. Annaliese quickly side-stepped him as he passed, clearly not wanting to irk her cousin more.

Jonatan paused at the end of the hall. “This isn’t over!”

His thundering steps faded, leaving us in a relieved silence.

“Dramatic, that one,” I muttered.

“Yes, well—” Annaliese waved her hand “—he’s the golden boy.”

She crept closer, pausing at her door. So close, the citrus and vanilla tickled my nose. But there was a darker scent lingering on her skin. I leaned forward until my nose brushed along the length of her neck.

“What are you doing?” Annaliese murmured.

“Hmm,” I growled. My mouth watered for a taste. “Have you been to the coffee shop today, Anna?”

She stiffened. “Earlier. Yes.”

I pulled back just enough to stare into her eyes. Those impossibly blue, glittering eyes. “What are you doing on your laptop these days?”

“Working.” The answer was clipped, both truthful and a secret at the same time.

“I’ll bid you goodnight, fiancée.” I drew the back of my knuckles against her jaw. Strands of light hair fluttered over my touch.

“Wait! What about the party— The guests— What?” she stammered.

“My work here is done.” I pulled away. Because if I didn’t leave now, I wasn’t going to be able to resist her siren’s call.

“Leonard.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “What were you doing in my room?”

Her feather-light touch branded me. Dropping my gaze, I noted the slim, gold bands stacked on her fingers. Each finger was captured in metal.

Where’s my chain? I was her fiancé, dammit. She should have one from me. Bigger than the others.

“Snooping,” I admitted.

“And what did you find?” she countered.

I lifted my gaze and pinned her with a blistering look. “Exactly what I needed to know.”

The flash in her eyes told me there were secrets buried in that chamber. I hadn’t dug nearly hard enough to uncover them.

As I walked away, I realized the fiendish delight in my chest was because I wanted to pry. Exposing her inner self, the one she kept hidden from the world, was going to be so much fun. Even if I was the only one who saw what lay concealed behind her walls.

Sliding into the McLaren, I pushed a number on my phone. When the other line answered, I demanded, “Blau, do you still have that uncut emerald?”

“Yes, Mr. Baldwin,” the jeweler stammered. “I do!”

“Good. I want you to cut it.” It was time to chain Annaliese to my side. Only then could I better control the little temptress. This marriage was going to be good. If I couldn’t stay away from her, then I would keep her very, very close.