around the situation. I was going to be surrounded by his family, where I would
likely be judged from every angle, picked and prodded at to see how I twitched
under pressure. This was a test, an exercise to see how I could handle myself under
the eyes of many. But that was fine, because while they were examining me, I would
be examining them. Tonight, I would be a sponge and soak up every drop of
information available. I would add more faces to my list of deaths to come.
“What are the rules?” I asked dryly. I knew there would be some stipulations to
this.
Darren smiled smugly. “Don’t disappoint me,” he said simply and took my arm
to link it through his. “But should you do so, know that I won’t hesitate to take you
over my knee in front of the entire party, got it?”
I gulped back my trepidation, and failed to hide my scowl. Fuck that noise.
“Duly noted.”
“Good girl,” he said and escorted me toward the house.
Thanks for the pep talk.
Clive and Owen stood off near the curb of the driveway, watching as more guests
arrived and headed into the lavish house. My heart raced in my chest while my
fingernails bit into Darren’s forearm. My bodyguards stepped in line behind us as
we passed them, my heels clicking on the stone pavement as we walked toward the
door where my enemies mingled behind, celebrating the birth of a cursed child.
46
MEET THE FAMILY
Jaden’s body was beyond stiff as I escorted her inside Dan’s house. I could feel her
eyes scanning every little thing that they came across, and it did nothing but
make me laugh inside. She would gain no information here that would leave her
with an advantage. Only a few of our shared business partners were in attendance,
and I had no intention of introducing her to them. Half were friends or close
associates while the other half were from what was left of Katherine’s side of the
family, and though my fingers twitched to eliminate every single one of them, I
resisted the urge.
Walking through the foyer, I had to admit Dan had a pretty nice setup. Though it
wasn’t as large as my estate, it was still decent enough for the two of them. Dan’s
house was modern and sleek, a multitude of dark and light shades of gray coloring
the interior while large rectangular vertical windows gave way for natural light. The
house was always beyond spotless; not even a speck of dust lingered in the air, a
result of Dan’s OCD. He was a neat freak—had been ever since our mom had been
killed—and now, Katherine got to be with one to deal with his rage fits when shit
got out of order. Served the bitch right.
I spotted Dan immediately, standing by the sofa talking to an associate of ours
while Katherine stood beside him quietly, her hands folded in front of her as she
pretended to listen to him talk. The sound of my heavy footsteps alerted him to my
arrival, and he quickly dismissed his conversation before taking Katherine’s hand
and hurrying over to Jaden and me.
“You made it!” Daniel said enthusiastically as he slowed his pace to stop before
us. “Finally!”
Dan’s eyes roamed over Jaden’s form, quickly assessing her before raising his
eyes back to mine and lifting an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes in response.
“Daniel, this is Jaden. Jaden, this is my middle brother, Daniel Davis, and his
wife, Katherine.”
Katherine smiled and nodded her head at Jaden. “Hello,” she said quietly,
keeping her hands folded under the large round swell of her stomach.
“Very nice to meet you,” Dan said, taking Jaden’s hand and clasping it gently.
“You as well and congratulations, by the way,” Jaden said politely, but there was
a sense of confidence in her tone I didn’t like. It usually meant trouble in the
future.
“Oh, thank you,” Katherine said with a shy smile.
“Dom here yet?” I asked Dan, wondering where our youngest brother was.
“You know Dom. He’ll be fashionably late,” Dan answered.
“Unsurprisingly,” I replied, and Dan nodded in agreement
“Well, now that introductions are over, why don’t you and Jaden go take a seat at
our table, and we’ll see you guys as soon as we’re done greeting everyone. Dinner
should start in a half hour.”
I nodded at Dan and took Jaden across the room to the double doors that led
outside where the tables were set up. Over a dozen round tables were equipped with
umbrellas to provide shade from the bright sun overhead. Guests were scattered
everywhere; some sitting while others walked and talked amongst each other. The
women were giggling and gossiping amongst themselves, ignoring the men as they
talked business behind them. About a dozen guards in black suits roamed the area;
black sunglasses shielded their eyes and offered a special infrared vision in the
daylight.
“Well, look who finally decided to show up,” came a familiar voice behind me.
I turned on a smile “Matt,” I
