Page 96 of Ruthless

“Now, now. Don’t act like that. We’ve always gotten along so well.”

“Your memory is as spotty as your sanity.”

A smile curved his mouth, and her heart ached. She’d always secretly thought that Alex was the most handsome of her brothers. She had been closest to Samuel and loved him dearly. And though she’d loved Nicolas, they hadn’t been as close because of their age difference. But when it came to appearance, Alex had gotten the best features from both their parents. Where he’d gotten the evil genes, she didn’t know.

He was dressed in a suit and tie, his dark hair immaculate, his manner both calm and confident, as if he had already assumed the crown. Pulling up a chair from the corner of the room, Alex placed it a few feet from her and sat. Crossing his legs and then his arms, he appeared to be looking to have a chat, which was good for her. The more she knew, the better her chances to get out of here alive. But she also wanted to know if this was all Alex’s doing. Did he cook all of this up himself or did he have help? Was he involved with the Wren Project as they had surmised?

“Come on.” He grinned at her. “Tell me I didn’t fool you.”

“No, I’ll give you props for that. You absolutely fooled me. You’ve fooled a lot of people over the years. Question is why?”

“Don’t act naïve, Lina, because we both know you’re not. The throne should have been mine all along.”

“That’s it? You just want to be king?”

“Of course I do. I’m the one with the brains, with the creative ideas. I’ll bring this country into the twenty-first century. Our father is so old-fashioned. He refuses to see how far behind we are in everything.” He gave a disgusted huff. “Papa is blinded by traditions. He believes if he puts his head in the sand, he can ignore what’s going on around him. And Nicolas was just like him. A clone of our father.”

Getting into a political discussion regarding what was and wasn’t good for the country wasn’t something she really wanted to concentrate on right now. She needed details of what was happening in the here and now, not his schemes for the future.

“And so you found someone who would support you in your endeavors?”

“Oh, I found more than someone,” he proclaimed proudly. “I found millions.”

“You mean money.”

“No, Lina, silly girl. Millions of people, who, just like me, see a future others can’t.”

Millions? That wasn’t possible.

“How did you find them?”

“They found me.”

“What do you mean?”

He leaned forward in his excitement, and she resisted the temptation to punch him in the face. Continuing to act the helpless victim was her best bet to get the intel she needed.

“Remember Dirk?”

A bout of projectile vomiting would be welcomed right about now. Spewing vileness into her brother’s smug, self-satisfied face would be so fulfilling.

“Yes,” she said dryly. “I remember him.”

As if Dirk wasn’t the one who’d sexually assaulted his sister or planned to sell her to the highest bidder, Alex went on with his story. “We were at Franklin and Marshall at the same time. Hit it off the moment we met.”

Yes, she could see that happening. Two sociopaths bonding, cooking up their evil schemes without giving anyone else a single concern. The perfect partnership.

She remembered Dirk telling her he’d gone to Yale. If anyone had known the two of them had gone to the same college, it would have been a huge red flag. “Dirk claimed he graduated from Yale.”

His eyes gleamed with self-satisfaction. “Money can bury a multitude of secrets. Politicians do it all the time.”

Yes, they did and got away with it every single day. Her brother and Dirk were of the same ilk and sleaze.

“So you helped him kidnap me from the embassy?”

“It was actually my idea.” The smile went wider. “It was like kismet. Dirk hated his father, the ambassador, with a passion. And then you wanted to work at the embassy in Paris. It was the perfect opportunity to bring you two together, plus get rid of his father.” He winced and added, “Sorry to say Dirk wasn’t terribly enamored of you, though. Couldn’t get past that big nose of yours. I thought he’d have his fun and then kill you. That’s what I told him to do. Instead, he decided to use you to make a little pocket change. It was a stupid idea. Killing is always the better choice. Dead men, and princesses, tell no tales.”

His amusement regarding the most traumatic event of her life brought none of the anger she’d expected. She could never be glad it had happened, but she definitely appreciated what she had become because of it.