Page 12 of Beastly Armory
Shoving the last chip into her mouth, she shrugs. “I had to, Liv. He’s my boss.”
“I’myour boss, too!”
She pauses for a moment, and I bristle, knowing exactly what she’s going to say. “Not like him, Liv. You know that.” Swallowing, she gives me a stern schoolteacher look. Quietly, she adds, “You know how things work in this city.”
Lying back, I stare at the acoustic ceiling tile and murmur, “Yes, yes. He carries our name. I’m here to be courted and married and bear the next generation for some sadistic mobster.” A sigh escapes my chest. It’s the way it’s always been for daughters of the clans. People like Echoes don’t have to follow the rules, but if you’re in a family, it’s heresy not to.
“Speaking of, I saw the video feed last night. Um…”
“Don’t even say it. You shouldn’t be watching. It’s weird.”
“I wasn’t watchingyou. Ew. I was mainly watching Janna.Yum. I mean, for your safety, of course. But I happened to notice a certain enemy has returned toGnarled Pine and seems smitten.” She wiggles her eyebrows up and down rapidly.
Sitting up, I rake a hand through the back of my hair, fluffing my mohawk, then flip the tail over my shoulder. My elbows meet my thighs and, as casually as I can, I say, “Yeah, he does seem to be. I’ll use it to my advantage when I need it.”
“Maybe you don’t have touseit. Maybe you canworkwith it.”
I shake my head.
“You can’t do everything alone, Liv. You need other people to assist you with this mission. You need help.”
A snort leaves my nose. “Look what yourhelpgot me. Almost raped by Satan himself.” My legs carry me toward the exit without hesitation. This conversation will go nowhere. Max is from an enemy clan and us being seen together would draw the attention of Strauss and not in a good way. But, perhaps I can use his fascination with me to get the location of the armories.
Before I leave, I tell her, “You need to get outside more.”
“I’m fine where I am. Alpha visits from time to time. And I have allthesepeople.” Her hand waves in front of the wall of monitors.
“Oh? Are you and Alpha?—”
“She’s just keeping me company. Don’t start.” One of her index fingers wags up and down at my face accusingly. “I gotta get back to work.” The desk chair groans as she pivots back to her work.
Echoes is completely in love with Alpha. Who seemsto be in love with my brother. If I can encourage Alpha away from my twin and into Echoes’s voluptuous arms, I could kill two overly involved birds with one stone. They would be so busily in love with each other, Cal wouldn’t keep all his eyes and spies on me.
Before I step through the door, Echoes remarks, “Say hi to Max for me.”
Four
MAXIMILLIAN
Livia… I would say she ruined my night at the Crimson Angel, but her informing me about Duke and Janna’s loyalties allowed me to escape before I got trapped in the church whorehouse. Once the lights went off in the building, I knew it was a shit time for me to play saboteur. Despite the disappointment in not being able to ruin something of Strauss’s, I was happy to be alive and sleep in my own bed that night.
Our rendezvous was a week ago, but I have jerked to her every night since. Ever since I saw her last when I was a teenager, I wondered what she looked like grown and did the same. Now that I’d seen her, I can’t get her off my mind. I have to, though. She’s the enemy and, even though they have a fox on their family crest, the Von Dovishes are snakes, Franklin Von Dovish being a prime example of that. Can’t even be loyal to their own spouses. On East Side, loyalty reigns supreme.
“Here, take a look at these. Says your grandfather andgreat-grandfather paid the Strausses ten percent forprotection.” Markus shoves another set of yellowed papers in front of me on the desk in my office. Rolling up the sleeves of his flannel shirt, he rifles through another pile with his stubby fingers.
With a loud squeak, I situate myself in the wingback leather rolling chair, propping my worn black boots up on the mahogany desk. Our new housekeeper must have lit the fireplace along the far wall, making it cozy in here. The smell reminds me of when Papa and I would play chess on Sunday afternoons, and an involuntary smile jerks at the edges of my lips.
For once, I feel at home being man of the manor. Like this was meant to be my place all along. Papa never wanted this gig. It’s the reason he took us far away. I took more after my grandfather, who I was named after: Maximillian Leon. I always hated my middle name. It’s why Livia called me her lion once she found out what it meant.
She would chase me around the yard, roaring at me, her hands raised as if they were feral claws. My frame was small for my age, and she was tough as nails, but I would never admit how much she scared me. Any time she didn’t get her way, she made damn sure someone paid for it. I both loathed and loved when she would come over to play with Cal, Ace, and I. I was the one who told them she could join our “boys only” tree fort in the woods. Of course, she made me regret it by burning it down after I beat her in a foot race.
It just made me revere her even more.
“But there’s nothing about any deeds or titles?”
“No. I haven’t seen them.” Markus shakes his head and continues his organization efforts.
Tonight’s mission is to inquire about the business licenses I need to get our family shops back up and running. Unfortunately, Strauss is the only one who grants permission for any commerce in Gnarled Pine Hollow. If you want your business to operate in peace, you need that certificate with his signature. Not having the weapons for the threat of constant war if we open unlawfully, I’m choosing the legal route. Otherwise, history tells me it will just be a string of “mishappenings” in the form of raided theft, dead employees, or burned down buildings.