Page 258 of Lethal King

And I thought he couldn’t get any dumber.

“Answer her!” Rian orders.

I rip my gun back out of the Italian’s mouth.

“Just give me a chance to fucking breathe!” Adriano coughs.

“No,” I spit, slapping him with the back of my hand.

His head snaps to the side.

A sickening laugh gurgles from his blood-filled mouth.

“Who were you trying to impress with this shit?” I repeat, increasingly irate.

“A man you know well,” Adriano coughs.

“Who?” I ask, one last time.

Just outside of the ballroom walls, I can hear our men trying to fight their way in. I tune out the noise. I only care about one thing.

I’m completely obsessed with finding out who Adriano would throw away his life for.

“Talk,” Rian barks. “Or I’ll make sure you suffer a hell of a lot more before you die. Now fucking tell us, who the hell were you trying to impress with this shit?”

Adriano’s fading gaze sharpens as he stares deep into my eyes. I can see his anger. I can feel his disappointment.

I can taste his hate.

“Your brother,” he rasps, his bloody lips twisting into a bloody frown. “Tytus Ryzdon. He recruited me. He wants to overthrow you. He wants you dead.”

Just like that, the world goes silent.

My pounding heart stops beating.

Without thinking, I shove my gun back into Adriano’s mouth and pull the trigger.

The silence is invaded by a harsh ring. It grows until I feel Rian wrap his arms around me.

Still, it takes a moment before everything comes rushing back into focus.

“What’s going on?” I ask, still shocked at what I just heard.

“I don’t know,” Rian says. Dropping his embrace, he stands up and offers me his hand. I mindlessly take it. “Are you alright?”

“I… I think so,” I mumble, not sure if it’s true.

Tytus…

Why?

“Good,” Rian growls. Pulling me up onto my feet, he lets me lean on his searing body. “Because we’re not resting until we find out what just happened. No one gets away with trying to hurt my girl. No one. It’s time we track down your brother, Roz.”

“Rian, I—”

“Shush, angel,” he interrupts, placing a gentle finger on my lips. “Let’s go hunting.”

Epilogue