Page 57 of Lethal King

“Says the woman who wore a dress she can’t fight in.”

“Watch me kick your ass.”

“I’m sure our dinner guests will enjoy the show.”

“Bastard.”

But Tytus is already off me and back onto his phone.

“Look at that use of color,” he mumbles. “Exquisite. Genius, really…”

“Can you focus?”

“No,” Tytus chuckles. “Believe me, I’m trying very hard not to take our new friend’s tardiness as a sign of deep disrespect. The painting is the only thing keeping me calm…”

“We should leave,” I say, staring out over the dining hall.

Glistening gold chandeliers hang from high vaulted ceilings. Everything is covered in white silk and cloth. The people here look like they either just came from a board meeting or a boat house.

It sends a chill skating up my spine.

I don’t belong in a place like this. Even with all of the money I’ve come into, this type of company feels far too foreign. Too cold.

This is not home.

“We’ll give him ten more minutes,” Tytus shrugs.

“Waiting is a sign of weakness.”

“It’s a sign of patience and security. We don’t have anything to prove to this man.”

“Then why wait for him?”

“Because we need what he has—especially after what happened to our army. We need—”

“Shush,” I hiss, furrowing my brows. “Don’t talk about that. Not in public.”

Tytus may be a tactical genius and a master at rigging all sorts of physical traps, but he’s never fully understood technology, not like I do.

Listening devices, bugs, wiretaps, they hardly concern him. So, It’s up to me to watch out enough for the both of us. And that includes reminding him to shut up when he wants to start talking about a sensitive subject, especially when we’re out in public.

Anyone could be listening.

“Fine,” Tytus shrugs. “But—”

This time he interrupts himself.

We both feel the same thing at the same time. Our attention snaps towards the front door of the fancy restaurant.

“That’s him,” I mumble, spotting the tardy billionaire. “Finally.”

“Our newest ally has finally arrived,” Tytus confirms.

“He’ll only be our newest ally if I don’t kill him first.”

Putting his phone away, Tytus stands up and nods toward our approaching guest.

“Trust me, Roz. We’ll get more out of him than he could ever dream of getting out of us. I’ve plotted everything out to a tee. Just behave for a bit, alright?”