MasukMy hand burned, but Frederick didn't even blink. His head barely moved to the side. He looked back at me, and this time, the glint in his eyes was pure sadism."That’s what I wanted to see," he whispered.Before I could react, he grabbed my wrists with brute force. With a quick movement, he shoved me against the office's side wall. My back hit the wall with a dull thud. He raised my hands and immobilized them over my head, squeezing them with just one of his large hands."Let me go, you son of a bitch!" I shouted, struggling, trying to kick his legs, but he shoved his knee between mine, immobilizing me completely. "Don't you dare touch me!"Frederick placed his free hand on my neck, not to choke me, but to pin me against the wall. His fingers squeezed the tendons at the nape of my neck, forcing me to look at him."Are you going to keep pretending, Luke?" he asked me, his face inches from mine. "Are you going to keep pretending that you aren't hard right now?""Go to hell!" I spat dir
LUKE’S POV"I’m already done with that stupid practice, Frederick! Leave me the hell alone once and for all!" I shouted at him, turning my back on him while my boots echoed loudly against the entrance marble.I could still feel the trembling in my knees from the suicidal car race, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me falter. I walked toward the mansion’s large oak doors, wanting to bury myself in my room.But I didn't get far. Before I could cross the threshold into the great hall, I felt his fingers close like a vice around my bicep. With a violent and expert yank, Frederick forced me to spin, slamming my back against his solid chest. His mouth brushed my ear, and I could feel his erratic breathing, sending an involuntary shiver down my spine."Don't be impatient," Frederick hissed, his voice vibrating with dark satisfaction. "In this family, there’s a sort of ritual when someone passes their first real practice. You can't just go to sleep as if you hadn't sho
Frederick kept his hands firm on the leather steering wheel, but his eyes never stopped searching for Luke through the rearview mirror.He watched him like someone contemplating a work of art that had just revealed a fascinating crack.The boy was sitting in the passenger seat, his breathing still somewhat labored, but with a calm on his face that bordered on insulting after having shot a man.Frederick broke the silence with a voice that carried a mixture of irony and dangerous curiosity."Are you aware of what you just did, Luke?" Frederick asked. His voice was an icy whisper that cut through the hum of the engine.Luke didn't even blink. He ran a hand through his new haircut, messing it up with an indifference that made Frederick grip the wheel tighter."I shot a traitor, Frederick. Isn't that what you wanted to see?" Luke responded, turning his head to hold his gaze through the mirror. "Or maybe it disappointed you that I didn't miss."Frederick let out a dry laugh, a vibration lo
Frederick pulled his Glock 19 from the holster on his back and, with a fluid movement, extended it to Luke by the grip."Kill him," Frederick ordered.Luke looked at the weapon and then at Frederick."You want me to kill him?""Yes. Andrew is useless to us; I no longer care if he lives or dies, but I want to see if you have what it takes to be a Bayron. Shoot."Luke took the weapon. The metal was cold and heavy in his hand. The mercenaries stood still, expectant. He looked at Andrew, who was staring back with pleading eyes. Frederick expected Luke to tremble, to vomit, to return the weapon begging for mercy. Instead, Luke raised his arm with terrifying steadiness.BANG!The shot resonated like thunder. Andrew let out a gut-wrenching scream. Luke hadn't hit him in the head. The projectile had pierced his right shoulder, at the exact point to shatter the joint without touching a vital artery."What the fuck did you do?" Frederick roared, snatching the weapon back. "I said kill him!""
I was about to hit him, to wipe that smug expression off his face, when my phone rang. It was Marek."What?" I answered sharply."Sir, Andrew is losing his cool. He tried to bite one of the boys and we're having trouble keeping him in the chair. We need you to come now.""I'll be there in ten minutes. Don't kill him yet," I hung up and looked at Luke, who was still protecting the girl. At that moment, a dark idea was born in my mind. "Your task has been moved up, little brother. We're leaving now."Luke's face was red with anger, but his gaze softened for a second when he turned toward Riley. He took her by the waist, pulled her toward him, and gave her a long, deep kiss on the lips, right in front of me."Wait for me in my room, babe," he whispered to her. "This won't take long. We have plans for tonight.""Luke..." she started, but I intervened."She isn't staying here," I intervened, taking a step forward with a cruel smile. "Riley, Luke is going to watch us cut a man's eyes out t
FREDERICK’S POVI crossed the threshold of my father's office with my fists clenched, feeling the echo of his shouts bouncing off the back of my neck.Richard was losing his mind if he thought I was going to allow Tanaka to lay his filthy hands on Luke, but the mention of Riley David... that was a tumor I had to excise right now.I didn't care who her father was or how many zeros were in her bank account; no one snatches control of an asset away from a Bayron. And Luke was mine.I pulled out my phone with a sharp movement and dialed the number for Marek, one of my most implacable mercenaries."Talk to me," the voice on the other end was like sandpaper."I want Andrew at the abandoned shopping mall in the Red Field. In three days," I ordered, my voice coming out like a whip. "I don't care if you have to drag him across the asphalt. Move him.""The Red Field? Boss, that place has been surrounded by patrols since the longshoreman incident. It’s risky...""I don't give a damn about the ri







