Empire of Hate (Empire #3) by Rina Kent

“Yes, you are if you keep throwing jabs my way.” I straighten my spine. “If you want to say something, say it to my face. You never shied away from that before.”

“Okay then, we’re doing this.” She pauses for dramatic effect. “What the hell do you want from Daniel when you always considered him worse than dirt under your Louboutins? Did you hear about his success and picked up gold-digging as a side job?”

“I never asked for a dime of his money. I’m his assistant, not a gold-digger.”

“She’s your assistant?” She directs her question at Daniel, then stares at me. “You’re an assistant. Wow. How the mighty have fallen.”

“If you intend to make me feel small, it won’t work. I already adjusted to my new life and nothing you could say or do would have an effect on me.”

“That’s good and all, but why Daniel? You hated him. You fucking spiked his drink and raped him!”

I can feel Daniel stiffening beside me as my fingers turn clammy. I stare at him, dumbfounded.

He told her I raped him?

I…raped him?

My limbs start shaking and my throat closes. It’s an unconscious reaction whenever the R-word is mentioned.

It’s probably unnatural. Such as my panic attacks, and broken spirit.

A spirit that’s only getting back to life recently.

A spirit that I thought I lost a long time ago.

“I told you that wasn’t the case, Astrid.” His voice raises for the first time. He calls her by her given name for the first time, too.

“Then what was it? You drugged him and me that night, Nicole! Levi saw it on the cameras. You told me so yourself.”

“It’s not…” I trail off, unable to get the words out.

“Then what was it?” Astrid asks.

“I fucked her.” Daniel jerks to a standing position. “I followed her and kicked out Chris because the bloody thought of him or anyone else touching her put me in a murderous mood worse than a serial killer’s. Because she’d been driving me fucking crazy for years and right then, I could pretend it was the drugs that made me do it. And that night? The night you had an accident and nearly died was the happiest night of my fucking life up until that point. Up until I abandoned her in the middle of the fire and found you drowning in your own blood. So she didn’t rape me, Astrid. She didn’t even come after me. I followed her, kicked out the lowlife who was there, and I fucked her until I lost count because I wanted her since I knew what wanting someone fucking means.”

Astrid’s lips open in a wordless gasp. I’m two seconds away from crying like a baby.

The words he just said have gone past the confinements of my ears and are slashing their way to my bleeding heart.

He grabs my hand and I feel like I’m floating on air as he pulls me to his side. To his strong, hard, and very warm side. His arm wraps around my waist, fingers digging into my hip as if he’s making sure I remain there.

“She’s with me now and that’s that.”

I can’t stop looking at him, at the seriousness in his features and his tone. At the way his jaw is set and his lips are in a line.

I want to kiss those lips.

To get on my tiptoes and let the world see that I’m with him.

That I’m his.

That he’s mine.

I can tell Astrid is lost for words, as much as me.

Before she can formulate an answer, Jay trots down the stairs. “What’s with the commotion? Some of us are trying to sleep.”

Astrid’s head whips toward Jay and she narrows her eyes on him. Then at me. “Is he…”

“My brother.” I begrudgingly rush to him and put my arm around him, scared something will happen to him.

“And who are you?” Jay peeks past me, his inquisitive eyes studying her.

“Daniel’s best mate,” she says assertively, apparently not having revoked Daniel’s friendship rights after all he said.

“In that case, you’re fine. Dan’s friend is my friend.” Jay pushes past me and offers her his hand and a wide grin. “I’m Jayden, nine years old. I already skipped a few grades and will probably skip more and become a genius who finds a cure for cancer or human stupidity. I haven’t decided which one is more urgent yet.”

Daniel and I smile, but my ex-stepsister laughs. “You sound like you’d have fun with my children. I’m Astrid.”

“Nice to meet you, Astrid. I have an important question, do your kids like Minions or not? Because that’s a deal-breaker.”

“They actually do. The majority at least.”

“Let’s go meet the majority then.”

I squeeze his shoulder. “Another time, okay? Astrid must be busy.”

“No, I’m not.” Astrid’s face is unreadable as she watches me. “Let’s have breakfast together.”

“All of us?” I ask, unsure.

She gives me a strange look. “Yes. I insist.”





I’m not stupid enough to think Astrid invited us to her house as a peace offering.

She might not have been the bitch type, but she was always the “protect who I care about” type. The “mess with who I love and I’ll cut you” type.

No clue why I think she’ll dress me in a clown’s clothes and tell her kids to spray me with her precious paint.