God of Malice (Legacy of Gods #1) by Rina Kent

“Is that your way of asking for assistance?”

“As I said, I wasn’t asking. I will be in, even if I have to hijack your operation.”

“I don’t react well to threats.”

“And I don’t react well to being kept out.”

We glare at each other for what seems like an eternity before Brandon interrupts, “Can’t this be dealt with in a different way?”

“You mean instead of decapitating them, we cut them into pieces?” I say.

He winces. “No, I meant calling the police like actual civilized people?”

“Fuck the cops.”

“This is personal,” Landon says.

“Not sure if I should be glad or creeped out that you two are finishing each other’s sentences.” Brandon’s face is full of horror. “How about you negotiate with the Serpents to hand over whoever did this to Glyn so that you can both avoid war? It’s obviously one man’s work.”

“Nah, I want all their heads,” Landon says.

“I agree with the motherfucker.” I point a thumb in his direction. “Keep an eye on her and let me know if anything happens. There’s someone I need to take care of first.”

I step out of the room and grab Gareth by the collar. “You follow me.”

Landon falls in step beside us, hands in pockets and expression blank.

I side-eye him. “Do you need something?”

“It’s hard to do, but pretend I’m not here.”

I ignore him because I have more important things to take care of.

My steps are light, almost inaudible, as we walk all the way to the annexed house. The one new members can stay in. They’re only allowed in the main house during a party or if we invite them over.

A petite figure dressed in black pants and a hoodie is sneaking toward the back entrance.

“Wasn’t she supposed to be locked up?” I ask Gareth.

“She was, ever since we flew here, but she obviously used some trick to persuade the guards to let her go.”

I quicken my pace, grab her by the hoodie, and pull her back with enough force to make her shriek. Her bleached blonde hair falls out in disarray as I stand behind her like the Grim Reaper.

My fingers tighten and I strangle her with the hoodie until her face goes red. “Going somewhere without saying goodbye, Cherry? I’m so wounded, I’ll probably cry on my pillow later.”

I loosen my hold but don’t release her, and she coughs as she faces me, then breathes out, “Killer.”

“Your killer for sure. Did you think I wouldn’t find out about your stupid little games?”

“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know exactly what he’s talking about,” Gareth snarls. “You used me to get to the club and get access to internal communication panels.”

“Then you stole security footage and leaked it outside. Oh, and you invited Glyndon to the initiation through the internal panel with Gareth’s access.”

A fact that he admitted to me after I brought a battered Glyndon with me to the house. Apparently, he’d wanted to tell me this on the plane since he had his suspicions about who might have access to internal security records.

Jeremy and Nikolai’s guards are more loyal than dogs since they were with their fathers for years. Those two are out.

So the most probable people are those from the club.

And the one Gareth has been getting in bed with is none other than the manipulative, on-crack Cherry.

We were able to fill in the blanks after that.

Cherry starts crying, her chin trembling and her eyes red. If I could give a fuck, it’d almost feel real.

Almost.

“I didn’t want to,” she sobs. “He…he made me do it. He knows about my drug addiction and if I didn’t cooperate, he was going to tell Dad, who would lock me up in some rehab facility. I swear I didn’t know he’d hurt Glyndon like that. I swear.”

I yawn. “Tell that to someone who cares.”

“Gareth.” She grabs his arm with desperation bleeding in her voice, knowing full well he’s the only one who’ll be able to get her out of this. It surely isn’t me. “I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t had to. You have to believe me.”

He removes her hand and slings it away. “You used me once. Never again.”

“Gareth, please. I love you.”

“No, you don’t,” Gareth says with a half-smile. “I was just a substitute for Kill. You don’t even love him. You love the idea of him and the feelings of grandiosity it gives you.”

“That’s not true, I swear—”

“Shut the fuck up. Your whining is getting on my last fucking nerve and that’s not playing in your favor, Cherry.” I tilt my head. “You know what will? Giving me a name and a recount of events.”

She sneers, all pitiful-girl act vanished. “You’ll hurt me anyway, so why should I tell you?”

“At least you’re smart enough to figure that out. Keep up that energy and tell me what I want. There’s a huge difference between being sent to rehab and being sent to an unknown place, say underground, where you’ll slowly but surely go fucking mad and start eating your own shit. Oh, and I’ll make sure there are no guards you can seduce.”