King of Greed (Kings of Sin #3) by Ana Huang

Green fumes choked my lungs as I exited the ballroom and headed to the gardens. I’d left my coat inside, and the wintry air bit through the soft wool of my suit. Still, it did nothing to dispel the misery tunneling through my veins.

On. Off. The lighter’s flame provided the only source of warmth.

From physical beatings to verbal abuse, I’d been subject to plenty of punishments as a child, but none cut more than the past hour. I was a ghost tonight, forced to watch but unable to act.

I stayed outside until my face turned numb and the ache of the cold sank into my bones. I would’ve left Valhalla altogether had morbid curiosity not dragged me back to the party.

I needed to know whether Alessandra and Dalton were still there. As much as it hurt to see them together, the what ifs if they left together would eviscerate me even more.

I stopped at the bathroom first. I’d just finished washing my hands when a laugh leaked from one of the stalls.

“Did you see the photo I sent?” The voice carried a heavy Australian accent. “Yeah…I know. She’s hot. Rumor has it she’s recently divorced too, so you know she’s craving a good rebound fuck.”

I went deathly still.

Another laugh echoed in the bathroom. It was empty save for me and the fucker in the stall, and I could hear every ounce of smugness in his tone. “Nah. No way I’m chaining myself to some chick this soon, no matter how hot she is. I bet her pussy is tight as hell, though…yeah, she messaged me first. Imagine how long it’s been since her ex touched her if she’s this desperate to go on a date with someone she just started talking to.” The toilet flushed. “Yeah, secret camera’s still at my place. I’ll show you how she is at the game.”

The stall door opened, and Dalton stepped out. A flash of surprise crossed his face when he saw me by the sink, but he displayed no awareness of what he’d just walked into.

“Hey man, you mind moving?” He nodded at the sink. “I need to get back to my date.” His wink told me he knew I’d overhead him and that he thought we were part of the same fucking boys’ club.

“Sure.” I calmly wiped my hand with a paper towel and tossed it in the trash.

“Thanks. I— ” His sentence broke off into a howl when I slammed my fist into his face. Blood spurted from his nose, and the satisfying crunch of bone chased away the ugly remnants of his laughter. “What the fuck?” He clutched his nose, his face screwed into a mask of pain. “I’m going to sue the fuck out of you, you— ”

Dalton howled again when I hauled him up by his collar. “What you’re going to do,” I said calmly, “is walk back to the ballroom, apologize to your date for wasting her time, and never touch or contact her again. Then you’ll go home and dismantle that camera of yours before the FBI gets an anonymous tip about your secret activities. If I find out you violated any of those rules, I’ll hunt you down, chop off your tiny, pathetic dick, and make you choke on it. Understand?”

“You’re crazy,” Dalton spit out. “Do you know who my father— ”

I tightened my hold until his face turned an ugly shade of purple and his words devolved into a helpless gurgle. “Understand?”

He nodded frantically, his eyes bulging from a lack of oxygen.

“Good.” I walked out and left him a bleeding, crying mess on the floor. Rage distorted my vision with every step, but as much as I’d like to beat him unconscious for the way he’d talked about Alessandra, I’d already crossed a line. I didn’t regret it one bit, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t feel the same.

My suspicions were confirmed later when she glanced at her phone with a frown and slipped out of the ballroom. Dante and Kai had both disappeared, so I was alone at the bar when Alessandra returned a few minutes later, her expression incandescent with rage.

“You. Outside. Now.”

I followed her to a quiet upstairs hall, ignoring the other guests’ curious stares and whispers. Our separation had made a splash in the society papers, and I could see the headlines that would come out of tonight’s events already.

CAMPBELL HEIR ASSAULTED AT THE VALHALLA GALA!


DOMINIC AND ALESSANDRA DAVENPORT SPOTTED ARGUING. IS MORE TROUBLE ON THE HORIZON FOR THIS DIVORCED COUPLE?



“You punched Dalton in the face?” Alessandra waited until we were alone before she laid into me. “What is wrong with you? That’s assault!”

“Let me explain— ”

“No.” She jabbed a finger at my chest. “You said you weren’t going to interfere with my dates.”

“I know. I— ”

“That was three days ago, and the first thing you do when you actually see me with someone else is to attack them in the bathroom?”

“Ále, he— ”

“This is exactly why I can’t trust you. You keep saying one thing and— ”

“He was going to videotape you!” My words exploded with frustration.

Alessandra fell silent. She stared at me, her eyes round with shock.

“I overheard him talking to a friend in the bathroom.” I skipped the crasser elements of Dalton’s conversation. She didn’t need to hear any of that. “He was planning to take you home and secretly tape you having sex.” A fresh shimmer of rage threaded through my gut. “Tell me, what was I supposed to do?”