King of Wrath (Kings of Sin #1) by Ana Huang

“Good. Take care of it before they go public.”

I reached for the water next to my empty scotch, but it did nothing to soothe the burn in my blood.

“Of course.” Christian watched me, an amused gleam creeping into his amber eyes. “You never answered my earlier question. Why do you care so much about this Heath? It can’t possibly be because he’s Vivian’s ex-boyfriend. The man she was madly in love with until her parents made her break up with him because he didn’t come from Russo-level money.” Christian swirled his drink in his glass. “Heard he sent her roses after New Year’s. Nice ones.”

The burn intensified.

“He knows Vivian is my fiancée, and he sent her flowers anyway. It’s disrespectful.”

I hadn’t told Christian about the Valhalla Club, Bali, or any of the changes in my relationship with Vivian. Handing him that information would be like handing dynamite to a destruction-minded toddler.

Unfortunately, the bastard possessed an eerily accurate radar when it came to other people’s weaknesses.

Not that Vivian was my weakness.

“Hmm.” A knowing smile played on Christian’s mouth. “That’s one reason. Another reason, one I’m more inclined to believe, is that you’re starting to develop feelings for your lovely future wife.”

“Lay off the whiskey, Harper. It’s clouding your judgment,” I said coldly. “Vivian is more tolerable than I originally anticipated, but nothing’s changed. I have no intention of marrying her or tying myself to the Laus.”

For some reason, the sentiment tasted less sweet than it had six months ago. Bitterness edged the words like they’d been tainted by deceit, though I’d meant what I said.

I was attracted to Vivian. I’d accepted that much about myself. I even liked her, but not enough to take her father’s blackmail lying down.

It didn’t matter, anyway. Once I demolished her father’s empire, she wouldn’t want anything to do with me. She was too loyal to her family. Such was the cost of business.

The back of my neck itched.

I pushed my sleeves up, wishing it weren’t so damn hot in here. Christian must have his heater on full blast.

“If you say so,” he drawled. “Don’t worry, we’re close. Soon, you’ll be rid of their entire family, and you can have your house to yourself again.”

An odd ache gripped my chest.

“Looking forward to it,” I said curtly. I poured myself another glass of Glenlivet, but an incoming call interrupted before I could take a sip.

Edward.

He never called unless there was an emergency. Did something happen to Vivian?

Ice crept through my veins.

I quickly excused myself and stepped into the hall.

“What is it?” I demanded once Christian was out of earshot. “Is Vivian okay?”

“Ms. Vivian is fine,” Edward assured me. “However, there’s been a…” He let out a small cough. “Development I thought you should be aware of. She has a visitor.”

I waited impatiently for him to finish. Vivian received visitors all the time. None of them warranted a phone call, unless…

“From what I gathered, it’s a former paramour. I believe his name is Heath.”

It took a beat for the implications to sink in. Once they did, fury slipped beneath my skin like a slow, creeping poison.

What the fuck was Heath doing in my house? He was supposed to be in fucking California.

I was going to murder Christian. He must’ve known Heath was in New York, and he hadn’t said a damn thing about it.

“Normally, I wouldn’t bother you with such a matter, but he was quite insistent on seeing Ms. Vivian. She agreed to let him in, but…” Another delicate cough. “Given his unexpected arrival, I wanted to alert you.”

Blood drummed in my ears, distorting Edward’s voice.

I was in D.C.

Vivian was in New York with her ex.

I made up my mind in two seconds.

“Keep an eye on them, and don’t let him leave until I’m home,” I ordered. “I’m flying back tonight.”

It was an eighty-minute commercial flight between the cities. My jet could make it in fifty.

“Yes, sir.”

I hung up and reentered the library. Part of me wanted to strangle Christian for purposely withholding information from me, but I had a more pressing issue at hand.

“I have to go back to New York.” I grabbed my jacket off the back of the couch. “There’s a…personal matter I need to deal with.”

Christian looked up from his phone and slid it into his pocket. “Sorry to hear that,” he said mildly. “I’ll walk you out.”

Pinpricks of anger and something else vibrated beneath my skin on our way to the foyer.

Fear.

What the fuck was I afraid of? Heath wanted a second chance with Vivian; he wouldn’t physically hurt her. I trusted Edward to manage the situation; one call from him, and my home security team would have Heath wishing he’d never stepped foot east of the Rockies.

But what if Vivian wanted to see him? Our relationship hadn’t been the warmest since our office argument. She could’ve called Heath over while I was away. Heath could be convincing her to give him another chance right this minute.

It shouldn’t matter, considering our match was doomed from the start.