Page 105 of Wicked Roses
I wrench his office door open and charge inside without warning.
Lucius isn’t half as surprised as last time. He’s kicking back on his sofa, a drink cradled in his meaty hand, his paunch of a belly hanging over the front of his pants. He’s on speaker phone discussing some construction contracts. His beady eyes shine at the sight of me, an ugly smirk twisting onto his lips.
“I’ll have to call you back, Armen. I’ve got a special visitor.” He ends the call, but doesn’t make any effort to get up. Comfortably reclined on the sofa, he studies me with a condescending level of interest. I’m not worth any of his time and effort. “I expected you sooner. You took longer than I thought.”
“You think you’re fooling me? You don’t pull off the casual and indifferent act like you think you do. No need to pretend, Pop. Must be frustrating to get outsmarted by your son...again.”
He gives a lazy swirl of his drink. “You’ve never outsmarted anybody a day in your life.”
“Except you. You thought that stunt would pay off? You could bulldoze into my loft and find it? Youreallythought I’d have it at my home?” I cross my arms over my chest and let the same smart aleck grin he’s always hated spread onto my face. “Do better, Pop. You had your men turn my place upside down, and for what? A couple pieces of broken furniture I’ll replace within the day.”
“It’s no matter. That’s what you don’t understand—you don’t faze me. You’re insignificant and always have been,” he says, sipping more of his amber liquid. “You think I’m worried? If I really wanted, I’d take it right from you. I’d kill you in cold blood. Squash you like the nastyscarafaggioyou are.”
“Then do it,” I challenge, my grin cocky and lopsided. “Crush me, Pop. Take it back. I dare you.”
“I call the shots. I run this city. Everybody knows it. We do things on my timeline. I’ll destroy you when I want. When you bore me. Just like I always have.”
“You don’t run shit. The stunt you pulled is going to cost you. My price just went up.”
He throws his head back with a laugh. “What else is new but thescarafaggiowants to demand more? Let me clue you in on a little secret. Kitchen’s closed. No more talks.”
Once he chugs the last of his drink, he gets his lazy ass up off the sofa, and moves to the minibar for a refill. The room fills with the sound of ice chinking glass and liquid flowing from his decanter. Lucius might claim he’s had enough, but so have I.
Something inside me snaps.
He needs to know he crossed a fucking line and I won’t tolerate it.
Particularly when he brings our feud around Delphine. Today he and his men did.
I shoot forward and knock the decanter and glass out of his hands. Both shatter into a hundred serrated pieces on the floor. My fingers twine in the fabric of his shirt and I slam him against the nearest wall like he weighs nothing instead of two-hundred-and-seventy pounds of fat.
But it’s not enough—I clench my hand around his thick neck and squeeze.
It’s the most aggressive I’ve ever gotten with him. For the briefest second, surprise flickers in his beady gaze.
“You’re right. No more talking,” I growl. “You think you can intimidate me like you do all the others. Guess what, Pop? I can’t be pushed into backing down. I’m going to make your life a living hell like I promised I would. Whether I’m dead or alive, it doesn’t matter once everybody knows all about you. That’ll be my revenge from beyond the grave.”
He grins even as I throttle him. “You have one thing right. You’re dead. The clock’s running out. It’s just a matter of when I want it to happen.”
I choke him harder. My teeth grind together. The strength in my body surges into this single effort of mine—choking out my father. Every ounce I possess goes into it, knuckles whitening and muscles burning. Lucius’s skin tinges into a deep plum shade, sweat on his brow. He sputters for air and paws at my hands to no avail.
His evil beady eyes, once so shiny with malice, bubble like a frog’s. That’s basically what he is right now. A frog being boiled alive.
It brings me great pleasure to see him like this. I could kill him right now. I could murder him and end our lifelong feud if I really wanted to. Walk away like nothing happened.
As I crush Lucius’ windpipe and feel his throat work against my tight grip, I know it’s not what I want. The only way I want Lucius to go out is through total and utter humiliation, like I’ve planned since I was a teenager.
I want to expose him first. Humiliate him. Make him feel like a joke to everybody who once feared him.
Revenge for the shit he’s put me through my whole life.
I let go of him and step back, adrenaline crackling through me like an electric current. “I’m going to finish you off, Pop. But not like this. You don’t get to go in privacy and with your reputation intact. You don’t deserve it.”
He’s dropped down to one knee, his hands fussing at his neckline. I’ve choked him hard enough that he’ll bruise. He can barely breathe even after I let go, practically hacking up his lung. His voice is hoarse when he speaks. “This is war. Remember my words. You will be sorry. Youwillbeg me to end your life like the trash you are when I’m done with you. I will destroy everything about you.”
“Maybe,” I say, backing away. I leave him kneeling as he desperately loosens the neckline of his shirt. “So long as I take you down with me, I don’t give a shit.”
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