“That’s so very ‘you’. Stand up.”
His sister scrambled up from the floor. Her face was pale.
Daniel folded the report neatly and stowed it inside his suit jacket.
“Where are you going?” asked Anika.
“To deal with Jeremy. Do you know he paid someone to stage Charlotte’s accident?”
“He mentioned it jokingly a few days ago. I didn’t think he was serious. When I learned about the accident, I was surprised that he’d gone through with it. I wanted to tell you, but I had no concrete evidence. That’s why I brought you that report.”
Daniel grabbed his attaché case and his coat. “Watch over Charlotte until I return. Show your true loyalty to me. Those who are loyal will be greatly rewarded. Those who aren’t,” Daniel sneered, “will be crushed beneath my feet—including your mother. Not even my father can protect her now.”
His stepsister tried to put on a brave front, but he could see that she was silently shivering.
Forty-five minutes before dawn, Daniel and his entourage arrived at the marina in Riverside Park. Since he’d issued an order to detain Jeremy and anyone from his old pride, his whole Netherworlder network had been on high alert as they tracked and captured people associated with his stepbrother.
Jeremy himself had been intercepted as he was about to set sail on the family’s luxury yacht. He and the crewmembers were put on hold; they couldn’t sail or step onto dry land without Daniel’s permission. Daniel’s private line had been ringing off the hook since he left Seattle, flooded by Jeremy’s calls. He didn’t answer it. He intended to deliver the message in person—face to face.
The dock where the yacht was moored had been secured by Daniel’s men. The security cameras were turned off, and all human personnel had been sent home. What would happen this morning was a private affair for the Manhattan lions.
Ruska signaled his men to fetch Jeremy from the yacht. Daniel’s stepbrother strode into the boathouse twenty minutes later, looking harangued. His usual crisp suit was wrinkled, and his hair tousled.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Jeremy demanded of Daniel. “What the hell is going on?”
Daniel stared at him coldly. “Going somewhere?”
“I was going to if Ruska’s goons hadn’t ruined my fun.” Jeremy cast a dark stare at the lawyer. “Mind telling me what this is all about?”
“Where do you plan to go?”
“The Bahamas is nice at this time of the year. I want to party and celebrate my good fortune,” Jeremy sneered back. “Did you order Ruska to do this? Don’t tell me, you’ve changed your mind. You want to take back what you’ve given to me.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes. “Our agreement was that I gave you everything you wanted as long as you weren’t involved in Charlotte’s accident.”
“I wasn’t!”
“You’re the one who ordered it.”
Jeremy laughed dryly. “Can you believe this guy?” he said to everyone present. “My own brother accusing me of running over his fiancée. I would never do such a heinous thing.”
“Of course not. You just paid someone to do your dirty work.”
“That’s ridiculous. What proof do you have?”
Daniel fisted his hands. The urge to shift was unbearable. “John Bettuci. Raymond Vargas.” He stepped closer. “Antoine Fielding? Oh yes, I know all about it. It’s only a matter of time before I make all of them talk.”
Jeremy started to sweat. “Look, this is all a big misunderstanding. I’d never—”
“Ten thousand dollars.”
Jeremy blinked. “What?”
“That was how much Vargas paid Bettuci to run over my woman. Ten. Thousand. Fucking dollars!” Daniel grabbed Jeremy by his lapels and hurled him off across the boathouse.
Jeremy crashed on a stack of boxes.
Daniel began to change. Fury had overcome his senses as he gave way to his inner beast and fully shifted into his lion form. He closed the distance between them in several leaps and swung his sharp claws at Jeremy’s midsection. His jacket suit was torn and his skin began to bleed.