Page 44 of Cruel Proposal
His head rocks back, blood dripping down his face.
Robert rights himself and spits out a mouthful of blood. "What the fuck?"
"I told you we needed her to be sold to someone outside our family when the auction was being set up. I told you the priority was getting her away from us to keep Aiden's attention on where she was and how they were going to get her back."
"Someone was going to hand her over to them right away." Robert spits more blood at the ground as the dripping of blood starts to slow. "She's best off right here where we can control her."
I chuckle and shake my head, crossing my arms over my chest. "And if I agreed to keep her after your little stunt, what did you really think you were going to do with her?"
He remains silent, his face flushing a dark red and his lips pressing into a line.
My fist collides with his face again. "You make stupid assumptions based on your own ideas of what's going on. You don't play games when you don't know the rules, Robert. Didn't you listen to anything we were taught?"
"I thought it'd be better to keep her close. I thought you weren't seeing things for what they were yet again because you're so lost in your revenge that you can't see the things in front of your face right now."
I nod once, not believing a word that comes out of his mouth.
I might not know what exactly he wanted with her, but I know he's never going to tell me the truth about it. He's going to continue to lie and wriggle his way out of whatever he can because that's what he's always done.
He's a coward. That's all he's ever going to be.
"What doyouwant with her?" Robert's gaze locks on mine, the corner of his mouth tipping upward. "Don't think I haven't noticed how obsessed you are with her."
I step back, leaning against the wall. I say nothing, knowing he's going to keep talking himself into a hole if I keep quiet. He always does. He's the kind of man who feels the need to fill a silence.
Pathetic.
Robert rolls his eyes. "I don't have time for your mind games. Let me out of this shit so I can go make sure they secured Summer the way I instructed them to."
"She's not your concern." I bristle a little as I glare at him.
"What did you do to her?"
"Since you've proven that you can't be trusted where she's involved, I've handled it."
I grab a knife and draw closer to him, enjoying the way he swallows hard.
His eyes widen as he looks at the knife in my hand, the color draining from his face.
It's good to see that he still remembers what I'm capable of when I'm pushed too far.
As I cut the ropes away from him, he relaxes, but there's still a hesitation in the way he stands up, taking a step back.
Robert clasps his hands behind his back, his gaze on the ground like the good little soldier he's pretending to be.
The gears in my head turn harder as I watch the way he looks up—it's like he's checking to see if I'm falling for the performance he's putting on. Sneaky little shit.
I might be willing to let him go for now, but I'm not stupid enough to make the mistake of continuing to trust him.
"You're going to go, and you're going to stay the hell away from Summer. I don't want to even see you looking at her after this. You've already fucked part of the plan. I won't have the rest of it going to shit."
Robert nods, standing stiff. "I won't."
"Good. See to it that the men are ready for the attack tonight."
He looks up at me, his eyebrows climbing. "There's an attack tonight?"
"There's a warehouse on the edge of town we're going to hit. I want it all to burn, and if there are people there, no survivors. Got it? The plans should be with Oliver."
