Page 109 of Vicious Butterfly
“I can’t tell you that either, but it’s something he wants bad enough to participate in whatever I have in store for him.”
Which meant Luke was going to be too stubborn to give it up.
I had to think fast. I still held Uncle Jasper’s attention, but it was about to flit into the wind.
“Did you really lose twenty million dollars?” I asked, mostly to buy myself time, but also because it was the only thing that popped into my head. A little instinct-inspired breadcrumb on the road to somewhere.
Maybe.
“No.”
“How much? Ten thousand? Five?”
“Let’s see if you can guess.”
It came to me as a lightning-bolt flash of realization. “Nothing.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Hiding my feelings has always come easily to me, but hiding the shock at what that meant sank into me was nothing short of Herculean.
“I didn’t bet on Luke. I knew he wasn’t ready for that fight.”
That told me everything. I wiped off my hands with the cloth napkin from beside my plate.
“Teach me to be like you.”
“Why would I want to waste my time like that?”
I wasn’t offended. In order to be offended, his opinion would have to matter to me. It never did. It never would.
“You like a challenge. If I’m like you, you’ll finally have someone that’s a real challenge.”
“Assuming you could ever achieve my caliber. You can’t. You don’t have what it takes.”
But in that sentence, he’d already begun. He was testing me, wanted to see how easily I’d break. He would try to destroy me.
“It’ll break Luke’s heart,” I countered.
His jaw tightened. I caught the twitching of his lips as he fought the smile. Jasper wanted to see if he could break Luke. I was surprised he hadn’t thought to use me against him sooner. Unlike Luke, who wears his heart on his sleeve no matter how much he tries to hide it, I could impersonate an ice sculpture.
“Only if he finds out, and we wouldn’t be able to tell him.”But he was waiting, on the edge of his seat, for whatever I’d say next.
“Not if you find a way around that,” I said, pushing my verbal chess piece into play, sacrificing one of my pawns. I was bold, thinking I had something. Hoping I did. I was desperate,something I promised myself I’d never be again. Which is how I ended up trapped in a game so layered even I’m not sure who’s moving the pieces.
And the man is dead.
Because the only way Luke was going to get his freedom was if Jasper VanCourt was rotting in the ground. If I had to sell my soul to make that happen, so be it.
Uncle Jasper’s lips curled into a smile. He saw it in my eyes, how much I lusted to have his blood on my hands. That might have been what intrigued him beyond the rest of it.
“Bring that bottle of scotch over here,” he said while bony claws of apprehension pierced my insides. I got up to fetch the bottle. I tried to set it before him, but I knew better. He shook his head. “That’s for you.”
It was still half-full. Or was it more appropriate to say that the bottle was half-empty, considering the circumstances? No. Definitely half-full, which wasn’t a positive thing in this case, and wasn’t that a feat? Uncle Jasper was able to flip objective optimism on its head.
“You want me to drink this?”
“I want you to show me you can follow orders.”
