Page 64 of Stormhold

Arkane shrugged. “Where’s Chiara?”

“The princess is getting ready upstairs. She’ll be down in a few,” Amelia replied, her voice turning softer at the mention of her sister. “Your friends are in the drawing room, and Dad is in his office.”

Arkane’s grip tightened ever so slightly at the mention of his father, but he gave a nod to the couple before pulling me out of the room.

“If thoughts could kill, I would be dead,” I said under my breath.

Arkane chuckled. “That was nothing. Wait for the next one,” he said, opening a huge wooden double door at the end of the hallway and gesturing for me to go in.

“Ooh, I’m terrified,” I muttered as we entered the room. The large living room was bigger than my entire apartment, with expansive windows and the same dark interiors as the rest of the house. The air smelled of cigarettes, bourbon, and men.

“This is unexpected,” a tall man with ink-black hair voiced upon our appearance. “What, are you both a team now?” His stone-cold tone matched the expression on his face. Everything about him screamed danger, and it was most possibly true.

Arkane gestured toward him. “Lucien Greigewood.” And then he pointed at the lean blond man casually relaxing on the couch, smoking a cigarette with Grayson Stormhold. “And that’s Karl Ford. You’ve met Grayson.”

Neither of them acknowledged me, and I didn’t bother either.

“Didn’t realize we were entertaining little assassins now.” Jon Stormhold grinned as he made his way over to me and held out a hand. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Jon.”

“Bellerose Esteal, nice to meet you,” I said with a small smile, my hesitant eyes dashing to his outstretched hand. Even if he was putting on an act, he was the only other nice Stormhold I’ve met till now, and I didn’t want to display my usual bluntness.

“Bella doesn’t like shaking hands.” Arkane came to my rescue, smacking Jon’s hand away.

“Fine with me.” Jon’s grin widened. “Big fan, by the way. Your work on Olander was so impressive that I studied it for weeks. A hundred and seven cuts in less than a minute. I still can’t figure out how the hell you did it.”

Jon Stormhold might as well be the assassin of the Stormhold family. If I killed to rid evil, he killed simply because he loved the act. The man killed in only unusually interesting ways.

“Wing Chun,” I answered him. “It will increase your speed and delivery.”

“Didn’t realize the infamous Beauty would be so nice to let me in on her secrets,” Jon replied in his charming tone, but his words were a double-edged sword. I knew he certainly wasn’t referring to my killing secrets. “In return, let me show you something.”

My eyes narrowed when his hand slipped inside his jacket, but what he brought out had my blood pulsing with excitement, and my eyes widening in awe.

“An original Takashi blade,” I appreciated, taking it as I admired the custom dagger with hand-graved art on either side of the blade. It was an honor to acquire one of these. “Beautiful. Use it with honor,” I said, giving it back to him.

“Gladly,” he replied. “Thank you for indulging this lowly man.”

I smiled. “You know very well that there isn’t anything lowly about a man like you, Jon Stormhold,” I emphasized his last name.

He chuckled. “We would make a better team than you and my brother.” Jon lifted a suggestive brow. “Just say the word, and I’ll be there.”

Yeah, right. The last thing a cold-blooded killer like him would want was a partner. Moreover, it wasn’t like Arkane and I were actually a team. Or were we? I had no idea at this point.

“Leave her be, Jon,” Arkane drawled, eyeing him sharply. “We’re here on important matters.” He had taken a seat on the couch with Karl and Grayson, enjoying a drink of plain bourbon first thing in the morning. Lucien was still casting his ominous presence from the corner of the room, his eyes out the window, but I wasn’t foolish enough to think that his entire attention wasn’t here. Only Marcus Stormhold was missing, reasonably so.

“What important matter would that be than our dear sister’s birthday?” Jon asked, gesturing me toward them. I slipped into the seat next to Arkane while Jon dropped down next to a grim Grayson. Did that man ever smile? I had no clue why he was so angry at the world.

“We’re here to see our favorite lawyer,” Arkane said, looking at Karl Ford. Arkane appeared least bothered, knowing one man in this room was a traitor to the other side. It made me reflect on how good an actor he was, but then he also grew up with these men, so he could feel a certain level of contentment among them.

“My advice would cost a pretty penny,” Karl replied, eyeing me. “Don’t think your little friend could afford it. Am I right, Ms. Esteal?”

“Arkane will pay for it,” I said flatly.

Karl smiled. “Doesn’t your sister work at my office?”

“Yes.”

“I hear she’s been desperate for a promotion.”