Page 112 of Vicious King

God, I love her so much that I ache with it.

“At first, on the phone, I told him to call me, and he said that you’re his boss.”

I sip my bourbon, watching my fierce woman.

“When I picked Charlie up, I confronted him. Told him that when it comes to business, he works for you, but when it comes to Charlie, he works for our family. And I want to be looped in whenever something happens in regard to our son.”

“As it should be,” I agree, nodding. “I’ll talk to him. I think my men are also getting used to the new dynamic of me having a family. But you’re right, and I’ll make it very fucking clear to all my men that if you give an order, it’s fucking gospel. If anyone has a problem with that, they can leave. In a fucking box.”

Rina laughs, but I don’t crack a smile.

“Jesus, Carson.”

“I’m not dicking around when it comes to you and our boy.”

She shifts, wincing with pain, and I wish I’d delivered one extra slice to the asshole for that alone.

“Charlie lost another tooth,” she says.

“He told me. In the pool?”

Rina grins. “In the pool. Clyde dove for it. The kid is going to make us go broke with all the tooth fairy money we’re shelling out.”

“Jesus, are you giving him a hundred million a tooth?”

She blinks at me. “No, five bucks.”

I laugh and reach for her hand, which she immediately takes.

“Baby, unless you’re giving him nine figures per tooth, we’re fine.”

“Wait.” She blinks at me sleepily. “Do we have a hundred million?”

“No.” Her shoulders relax, as if in relief. “We have more than a billion in liquid cash, stashed all over the world. In real estate, including the resort? Fuck, it’s a lot.”

There’s no response for about ten seconds, and then she sits up and scowls at me.

“I think I fell asleep and dreamed that you said you’re a billionaire.”

“I’m not. We are. Because everything I have is yours, remember?”

Her jaw drops, and then she sits back again and stares into space. “How?”

“My job pays well.” I sip my bourbon, watching her.

“Ten million a job doesn’t add up to a billion, Carson.”

“I said it starts at ten million. The last job was two hundred and fifty million.”

She blinks at me.

“But I split it with Julian because he helped.”

She huffs out a laugh and then covers herself with her blanket and shakes her head slowly back and forth.

“That’s crazy.”

“Charlie’s grandchildren’s grandchildren will never have to worry about money,” I say quietly.