The King(131)

The executioner’s eyes narrowed. “Sparing them is not going to save you.”
“Killing them isn’t going to bring me back. And that’s why you’d do it, right? So go to the queen, tell her you’ve spoken to me directly—and I don’t care whether you kill them. Then suggest that she strip them of everything they’ve been given—the quarters they live in, the clothes and jewels they’ve bought with the bounty they received, the food in their cupboards. Everything. That will make the queen whole again. She’ll have lost nothing, be out nothing—”
“Bullshit. She doesn’t have a half for her daughter. All that ‘restitution’ doesn’t solve the fact that the princess has no mate.”
“It’s not going to be me. I’m telling you right now. You guys can fuck my father and mother up, you can threaten me with bodily harm, you can trash my house—”
“What if I just take you now?”
Trez outed the gun he’d shoved in his waistband at the small of his back. He didn’t point it at s’Ex. He put it right under his own chin.
“If you try to, I’ll pull this trigger. Then you have a dead body, and unless that daughter of hers is a sick bitch, she ain’t gonna want me then.”
s’Ex went inanimately still. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”
“Anything you want on the outside, s’Ex. You take care of this for me, and I’ll take care of you.”
As the queen’s executioner considered the deal, Trez breathed smoothly, and thought of the only two people who really mattered. Selena … Jesus Christ, he wanted her, but he was no good for the likes of that Chosen. Hell, even if this flier of a negotiation worked, he was still going to be a pimp, and there was no changing his past.
And then there was iAm.
The idea of losing his brother was … he couldn’t even put it into thought. But the male was going to be better off without him if he couldn’t fix this problem.
“I’m surprised that you want to save your parents this badly,” s’Ex said offhandedly.
“Are you kidding me? If they lose their station, it’s worse than death for them. What they did to me has ruined my life and my brother’s. That shit’s my revenge. Besides, like I said, no matter what you do with them, I’m not going back there.”
The executioner broke off and strolled the length of the terrace, his robing swirling around him like the promise of violence, the puffs of his breath like a dragon breathing fire.
After a long moment, he clasped his hands behind his back, and returned.
It was a while before he finally spoke, and when he did, he wasn’t looking at Trez. He was staring at the glass of the apartment.
“I like this place.”
Trez kept the gun to his chin, but felt a stab of … hope? Well, not that cheery an emotion, certainly. But maybe there was a solution after all.
s’Ex lifted a brow. “Three bedrooms, two and a half baths, nice kitchen. Plenty of light. But the beds are the best—big beds in there.”
“You want this, it’s yours.”
As s’Ex’s eyes slid back to him, Trez heard the phrase deal with the devil over and over in his head.
“It’s missing something.”
“What.”
“Women. I want women brought to me here. I’ll tell you when. And I want three or four at a time.”
“You got it. Name the number and the hour and I’ll bring them to you.”
“So sure of yourself.”
“What the fuck do you think I do for a living.”
s’Ex’s eyes flared. “I thought you were a club owner.”
“I don’t just sell booze,” he muttered.
“Hmm, what a job.” The executioner frowned. “Just so we’re clear, she may order me to go after your brother.”
“Then I’m going to have to kill you.”
s’Ex threw his head back and laughed. “Very cocky.”
“Let me make myself perfectly clear. You touch iAm and I will find you. Your last breath will be mine and your heart will still be warm when I take it out of your chest and eat it raw.”
“You know, it’s a wonder we don’t get along better.”
Trez put out his free hand. “Have we come to terms?”
“There is the queen to consider. I may not be able to sway her. And just so you’re aware, if she doesn’t go for it, your deadline will have passed.”
“So kill them.” He held s’Ex’s black stare without wavering. “I mean it.”
The executioner tilted his head, as if considering all angles. “Yes, evidently you do. Meet me here at noon tomorrow with a sample—and I’ll see what I can do in the Territory.”