“If he touches her again, I will end him,” I said.

“I believe you,” Brandon said. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”

I watched him closely, looking for the angle.

The air in the room was cold, the air conditioning unit humming a low, steady drone in the wall.

The scent of lemon wax was suddenly suffocating.

“What do you want, Brandon?” I asked.

He set the paperweight down with a sharp clack.

“I want what you want,” he said. “To see my brother ruined.”

I didn’t blink. “He’s your brother.”

“He’s a liability,” Brandon said. “He’s a spoiled, violent child who is going to drag this entire family dynasty into the mud.”

He leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees.

“And my mother will destroy everything I’ve built to protect him,” he added.

“And you want to inherit the empire intact,” I said.

“Exactly,” he said. “But to do that, I need certain things.”

The stocky officer shifted his weight behind me, his boots squeaking on the hardwood border of the rug.

I kept my peripheral vision locked on him.