They think I'm weak. The fight with Robert certainly didn't help.
I put the beer to the side, needing my mind to be as sharp as possible when speaking with him.
Ivan has been an ally so far, but if there's a time when he might consider turning on me, it would be now.
I lean forward, arms folding on the table. "Killing them before we're at the endgame wouldn't benefit me. If I kill them before the right moment, then the Lyndes are going to have time to heal from the loss, and then they're going to use the grief to unite them and make them stronger than before."
Ivan rolls up his sleeves. "You believe so? Don't think I missed the fact that a Lynde girl was on the stage. Don't you think that's going to cause more of a problem as well?"
"Why would it?"
"Robert bought her. People are going to be pissed that you lured them in with the promise of revenge and then took it from beneath their noses."
"Don't you worry about that. Robert isn't going to go without punishment." I take a sip of the beer, glancing around the room.
Other people are still watching me, but most of them look like they've relaxed for now. They're sharing drinks and laughing, some men leaving and heading out with the women they bought.
Ivan sighs and shakes his head. "Your brother is making a fine mess of your business. The rest of your siblings and your cousin have hardly done you any favors either."
"I know. They will all get what's coming to them and more." I grin and lean back, shrugging one shoulder. "They're all going to realize they picked the wrong side in the war."
"For your sake, I hope you're right. People are going to be waiting for you to fuck up. People who are willing to work with the Lyndes would happily absorb your territory."
"You're not wrong about that, but in the end, the Lyndes are done in New York. This is my city."
Ivan smirks and shakes his head, the look in his eyes telling me that his skepticism lingers. He raises his drink. "To the family we would be better off without."
I tip my bottle against his gently.
Robert might have won the auction, but he's doing a fine job of fucking up everything I've worked for. What our family worked for. Years of legacy and power are going down the drain.
And I don't know what he stands to gain from it.
He's too weak to run the family if I were out of the way. He doesn't have the head for it either way.
But going behind my back and bargaining with the Lyndes to be spared if they kill me?
Well, that's something he'd do.
I take another sip of the beer before setting it to the side and getting up. "It's been a good evening, but I have other matters I have to attend to."
Ivan chuckles and shakes his head. "Good luck with that brother of yours."
"Luck has nothing to do with it."
Who needs luck when I'm going to dismantle his life for fucking up mine?
Who needs luck when I'm going to take away his little plaything like he's a spoiled child?
He's spent too long undermining me already. Too often, he thinks he has the room to argue.
And in the end, just like everything else, Summer is mine, whether he knows that or not.
It's time to teach Robert a lesson he's never going to forget.
Chapter Twelve
SUMMER