I averted my eyes before remembering about the spying Audrey upstairs.
That girl’s really brave, huh? A normal kid would start crying for their mother at the sight of a foreign black man in the house. Not only did she not cry, but she’s even spying from behind the baluster.
Carefully, I chanced a glance at where Audrey had been earlier, glad to see that it was empty.
She must have listened to me and gone back to my room.
John had raised Audrey abroad all along, and she was the apple of his eye, so she had a little stubborn streak of her own. Fortunately, she was still an obedient child when she was with the family.
“Okay, Stovall, Fuller. Let me tell you my plan!” Lucas was vastly different from Quince. First of all, he was much taller and cruder. Furthermore, he was rather enthusiastic and immersed in his own world. “You’ll be the ones in charge of opening the clubs, starting from K City to the rest of the country. You can leave the security details to us. The headquarters of Skull will be based in K City. As for the deal with the Chanaean police, we’ll go into more details later.”
“Stop,” Ashton interrupted Lucas’ train of thought. Immediately, the room fell silent.
Fortunately, it seemed like they had learned about Chanaea’s way of hosting guests before they came, so they were not angry about his interruption. Instead, Lucas beamed and gestured for him to speak as he patiently waited to hear him.
“The club isn’t planning to take over the country nor do we have any plans to collaborate with others,” Ashton said, dismissing Lucas’ entire plan.
However, Lucas thought Ashton was not done with his piece, for he continued to smile and wait for him to continue.
Once he was done, Ashton pressed his lips together and fell silent. He did not have any thoughts of trying to soften the revelation for the other man at all.
As seconds ticked away, the atmosphere turned tenser and tenser, and the smile on Lucas’ face faded away.
“Mr. Fuller, what do you mean? Do you think that our organization isn’t fit to do business with your daughter?” Quince questioned.
I knew it. I knew he was up to no good. I’m right all along! He’s waiting to stir things up all this time.
Nevertheless, who was Ashton? Even when he was powerless in J City, he had already made his move against Cameron and Zachary. The word fear was never in his dictionary.
Without any changes in his expression, he let his right leg cross his left and adjusted himself into a more comfortable position. Only then, he nonchalantly replied, “Kids have their own ways of doing things, and we’ve got to give them an opportunity to try things out. If you’d like to talk business with me, then you’re always welcome. However, if you’re thinking of laying a finger on my daughter, then you should turn right once you’re out of the house and take a left turn at the sixth traffic light.”
“What do you mean?” Quince asked.
“That’s one of the jurisdictions of K City’s cops,” John said with a half-grin. Clearly, he was enjoying the show, and the look in his eyes would infuriate anyone it was directed to.
Lucas and Quince took two seconds to figure out what he was talking about. Once they realized what cops were, Lucas slammed his hand on the armrest and jumped to his feet. “What do you mean, Fuller?”
People like them hated the police the most. Of course, that excluded the ones who worked for them.
All of a sudden, the atmosphere in the room turned tense. The few underlings behind Lucas had also sneakily put their hands into the pockets of their suits.
Ashton still had a cold look when he raised his head to stare into the other’s man frenzied eyes. In a flat tone, he said, “I meant what I said. There’s a saying in Chanaea that I’d like to enlighten you with—thieves are the only ones who come uninvited.”
To my surprise, Lucas shrugged and put on a hurt look. “Why do you say that? Your woman has told me that visiting foreign friends brings joy. I thought you’d be happy.”
“My woman?”
“His what woman?”
Both Ashton and I spoke almost simultaneously. Then, we shared a look before quietly turning back to Lucas, waiting for his answer.
“Larson, isn’t it?” Lucas hastily explained. He then snapped his fingers at one of his subordinates behind him, and one of them fished out a stack of photos to hand it to him.
Lucas then threw the photos onto the table and said, “Look, isn’t this you?”
I did not know why he was abruptly furious. Bewildered, I stepped forward to take the photos before sitting back on the couch to examine them with Ashton.
