“How did you manage that?” Now that Raven was no longer a distraction, his true potential shone through. He jumped higher than he ever had.

He shrugged. “Persuasion.”

I faced forward and drank from my glass again. “I’m impressed.”

He swirled his glass then looked down into the dark liquid. “With the new production schedule, we’ll make fifty percent more than we were before on a regular basis. I’m trying to figure out a way to secure more, but it’s complicated.”

I took another drink then wiped my mouth with my forearm. “How are the men treating you?”

Another pause. “Fine.”

I knew the men unanimously hated him, as they should, but they would never cross me and slit his throat in his sleep. But their anger would fade, just as mine had. “Negotiating that increase in product will increase their salaries, so they must have granted you some forgiveness.”

Magnus continued to stare into his glass.

“You’ve definitely earned some from me.” I ignored the window and stared at him. There was no amount of anger that could overcome the connection between us, the bloodline, the unspeakable bond. He was my little brother, and like a parent, I couldn’t stay angry with him forever.

He turned to meet my gaze, to look me in the eye, his brown eyes and facial features similar to mine. It wasn’t just a pause, but an eternal silence. His look said it all, that my forgiveness meant the world to him, that we were still family…even after what he’d done.

I let it linger a little longer before I moved on. “How’s the cunt holding up?”

His expression immediately tightened at the mention of her, anger floating to the surface of his eyes like flames. His breathing changed. His posture. Everything. “I wouldn’t know.”

I believed him, not just because I had a source on the inside to confirm it, but I could see the truth written on his face. He looked like he might kill her with his bare hands. “I don’t understand your fascination with her. Melanie is beautiful, petite, quiet…and she’s the ugly one.”

There was no reaction.

I took a drink and looked out the window again, not expecting him to justify his strange fascination. He could have any woman he wanted, but he chose to risk his integrity and honor for a woman so unremarkable. It was just a dig on my part.

The sound of heels was audible behind us.

I hadn’t asked her to come down, but I didn’t mind her joining us. It was another shot at Magnus, to show him what real beauty looked like. She was the kind of woman worth life and death, worth your integrity and honor, and it was an opportunity to show him what I had and he didn’t.

That I had picked the winner.

He’d picked the loser.