I poured two glasses of scotch and grabbed a bottle of water for Melanie. I took a seat beside her, put the drinks on the table, and then moved my hand to the beautiful woman beside me, the woman who was so beautiful, she didn’t look like she’d ever been here in the first place.

I gripped her thigh until she looked at me. “Men need to talk. Wait for me.”

She gave a silent nod before she dismissed herself into the bedroom and shut the door.

Magnus waited until she was gone before he grabbed his drink. “I’m surprised you brought her here.”

“She wants to see her sister.”

He couldn’t hide his surprise. “And you’ll allow it?”

I stared into my brother’s face but didn’t see it. It was all just a blur to me right now because I was picturing Melanie across the table at dinner, picturing the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, the woman who made me bend over backward more times than any man ever should. She made me weak—and not always in a good way. “Haven’t decided.”

We talked about operations of the camp for a while, and Magnus informed me he was in the process of increasing production by negotiating with the Colombians. There were hiccups along the way, but I wasn’t going to let any obstacle get in the way of my riches.

Magnus shared his negativity, as always. “Don’t let arrogance turn to complacency.”

“It’s not arrogance—greed.” I took another drink then set my glass on the table. “And you know how greedy I am.”

There was never enough money. I wanted more money, more power, even if I’d already reached the top of the hierarchy.

Magnus took a long drink. “Trying to figure out how to make it work. But if it’s too risky, we’ll have to accept what we have.”

I gave a slight nod, even though I still didn’t like that response. “When you leave in a few days, take care of it.”

My hand grabbed my glass once more to nurse my cold lips. Conversation had concluded, and there was a beautiful woman waiting for me. I waited for him to leave, but he lingered on the couch, the glass in his hand. My eyes shifted back and forth as I looked into his, seeing a hesitation that I couldn’t recognize. “What is it?”

He broke contact and stared at the bottom of his glass. There were only a few sips left. He spun the glass around to get the liquid to swirl in a vortex before he returned the glass to the coffee table. Whatever he had to say was significant because he took an eternity to say it and fidgeted along the way. “I’ve taken Raven as my own.”

My eyes immediately narrowed when I heard that god-awful name.