While he was trained in self-defense and close-quartersbat, he couldn''t hold a candle to men like Joshua and Leonard, who had literally carved their paths to power through blood and bone.
And for Joshua to boldly waltz right into his inner sanctum meant he hade fully prepared.
Sellers just hadn''t expected him to be this brazen, stepping into the lion''s den without an ounce of fear.
Just as Sellers was frantically calcting how to buy more time, Joshua suddenly pulled out a handgun.
"Joshua"
Sellers only managed to get the name out before the bullet struck his chest, but strangely, the agonizing pain he braced for never came.
He froze for a second, then quickly realized it was a tranquilizer dart.
A momentter, the world faded to ck as he lost consciousness.
...
He had no idea how much time had passed when he finally groggily opened his eyes.
The first thing that filled his vision was massive iron bars stretching several feet high.
Sellers'' mind snapped to full alertness. He was locked inside a giant metal cage.
Before he could even begin to take in his surroundings, his eyes locked onto a pair of glowing, predatory eyes in the shadows.
His pupils dted in pure shock. He realized that the cage directly adjacent to his housed a fully grown lion.
Even a man of Sellers'' status, a powerful family patriarch, couldn''t maintain his aristocraticposure when rooming next to an apex predator.
Just then, the heavy door to the dungeon swung open.
A tall, familiar silhouette stepped out of the shadows and slowly approached the cages.
"Mr. Burton, how are you finding the temporary amodations I''ve arranged for you?"
Gripping the freezing iron bars, Sellers shot Joshua an icy re.
"Joshua, I strongly advise you to let me out of here right now. Otherwise, the second
I leave this ce—"
Sellers'' threat was quickly cut off by Joshua''s bright, chilling smile.
"Then you just won''t ever leave."
Sellers'' facial muscles tightened. "You''re... going to permanently silence me?"
It suddenly dawned on him that while other men might draw a line at executing a
rival patriarch, Joshua absolutely would not.
The Gardners were a family of lunatics!
Joshua shook his head. "Killing you to keep you quiet is so boring. If just wanted your life, I wouldn''t have gone through all the trouble of bringing you down here.
Besides..."
Joshua offered a faint, almost gentle smile. "Given your rtionship with Star, I can''t put her in a difficult position.
Regardless of everything, Mr. Burton has helped Star quite a bit, and I''d hate to be ungrateful.
So rest assured, Mr. Burton. I won''t kill you."
Sellers let out a cold, internal sneer.
Joshua wouldn''t kill him, but he was more than capable of making him wish he were dead.
He didn''t doubt Joshua''s cruelty for a second.
Sellers kept his voice frigid. "Joshua,
the head of the Burton family
vanishing is headline news,
YOU
absolutely certain you dive a
single breadcrumb behind?
Forget about the old man finding out—even if Ste knew, she would never stand for this.
You im you don''t want to make things hard for Ste, but your actionspletely contradict your words.
Joshua, Ste would never love a monster who resorts to such vicious tactics."
At his core, Sellers was a seasoned leader. Even backed into a nightmare like this, his mind remained sharp and calcting.
He knew perfectly well that his only trump card, his only way out of this hellhole, was Ste.
Joshua''s smile remained as light as a breeze. He stepped closer, locking eyes with him through the iron bars, his tone dripping with mock regret.
"Honestly, really didn''t want to take it this far. But for the past year, I''ve had to endure you and your people constantly stirring up trouble it''s been exhausting.
Why couldn''t you all just stay in yournes? Why do you insist on constantly testing
my limits?
Did you really believe that because of Star, I was totally dewed and couldn''t
touch you?"