Chapter 86

James watched as Evangeline dropped the pretense and decided he would do the same. "Alright, I'll lay it out for you. The name's Foster, as in from the northern Foster Group empire. Evangeline is my niece.

"Keep stirring the pot, and I won't hesitate to have you slaving away at a sewing machine for the next few decades. And if you fancy a more 'special' kind of hardship, say, missing a limb or two? I'm your guy."

His tone was steady, a stark contrast to Evangeline's fiery demeanor, but the threat in his words was crystal clear. He might play the part of a gentleman, but make no mistake—there was not a single delicate flower among the gambling king's kin.

They played nice with him, he would play nice with them. The Foster family did not take kindly to enemies that crossed them, crossed him. The only ones still standing were the Gordons, and that was saying something.

Even the most sheltered of folks knew better than to mess with the Gordons of the South or the Fosters of the North—u