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After a moment, he drew in a breath and continued with his dossier "Everyone knows about your supposedskills, but what's really interesting, at least to me, is that you've been seen out and about on the toith Owen Grayson these last few e in such a relationship - any relationship, really But the two of you seem quite taken with each other "

Kincaid's voice was smooth, but his tone darkened when he said Owen's nah it left a bitter taste in his a

"That's it?" I asked when he didn't say anything else "That's all you know? You're not going to stand there and tell me what my favorite color is or how I alanted a puppy when I was a kid?"

Kincaid gave me a thin smile, but he didn't respond to my taunts

"Well, I have to hand it to you, Philly It looks like you know everything there is to know abouthis homework "

He hten me "

"Phillip Kincaid, owner of the Delta Queen riverboat casino and one of the richest and most powerful uy with nothing who came from out of nowhere and built a massive fortune In addition to the Delta Queen, you also have riverboats in several other cities, including Me a new project down in Blue Marsh "

Kincaid grinned "I suppose I have you to thank for that last one, don't I, Gin? Now that Randall Dekes is no longer an issue down there It seems the Spider never takes a vacation At least not without killing someone "

I ignored his words "But there's a lot s-to-riches story on your corporate website, isn't there, Philly?"

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that you're an orphan Supposedly, your father was a dwarf and your , at least stronger than a regular human would be You certainly have the solid physique and thick muscles for it But who your parents were doesn't much ot anonymously dropped off at a church when you were about two years old From then on, you bounced around fro froarette burns on your arms ever heal up?"

Kincaid blinked in surprise Apparently, he hadn't thought I'd be able to find all the skeletons in his closet as easily as he had the ones in ht my foster brother must be part bloodhound, the way he could track down leads and run theo on

"You got those burns when you were thirteen, right?" I said "And a whole lot of other injuries Cuts, bruises, a few broken bones At that foster home where the man of the house drank like a fish and liked to smack around his wife and the kids in his care when he'd had a few too uy Shortly after child services noted the burns on your arms, a robber broke into the house and almost beat that man to death with a metal pipe That's what the wife claimed in the police report, anyway But you knohat I think, Philly? That thirteen wasn't an important year for just me "

His blue eyes glittered with a cold light, but he didn't respond

"Don't get ot exactly what he deserved Actually, I'd say he got off easy I would have stabbed him to death "