Sucking in a deep breath, I think of my uncle.
He was a good man.
But now he is gone.
Removing my gun from my breast pocket, I walk behind Jacob.
A lot of people think I’m a psychopath. But a psychopath would seek enjoyment in watching the light go from his victim’s eyes as he puts a bullet in his brain. Personally, I don’t like to watch. Because I’ve already taken what I want from him tonight.His pain and fear.The intimate moment of his death is something that should remain between him and God.
Pressing the muzzle close to the base of his skull, I pull the trigger, and Jacob is no more.
It is over.
I look at my men, but I don’t say anything. They know how to clean up.
Leaving the warehouse, I push through the door and step back into the night. I leave the pier and disappear into the shadowy streets once again.
3
LEONORE
“You have a delivery.” Tori walks into my office and places a black box on my wooden table. “Do you have an admirer, or did you order yourself something?” She looks at it again. I see the seal on it and instantly know where it came from.
Silas Vescari.
Everyone knows the Vescari family crest. A raven mid-flight. This one is gold leaf, and it’s striking on the luxurious black box.
“Just an order,” I say in an attempt to curb her curiosity.
She lifts an eyebrow. “Looks like an expensive order.”
I smile sweetly. “You can shut the door on the way out.”
She sighs dramatically. “Fine, have your secrets.” She looks back at the box and flounces out of the room.
For a moment, I study the luxury box with a gold ribbon tied around it in a bow. Involving myself with the Vescaris is dangerous. Of the four families who dominate Boston’s underworld, I’ve purposely avoided getting involved with them. Up until now, they haven’t needed me. I look at the cooler where the body remains. I wonder who he was.No. I’m not getting involved.
However, my curiosity can only be curbed so much as I undo the bow, and the ribbon falls onto my lap. I lift the lid, and inside the box is a glass jar filled with clear preservative liquid.
I hold it up and see a single rose trapped inside the liquid.
But it’s not your average rose.
No, this one is stuck inside a gold ring, which is wrapped around a human finger. The rose is white, its edges stained pink by blood.
Fascinating.
Moving it around, I notice a note etched on the bottom of the glass.
Tonight. My estate. I will be waiting.
I should be put off by this. It’s ghoulish and evil and … you know what, I’m kind of impressed. Ten points for creativity.
But Silas Vescari has made a big mistake, and it’s not the severed finger. Although I wonder who the kind donor was.
It’s him thinking he can demand I attend.
I’m sure everyone else in his life asks how high when he says jump, but I don’t do demands, and I will never ask how fucking high if someone tells me to jump.
