Page 86 of Mr. Match

The glue that would seal these two opposite sides of the family together for another generation.

“Gori cut my throat that night with the scalpel. It was supposed to be a symbol of the Silver Society. One thin, silver line across my neck. Done in good faith. I wasn’t supposed to fight. They didn’t think I had it in me to fight, I was such an agreeable child.”

“He’s Silver Society?” Victoria asks, her lips turned up with what might be disgust. Or maybe disbelief.

“No,” I say. “Not really. If you know anything about them, then you know it’s run by women.”

“So who’s the leader?” Victoria and Ariel ask at the same time.

“I don’t know,” I say. “There were no women there that night. Just the men.”

“Then what good are you?” Ariel asks. “We need to know who runs it, Katya. Surely you must have an idea?”

“Oh, I have an idea, all right.” And then I look right at Cindy. “But you’re not gonna want to hear it. Because I think it’s your future mother-in-law.”

I take out my secret phone and press the call button.

A direct private line to Mariel Hawthorne.

Chapter Thirty-Seven - OLIVER

Four hours later Weston Conrad really does look like someone shot him in the head. I went home and got him one of my suits, just to make him look more the Mister part, and he’s just putting the jacket on now and admiring himself in the mirror.

A knock at the door makes us all turn and look. Sparrow enters, her long dark hair the perfect contrast to her bright blue eyes, which are wide in astonishment. “Wow.” She laughs. “If those judges are going for gore, then you’re definitely gonna win, Mr. Conrad.”

We all smile at each other. He does look pretty fucking dead when he closes his eyes. The make-up artist even made his lips slightly blue and his skin an ashen gray.

“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” Sparrow says. “I could use another actor for the house tonight. It’s crazy. We have a line two blocks down the street and my chainsaw guy called in sick with the flu.”

“Sorry,” I say to Sparrow, going to the door to let her know we need some privacy. “But maybe tomorrow, if West feels like getting made up again. Hey,” I say, thinking of something we forgot to plan. “West wants a picture. Do you think we can borrow some blood and gore to take a realistic picture?”

“Sure,” Sparrow says enthusiastically. “You know what?” she continues, looking at West, who is fixing his black tie. “I can get one of my set designers to help you with that if you want. Is this part of the contest?”

“Yup,” Pax says, joining in. “There’s two contests. One live and one picture.”

“I’d be happy to help you, Weston. Just come downstairs when you’re done and I’ll get it set up.” She leaves and I close the door behind her.

We all grin at each other. Then start laughing.

“This is gonna work,” Pax says.

“It better,” West says, cringing at himself in the mirror. “That fucker had better come clean with everything he knows.”

“Don’t count on it,” Nolan says. “I mean, we should not get cocky here. We’re totally bullshitting him. And he’s not stupid. He’s gonna have lots of questions.”

“Hey,” Mac says. “As long as we get it on TV before Pax calls him, I think we’ll be fine.”

“I think so too,” I say. “OK, you guys finish up the photo. Get lots of them, and make sure you splatter the wall with blood and bone to make it real. Pax and I will go get on the dark market and find ourselves a corrupt reporter.”

“Shouldn’t be hard.” Pax laughs. “You know people are still dying to see us fall. They want us in jail. All we gotta do is implicate ourselves in some dirty shit. Everyone will happy to believe it.”

But neither of us have ever done this before. So I’m not convinced. “Make sure you stay inside when you’re done, West. You can’t go home tonight.”

“What?” he asks.

“Come on,” I say. “You don’t really think that Liam isn’t in town? He is. He’s keeping an eye on us.”

“Then he saw us come in here.”