Page 7

Would she get coffee or visit the library?

Most nights, she was in bed by eight, sinking into her sofa with a whiskey-sour and a book after her classes. The only thing remotely interesting was her breaking into that library every once in a while. Even then, I believed the library knew about it and did nothing.

Yes, very boring.

She still intrigued me though, and I found myself pulled into her web like a mindless insect, unable to push her from my thoughts.

But what did Father mean—awhile? Weeks or months?

I’d never kept someone that long, and she’d only get in the way. If she was my long-term captive, I’d have to secure her in one of my spare rooms in the penthouse.

“You won’t be handing her over to the Volkovs?” Grave asked.

Father shook his head. “No. This plan is better than theirs, and I don’t trust them to keep her alive.”

“And if Luka doesn’t comply?” I questioned.

I’d followed Sutton for five years, learning everything. I knew her coffee order and how long her classes ran. What time her alarm was set for and when she woke. Her hobbies. The size of her fucking underwear. And, sometimes, when I had the chance to sneak into her flat, I’d breathe in her scent. She smelled crisp and clean with a hint of jasmine and vanilla. It was intoxicating.

My obsession was only a distraction, though—surveillance of my own personal interest, nothing more.

Mm, but would it bother me to snuff the light from her eyes? I couldn’t say. Perhaps training for my father since I was seven had finally had its repercussions. At least, that was what the Crimson Crowes’ therapist had told me.

“You carry symptoms of antisocial personality disorder,” she’d said once, pushing her glasses up her hooked nose, “most likely stemming from your upbringing. We can’t confirm without a formal evaluation, but you exhibit more sociopathic traits than psychopathic ones. That’s a good thing, Manic. It means you do feel… just differently.”

I wasn’t sure why, but it was a relief hearing my diagnosis and understanding why I always felt the urge to stab someone. And why, when I did, it calmed the chaos inside me. Regardless, hearing it hadn’t prevented me from storming out and slamming the door behind me. I never scheduled the follow-up evaluation.

Either way, whatever job Father gave me, I would get it done, even if it meant kidnapping Sutton Hale. Yet the thought of her locked in my penthouse for weeks made me uneasy. Sutton wouldn’t be any safer with me than she would with a pack of wild dogs, and my father knew that.

“We’ll discuss it later should it arise,” Father said and stood, rounding the corner of his desk. “But I have one more request—one that I know will interest you.”

“And what is that?” I rose, pulling out a crumpled pack of smokes.

I placed one between my lips, avoiding the half-smoked one Sutton’s mouth had wrapped around. Even after all these years, her scent and the faintest trace of her red lipstick still lingered on the paper.

“Keep her as your captive, but I want you to inform her of everything her father is doing. And if you can manage, I want her to know how to do everything he does. If you are successful, I’ll allow you to leave.”

Despite myself, I straightened, shifting on my feet.

“Leave?” Naomi breathed, expression falling. “You’re going to allow him to leave us? No one leaves the Crowes.”

Grave scoffed. “The Russians and the Irish would kill him the moment he stepped out of our territory. That’s⁠—”

“Get out,” Father snapped at them. “Both of you.”

They huffed, grumbling their grievances under their breath and sauntered out the doors. I glanced at Father once more, a heavy silence falling between us.

Freedom from the Crimson Crowes?

It had been Raven’s job to be heir, not mine. But after his death, I was ordered to take over the responsibility. I’d wanted to leave this hell-hole the last few years, but I never imagined it would happen so soon.

If I could manage to teach her.

Keep her alive.

I could show her what I knew, but I was no Luka Hale. I’d cleaned some money, but what Luka did was far beyond my skillset. Though I imagined Father only wanted her good enough to get the job done.

But if he wanted me to train her, that meant he’d be using Sutton as a failsafe if Luka didn’t fall for the coercion. Or, in his case, die by the hands of my father. Sutton would be trapped in my father’s grasp, washing his numbers like a helpless slave in the casino walls.