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“You’ll talk, Aurora. If I have to use your body against you, I will.”
9
Jonathan
If you want something done, you should get your hands dirty.
I don’t do that — usually. I have no problem crushing people with lawful methods. I even like seeing them struggle to turn the law to their favour and fail.
The law stands with the strongest. And in this world, that’s me.
However, when lawful methods don’t work, it’s time to go to the other side of the wall.
Harris has been coming up blank with the identity of Aurora’s attacker, even by using the intel given to him by our top-notch security company.
Since the law-abiding security team didn’t bring anything, I find myself at the Rhodes estate.
The duke of the house, Tristan Rhodes, has agreed to my offer, as he should, considering I gave him a discount I wouldn’t present to anyone else. His family is returning to business in the near future and he needs any push he can get in the right direction.
I’m willing to enter a profitable partnership with him for what he’ll give me in return.
As Moses drives down the long, undulated road, Harris watches out the window, his calculative gaze lingering on the countless security guards stationed in each corner covering almost every surface of the property. Their grim faces and the metal glinting from their sides hint at the damage they can cause if they choose to attack.
“This is like a crime lord’s house, not a duke’s.” Harris faces me, his tablet lying on his lap for the first time in…well, ever. “Maybe we should consider other ways.”
“Its similarity with a crime lord’s residence is what makes it useful. I will not waste more time.”
The man who fucking stabbed Aurora will be brought to his knees in front of her sooner rather than later.
Harris scrolls through his tablet. “Okay, let’s go through the information we have one more time. Tristan and his cousin, Aaron Rhodes, are the only remaining members of the once-powerful Rhodes family. They spent most of their childhood and teenage years in a boarding school after a fire that wiped out the rest of their family, but there are rumours.”
“That they were betrayed and the fire was instigated. That information is going viral in the aristocratic community. Many say that Tristan and Aaron are back for revenge.”
“Correct, but I’ve been doing some more digging and…” He lifts his head and readjusts his glasses with his index and middle finger. “It’s rumoured that they’re trained in combat, which shouldn’t be the case since they’ve never been in the military.”
“Perfect. That means Tristan knows the people I need and won’t waste my time.”
“It means they’re dangerous, sir. Doing business with them is one thing, but getting involved in their secret lives is an entirely different territory.”
“If it gets me what I want, I don’t mind.”
“How about your principle of not taking risky decisions?”
“Risky decisions need to be made sometimes for better opportunities. Besides, Tristan is a businessman before anything else. He knows how to speak the language of profit.”
The car comes to a halt, and I step out, buttoning my jacket.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, but I usually come to the Rhodes estate with either guests or Ethan’s unwelcome presence to conclude business deals.
A security man motions at me to go into the northern wing. There are four wings in the estate, and Tristan always welcomes his guests in this one.
The other wings sit majestically in the distance — eastern, western, and southern — forming a massive rectangular shape. Despite the effort Tristan and Aaron have spent in turning this place into what resembles a palace, there’s a certain haunting quality to the Rhodes estate.
It’s probably because of the fire and the number of people who lost their lives in it.
It reeks of death; I can smell it no matter how many flowers and perfumes are used to mask it.
A statue of a knight on a black horse sits majestically in the middle of the reception hall. Another statue, a black jaguar with blue gems as eyes, stares down his nose at me.
