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“Thank you, Councilor,” she says and now I’m sure there was some dick sucking involved here.
She shifts her gaze to me. “Mr. St. James. I do hope you’ll allow my cousin to attend her half-brother’s funeral.”
“Don’t you dare,” I start but she cuts me off.
“Surely you wouldn’t deny her that in her own time of need.”
I take a step toward her. “This is not over.”
“Isn’t it?”
33
Isabelle
I don’t see Jericho until late that night. He and Zeke walk into the house after ten o’clock and they both look like shit. Like they’ve been through an ordeal.
“Where have you been?” I ask. I’ve been waiting for them.
Zeke pours them each a whiskey and they stand at the mantle by the large fireplace.
“What’s happened?”
Zeke looks at me, then turns to his brother. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Jericho nods to him, swallows half his tumbler of whiskey and shifts his gaze to me. He leans one arm on the mantle.
“What is it?” I ask, going to him, all but forgetting about what I thought I saw in the woods.
He takes a deep breath in, exhales and drains his glass. After setting it down on the mantle he steps toward me. “Carlton Bishop is dead.”
It takes me a minute. I hear the words almost slowly, give a shake of my head and shift my gaze to the fire, then back up to him.
“What did you say?”
“Bishop’s dead. Had a heart attack while fucking one of the courtesans at the Cat House. Allegedly.”
“I’m sorry. Can you back up a minute?”
“Fuck.” He pushes his hand into his hair, looking away for a long moment before returning his attention to me. “IVI went into lockdown this afternoon. It will remain that way until morning. I assume the Cat House will remain closed for now.”
“The Cat House, that’s the…”
“Whore house.”
“He had a heart attack while he was there?”
“Allegedly.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll be conducting my own investigation.”
I drop into one of the armchairs and try to process. “Carlton’s dead?”
“Hildebrand called us in this afternoon to tell us. You were in your lesson and I didn’t want to interrupt. We were all there, all the Sovereign Sons. As well as Julia Bishop and her son.”
My gaze snaps to his. “Julia? Why?”
“Your resourceful cousin had been meeting with Hildebrand for some time.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She claims Mathew is Carlton Bishop’s son.”
My mouth falls open.
“They’d allegedly been having an affair for years. Being first cousins, a marriage would not be sanctioned, and so they kept it all hush-hush. This is all according to Julia Bishop of course. No one to corroborate her story.”
“Matty is Carlton’s son?”
“Unverified as far as I’m concerned.”
“But there’s some proof? Surely Councilor Hildebrand would want some proof.”
Jericho quiets at this.
“Jericho?”
“DNA tests. I’ll be conducting my own. That bitch is a liar and possibly a murderer.”
“No, Jericho, she’s—”
“Stop being naïve, Isabelle!”
I’m taken aback by his tone, but I see he regrets it too.
“Carlton’s dead,” I say. “He’s dead. And if they were together all these years, she’s probably beside herself with grief. Especially given the circumstances of his death. I mean, he was with another woman?”
“Multiple. And a man. Some sort of orgy, I assume, and these others witnessed him literally drop dead.”
“Oh my God. How’s Matty?”
“She brought him in there like he is a fucking puppet. Kid was scared.”
“She brought him where?”
“Into the meeting where Hildebrand announced Bishop’s death and welcomed the boy into the fold of Sovereign Sons. Fuck. I need another drink.” He pours himself another whiskey.
“Carlton’s dead.” I rub my face. It’s not that I feel sad. Not yet. I’m in shock. I stand up. “Julia needs me, Jericho. I need to go to her. She’s alone apart from Matty.”
His eyebrows rise high on his forehead and he looks at me like I’m insane. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. Go upstairs. I need to think.”
“What?” I walk toward him. “No. I won’t be sent to my room like a child. My half-brother is dead.”
He steps to me, standing up to his full height. I have to crane my neck to look up at him unless I back away which I don’t.
“Your half-brother who is responsible for your brother’s death. For the attack on you. Not to mention others. And that bitch is in it up to her eyeballs. I promise you that.”
“You’re being unreasonable. He’s dead. And if Matty’s his son, it doesn’t matter anymore. The inheritance doesn’t matter.”
“This isn’t just about an inheritance, Isabelle.”
I take that step back. “I know that. It’s about vengeance. He’s dead. Will you let it go?”
“Let it go? He’s the reason Angelique doesn’t have a mother.”
I have nothing to say to that and I hate the little nudge of selfishness at the mention of Kimberly. But I shake my head. We can’t have this discussion. Not tonight. Possibly not ever. “When is the funeral?”
