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I think back to all his business trips—how he’s always gone and has so many people keeping tabs on me the best he can. William, the staff at his hotels. I think about his weird obsession with home security—how there are cameras in every room with not only video but sound too. And then there is the money… Sure, running hotels is profitable, but wouldn’t a lot of the money be put back into them? Maintenance, upgrades, employee paychecks. How is it even after all of that, he’s able to afford all the things he has?
Then it clicks. “You’re Ghost.”
Now him letting me go so easily makes sense. He wanted to see if I would follow through with my end of the deal, only he didn’t need me to report back because he would see it firsthand.
“I always knew you were smart.” He starts moving again, and I do the same.
As I pass by one of the tables, I pick up the pruning shears and tuck them behind my back. “Why are you telling me this?”
“You wanted answers, didn’t you? It’s unfortunate you won’t be here much longer to do anything with them, but at least you’ll know.”
“So you’re going to kill me. Is that it?”
He nods, still slithering toward me. “Yes, then I’ll find Cyrus. Michael is already handling Hatcher, so he won’t be an issue. Then, my business can go back to normal.”
“Why keep me around for eighteen years just to kill me now?” I don’t really want to know, but I figure the more I can keep him talking, the longer I’ll live. And once he’s next to the door, it’s game over.
“I didn’t keep you alive for me. I did it for William. What you may not know is he wasn’t always a butler. He used to work at the Annalee—you can assume that’s how he and your mother met. I delegated him to run things in my absence, seeing as he had a strong work ethic. Your mother, being the fox she was, caught his eye. She thought she could hide what they were doing, but you can see that didn’t happen.
“Once she was gone and I had you, William went off the deep end, binging with booze and drugs, so I made him a proposition. I told him what I did and showed him what I was capable of to keep him in line, then told him he could come live in my home and care for you, but he wasn’t allowed to mention our little secret. He hurt me by stealing my woman, so I was going to hurt him by raising the last piece of her there was as my own.
“You were never supposed to find out, but I knew it would happen. William came to me a couple weeks ago saying he couldn’t do it anymore, that you deserved to know, and he was going to tell you.”
“If he knew, why not just end him? Seems like it would have been the easiest thing to do.”
He shakes his head. “Because the pain from death is minuscule compared to having to live with a secret you can’t tell. I didn’t want his life. I wanted his agony.”
My face morphs to terror. All my life, I thought I somehow had Alexander figured out. He cared about cars, money, and women, but turns out I don’t know him at all.
“Where does Cyrus fall into all this?” I ask because that’s the only thing I can’t figure out.
“He doesn’t. I’ve known who he was all along, but I wanted to see if he had what it took to do what I do. He thrived for years, and I thought about promoting him, but he had to pass one last test. If he could take the hit on his brother, I knew he would be the perfect man to replace Michael. Only, he wouldn’t, and then you got involved, and it made everything messy. You were always good at creating a mess, weren’t you? I mean, just look at what you did with that teacher you had. Asquerosa.”
Disgusting.
“Someone from my blood would never do something so foul,” he spits.
I lower my eyes and sneer. “I may be disgusting, but at least I don’t have the blood of thousands on my hands. Was it worth it, Alexander?” I ask when I see the door behind him start to creep open. He doesn’t even know it, but he’s exactly where I want him. He can say all he wants, but it won’t change what’s about to happen. “All the blood money you’ve accepted, for what? A wife that never loved you, a kid that wasn’t yours, and all of these things you can share with no one.”
His smile falls as he starts to move faster. “Watch your step, Carmen,” he bites back.
I try to turn around to see what he means, but it’s too late. There’s a bang as I fall, tripping over something on the ground. I see Alexander fall and Cyrus standing behind him. His face morphs from anger to shock, and I can see his mouth moving, but the only thing I hear is ringing. I try to stand up so I can run to him, but my hands slip and send me back on my ass. Bringing them in front of me, I try to see what it is in the dim moonlight. I look at my palms, then to Cyrus, then back to my hands, trying to figure out if this is real.
Blood coats every finger and runs down to my wrist. I try to wipe them on my tank top, but there is too much. I can feel it seeping through my shorts, hitting the back of my thighs. And it makes my stomach turn.
Am I hurt? Did the shears cut me?
Cyrus moves closer, reaching out for me. As he hauls me up, he grabs my head and pushes it into his chest. “Don’t look, Spitfire.” His words seem far away and muffled from the ringing that’s blaring inside my eardrums.
If curiosity killed the cat, I’d be one dead pussy, because despite his words, I pull away and glance over my shoulder. William’s soft eyes are on me, void of all emotion and unmoving. A pair of loppers protrude from his chest, telling me exactly what I hoped couldn’t be real.
My stomach turns at the realization that I’m covered in his blood, and a scream bubbles in my throat, but this time I don’t try to push it down. I scream.
