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My brother gave me a tired smile. “No, we didn’t.”
The last time I’d been in the Toussaints’ home, it was to end things with Violette. More than a year later, I was back, but this time toendher brother.
The Toussaint residence was shrouded with emptiness. The lights were off and there was no staff in sight. The inside harboured a musty smell and the furniture was layered with grey coverings. There was no form of life, as though nobody had set foot in the domain since Violette’s passing.
Ben and I settled into Antoine’s bedroom while he showered in his en suite, completely unaware of the two grim reapers waiting to pounce on him.
The sound of the shower water was a faded pitter-patter in comparison to Ben’s furious keystrokes as he scoured through Antoine’s laptop, secured stupidly by an easy, unoriginal password—Violette. The amount of love he had for his sister was nauseating, especially because it wasn’t of the platonic variety.
“It’s all in here,” Ben hissed. “All the pictures Geoffrey took of Darla, compiled in a folder along with the personalized taunts.”
Ben angled the laptop towards me.
All the evidence was there.
Not to mention the stacks of joker cards I found in his suitcase under the bed.
I ran my tongue over my teeth, clenching my fists.
My brother and I exchanged a look of understanding as the shower turned off.
Antoine Toussaint sauntered out of his en suite with a towel wrapped around his waist. My soon-to-be ex-enforcer had lost a lot of weight and his dark hair was stark against his alabaster skin, giving him the allure of a ghost.
Ben was cloaked from view in the far corner of the room. I sat in a chair next to a nightstand, my ankle crossed over my left knee. A suppressor was already screwed onto my De la Croix gun and my forefinger poised over the trigger.
The bloodthirst simmering in my veins kicked into full force.
Antoine didn’t notice my presence as he walked towards the dresser.
I switched on the nightstand lamp and Antoine cursed, whirling around andfinallyspotting me. The terror on his face morphed to shock, disbelief, then pure fury.
“Bonsoir, Toussaint,” I cajoled darkly. “It’s been a while.”
Antoine drank in my shark grin, my black suit—customary for jobs like these—and loaded gun.
“What are you doing here, De la Croix?” he sneered, snatching a pair of white briefs from his drawer and donning them for an inch of modesty.
“SeigneurDe la Croix to you.”
Despite being in hiding, there was no way he hadn’t heard the news.
When he remained silent and rigid, I patronized, “Can’t a boss come to visit his employees?”
“I worked for your father. Not you,” Antoine spat, gaze darting around the room like he was planning a quick escape. If he tried for the door, I’d shoot on the spot. If he tried for the window, I’d choke him with the checkered print curtains. Something I’d never done before, but there was a first for everything, right?
“And what a shitty enforcer you were.” I dropped my ankle from my knee and leaned forward, rolling my shoulders. “I doubt your work ethic has improved in all the time you’ve been away. At least, not to match my standards.”
“You’re here to fire me then?”
The only way to ‘fire’ someone in our world was to kill them.
So technically yes.
I was here to fire the motherfucker.
“I’m here to discuss the elephant in the room.” I picked up a photo frame from the nightstand. It housed a picture of Antoine and Violette from three years ago. “Why didn’t you come to my wedding, Toussaint?”
“I was busy, but my belated congratulations to the happy couple.”
