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“I’m sorry, we must have a shitty connection,” he said, “I thought that you just said that my father is dead.”
“I did say that,” she breathed, “Deacon is gone.”
“How?” Bowie asked, sinking into the closest kitchen chair. “I just spoke to him yesterday.” He had a full conversation with his father about when he was finally coming home. He told his dad that he needed a few more days, but then promised to be home to assume his position as head of household.
“I’m so sorry, Bowie,” Helen repeated over and over. He knew that he wasn’t going to get any answers from his father’s assistant, but he was sure that someone in one of the other families might have some clue as to what happened to his dad.
“I’m going to let you go, Helen,” he said. “Get some rest and I’ll call you later.” He ended the call, turning to find Eden standing in the kitchen doorway. “How much did you hear?” he asked.
“All of it,” she whispered, “I’m so sorry, Bowie,” she said. Eden walked across the kitchen and slipped onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You must be in shock.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked.
“Well, if it was my father, I’d be a sobbing mess right now. You’re so calm, I’m guessing you’re in shock,” she said.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m in shock,” he said. “I guess I’ve always expected something like this to happen. My father had many enemies. Hell, I guess most of his former enemies will be coming for me now that I’m technically the head of the Wrath family.” He wasn’t sure how he was going to keep himself safe, and now, he put a target on Eden’s back just by having her with him. “You should leave,” he whispered.
“Leave?” she asked. “Why do you want me to leave?”
“Because you’re not safe here, with me,” he said. He hated that he wouldn’t be able to keep her safe if his father’s enemies came after him to finish the job they started. “You need to leave me because I can’t keep you safe.”
“Safe from what?” she asked.
“It’s more like safe from who?” he corrected. He pulled his phone from his pocket and showed her the pictures that an anonymous number had texted to him. “I got these last night, just before we went to bed. I wasn’t sure if I should show them to you or not. Hell, I don’t even know what they mean or if they are meant as a threat.”
“You think that someone killed your father, don’t you?” she asked. “And now, they are targeting you.”
“I do, and you since you’re in the photos with me. I’m not sure that they won’t come after me to finish the job. With both my father and me out of the picture, the Wrath family will be up for grabs and won’t be able to join forces with the rest of the syndicate families. I’ve put you in danger and for that, I’m sorry.”
“I chose to be here with you, Bowie. You didn’t put me in danger, I agreed to come along,” she insisted. “Do you think that he was murdered by the Gluttony or Sloth families?” she asked.
“You know, for someone not in the Syndicate, you sure do know your stuff,” he teased.
“I guess that working for all of the families on the yacht, I’ve picked up a few things,” she said. “You’d be surprised what the other families talk about when they think that the staff isn’t paying attention. Heck, even if we were paying attention, I don’t think that they’d care. It’s almost like we’re invisible.”
“Or they think that you’re not a threat to whatever plans they’re hatching. The families don’t think that anyone else can touch them—it’s one of their deadly flaws, especially the Gluttony and Sloth families. It will eventually be their downfall. I’m betting it’s what led to my father’s death. He never believed that any of the other families would ever be able to touch him, but he was wrong.”
“You see, that’s the difference between you and your father. You know how dangerous the other families are, and you won’t make the same fatal mistake,” Eden said.
“Thank you for saying that, honey, but I still think that it would be safer for you to leave me. Go back to the yacht and tell your father that we need to set out for home in the morning. I need to go talk to Carter. I’m hoping that he’ll know who is responsible for my father’s death. If he doesn’t, he has the connections to reach out to the other families to find out who killed my dad.”
“I won’t leave you, Bowie. I can call my father and fill him in on what’s going on. He’ll need to put the yacht on lock down, in case the other families try to get to you and think that you’re on board. I want to go with you to talk to Carter,” she said. “Let me be there for you, Bowie.” It meant a lot that she wanted to be by his side, but he hated that she’d be in danger with him. “I can take care of myself,” Eden assured.
“It’s not a good idea,” he warned.
“You know that I’ll just do what I want anyway, so just take me with you, Bowie.” He did know that was true. Eden seemed to be very capable and had a mind of her own—something that he liked very much about her.
“You really leave no room for negotiation, do you?” he asked.
“No, I don’t,” she said. “So, what time do we leave to go to Carters?” she asked.
“I need to try to reach my sister, to let her know about our father. They haven’t spoken for some time. When she gave up the head of household position, and I stepped in, one of the stipulations was that we couldn’t have any contact with each other. In fact, she, and her husband kind of became the enemy, not that I ever bought into that. I still keep tabs on her and her family—especially my niece.”
“That must be tough,” Eden said.
“It is, but she and my niece are safe, and that’s all that matters to me. I think I’ll hold off on reaching out to her until I have more information,” he said. “Darcy’s husband is Rock Greed and I know that he’s got her and their daughter under heavy guard already.”
“You don’t think that whoever killed your father will go after Darcy and her family?” Eden asked.
