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That money was enough to secure a buy-in so I could keep an eye on Vanessa, but that was only if I could get Jasper to approve, which he wouldn’t. Besides all that, the banks were closed, which left me firmly out of fucking options.
Still, I couldn’t help but think about poor Fiona, who was just a bubbly girl with a toothy grin and a wicked sense of humor. And now she was dead. It made me feel bad for not telling Vanessa the truth when she rang me up to tell me all about her new job.
She needed to know the truth. I knew the one person who could help, but whether he would or not was another story. Still, I had to try, so I picked up the phone and dialed.
“What’s up, bro?” From the lack of background noise, I knew I’d caught Terry at home. He sounded happy and relaxed, something that had everything to do with his newfound love with Kat, I was sure.
“Hey man, I need to ask a favor.” I hated asking anyone for favors, especially Terry since he’d done so much by bringing me along with him to Ashby Manor that first time, but this wasn’t for me.
Not really.
“Must be serious if you’re asking for help.”
“It is. Can you spot me the buy-in for the game tonight or tomorrow night?”
The line went silent for a long time, nearly a full minute, and I thought maybe he’d just ended he call. But that wasn’t Terry’s style. He came across as joking and carefree, but it just helped conceal his thoughtful, ruthless nature.
“Spot you? Does that mean you can actually pay me back?”
“I can,” I answered vaguely. He didn’t need to know about the Ravager bet if Jasper or Sadie hadn’t told him, since it was impossible they didn’t know.
“So, can you?”
“That depends on why you’re suddenly so eager to play again. Wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain card girl, would it?”
His laughter sounded down the line and I rolled my eyes but kept my frustration to myself.
“Maybe. Does it matter?”
“Sure it does. You two have been spending a lot of time together. Call it fraternal curiosity.”
“Bullshit,” I spat at his teasing. “Will you help me, or won’t you?”
I knew, as soon as the words were out, my tone had been a mistake. Terry was no fool. He’d sniff my motives out in no time.
The background went silent, and I knew he’d been sitting with Kat and had moved to another room for privacy.
“What’s going on Emmett? And don’t lie to me.”
I thought about lying or giving him a vague version of the truth, but in the end, I went with the truth. “I need to talk to Vanessa. Let her know.”
“Know what, exactly?” The steel in Terry’s tone told me we were headed for an argument, which I didn’t want.
“Don’t act stupid, Terry. You know exactly what. Fiona! She needs to know.”
The urgency in my voice wouldn’t do me any favors, but the more I thought about it, the more worried I became for Vanessa.
“No, Emmett, don’t be stupid. What good will it do Vanessa to know the girl who had her job before her was killed? We don’t know who killed her yet, or why.”
I scoffed and shook my head, scraping a hand down my scruff in annoyance. By now I’d paced a hole in the floor of my living room.
“We know it wasn’t a random crime or a robbery gone wrong.”
If the act of cutting out her tongue wasn’t a dead giveaway that her death was Ashby-related, sending the video of the murder to the head of the family certainly was. Until Terry and the others had more information, I knew in my heart that Vanessa wasn’t safe.
“Really, Em? Are you moonlighting as a fucking detective now?”
“No,” I snorted, “I’m just saying that she has a right to know.”
“Then you should have told her the night we found out. Now it’s too late. You hear me, Emmett? It’s too goddamn late.”
I knew that tone well, but for the first time in my life, I didn’t heed the warning, didn’t back down.
“What do you mean it’s too late? It’s not. She’s still alive, and she should at least be aware that she could be in danger. So she can take precautions.”
“We have precautions in place, Emmett. Don’t worry about it.”
I opened my mouth to say more, to argue my point, but his next words stopped me short.
“You’ve never been interested in any of the Ashbys businesses, brother, so don’t start now.”
He had me there, but it didn’t matter. Vanessa wasn’t one of them; she wasn’t like that. She was a nice girl, a sweet girl. Didn’t deserve her husband’s fate. Or Fiona’s.
“Fuck you, Terry.”
“Yeah, yeah, fuck me. I’m the asshole here. Fine, but keep your fucking mouth shut. That’s an order.”
