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The moment we land in Miami, Samson is there waiting like Luka said. Chanel and I climb into the waiting car while the twins go their own way, we have a plan in place and in order for everything to work out the way we need it to, this is how it has to go. The three of us remain silent on the long drive to our new house, no one knows about this place except for the four of us. My grandfather left it to me without my parents knowledge, he said it was a place for me to escape and breathe without the pressure of the name I carry. I’ve never been there before or ever had the need until this moment.
I chose to fly into Miami tonight under the radar because I know Chance will have every airport marked tomorrow waiting for our entry. At least this way we have the element of surprise and that small advantage is a huge win in a situation like this. Samson comes to a stop out the front of a large wrought iron gate that has a large gold M sitting in the middle of the black gate. He peers over his chair to look back at me, I quirk an impatient brow at him.
“There’s a handprint scanner over here and something tells me it won’t open with mine.” I shoot him a warning glare before getting out of the car and moving briskly to where the scanner stands next to his door, I truthfully don’t know if it will open with mine and if it does, how the fuck did grandpa manage to get my hand print?
I lay my hand flat against the scanner and silently hope that this works or we are back to square one, the moment it pings I lift my hand and watch as the gate creaks open. I climb back in the car, Samson drives slowly down the long driveway that is lit up on either side by small motion sensor lights. Sin and I exchange a look, clearly grandpa wasn’t as lax in his ways as I thought. Motion sensor lights means no fucker can break in and try to take us out.
There’s a long oval fountain with a couple statues on either end that spray water, pot plants circle the fucking thing and judging from how well maintained it is there must be groundskeepers still employed here. More lights shine as we come to a stop in front of the old mediterranean looking home, it reminds me of a Walter DeGarmo house, vines cover the front of the mansion but not in a tacky way, you can see they are maintained to look a certain way and it adds character to the home. The hedges that line the front are all well maintained and evenly shaped.
“I’ll get the bags.” Samson says as we exit the car, Sin comes to stand beside me as I stare up at the home my grandfather left me. The moment lights turn on inside the house Sin and I both have our guns drawn, I hear the bags drop behind the car and Samson is next to me with his gun drawn in the next second. We see a shadow through the glass door that is covered by some intricate iron design on the outside, as the door opens slowly I brace, ready to take out whoever the fuck it is.
“Don’t shoot, Mr Murdoch.” The stranger calls out as he slowly steps outside and the front lights turn on to show an elderly man in khaki pants and a white shirt, his hair is short and gray, his eyes are wide at the sight of three guns trained on him.
“Who the hell are you and how do you know my name?” I growl. The man stops keeping at least ten feet between us, he’s smart enough to keep his gaze trained on me and not look to the others.
“My name is Cable Barnes and I am the caretaker of this home.” I remain silent waiting for him to elaborate and refusing to give him anything until I deem him trustworthy enough not to kill. “Your Grandfather was one of my dearest friends and entrusted me with the job of maintaining this home and its security for you.” My gun slowly lowers to my side at his admission.
“How did you know who I was?” He smiles welcomingly at me.
“That gate is programmed to only allow Royal Murdoch to enter and no one else, I took a gamble and it looks like it paid off since I’m still breathing. If you like, I can show you to your rooms and help you get acquainted with the home?” I look at Sin who still has her gun trained on Cable, she flicks her eyes at me and I can see it, she doesn’t trust him and wants to put a bullet in his head.
“Put the gun down.”
“Royal–,”
I cut her off before she can argue. “If Grandpa trusted him, then that has to mean something.”
“He could be lying.” She counters.
Shrugging my shoulders I say. “If he is, you can kill him but not until I know for sure.” Cable says nothing as he turns and leads the way inside. I thought my parent's house was luxurious but this… this is something else. The sheer size and opulence is almost overwhelming. There is marble flooring throughout the entryway, and there is a grand staircase on either side that leads to an overlook in the middle. The further in we follow Cable, I notice all the personal touches, like the paintings on the walls. I've seen some of them at my Grandpa’s house. All throughout there are wood-beamed ceilings and arched windows and doors as well as framed vistas which was a typical DeGarmo trait. I was right, this house is one of the three he designed and built in Miami, these houses are historical here.
Cable takes us on a tour and tells us there is a cabin or guest house if you will out back, the house has a clear view of the Biltmore Hotel and sits on over eight acres of land. The house itself has eight bedrooms, six and a half baths, and over ten thousand feet of living space. Cable tells me there is a basement that my Grandpa had converted but he has never been inside of it as the only person to have access to it is me.
I decided to investigate that shit tomorrow, tonight I need to get shit sorted and ready for the meeting with Chance first up in the morning, that is the most important thing. We need to set up a base of operations here and make sure that we have him under surveillance at all times. I want his every move documented and to be able to do that, I need to make sure that everything is in place and I can move freely around the city.
Cable shows us to our rooms, I leave Sin to get settled while I begin preparations for tomorrow, thanks to the amazing view this place provides, I now know exactly where the meet will be set for tomorrow. It’s now time to set the plan into motion and get Chance ready for what’s about to come.
ERIKA
The sound of shouting wakes me from my dreamless sleep, I sit up in bed and listen intently. There are a lot of voices but the one I zone in on is Chance’s, he sounds worried and slightly unhinged which piques my interest. Slipping out of bed, I grab my silk robe and quickly pull it on as I quietly exit my room and tiptoe down the hall. I come to a stop near the Library nook as he called it, he stands there with five other men and the maid from last night. I find it peculiar that a maid would be privy to such a conversation like this, I run my gaze over her and find nothing extraordinary about the woman until Chance looks to her for… approval.
Got you!
Now, I know why the woman is here and who she really is. That information is going to come in handy considering he has gone through great lengths to conceal her and have her acting as someone of unimportance.
“I want security doubled. His plane lands today, someone is here sending a message already and I won’t have some low life piece of shit try to scare me!” I fight the snort from breaking free, Chance is no man, he’s a meek mouse. He already has a security detail that follows him everywhere he goes but yet, he still feels unsafe because deep down inside, even he knows he’s a pussy.
“Sir, it was just a card–.” One of the men says but Chance cuts him off before he can continue.
“This isn’t just a fucking card!” He shouts. “This is the same card that was left behind when the Vargas heir was taken and never to be seen again. I want whoever the fuck left this at my gate found and brought to me!” Chance dismisses the men and I wait around the corner a minute longer before I play the part of just waking and stumbling in to find him here. The worried look disappears from his face the moment he spots me rounding the corner, he plasters a fake smile on his face and waves me closer. The moment I’m within reach he grabs my waist and pulls me in closer so he can nuzzle the side of my neck, I force a shy smile and play coy knowing that Margaret is still standing beside him watching.
“Will that be all, sir?” She asks. Chance pulls back and shoots me what I’m sure he thinks is a sexy wink before turning to the maid.
“Yes, carry on with your tasks, Margaret.” She nods and excuses herself leaving me and the governor of Miami alone. “Now, I have an important meeting today with Royal Murdoch.” Nodding, I wait for him to continue. “He is landing sometime today and I plan to make sure he knows who the boss of this fine state is.” I give him my best smile and bat my lashes like he is flexing the best pick up lines I have ever heard before. “I want to show you something, I need to know if this looks familiar to you.”
He pulls the card out of his pocket and hands it to me, it's the King of Clubs not a Jack of Spades like the last one I saw. I flip it over and sure enough the same words are inscribed on the back,Memento Mori. These cards are like none I have ever seen before, the King has a skull face and instead of it being the normal color and instead of the image being mirrored it is just one solid picture of a skull wrapped in red robes, he doesn’t hold the King’s scepter like normal cards, he holds a dagger. Smoke rises up from the back of the King and the card looks like it’s almost charred but it’s just the way it is made to look. The back of the card has the words but it also has smoke in the background but you can clearly see a pair of eyes and a mouth, it’s a skull face made out of smoke.
I flick my gaze to Chance and nibble on my bottom lip as I shake my head, his eyes narrow but he doesn’t say anything as he snatches the card from my hold and shoves it back into his breast pocket. I can tell he is displeased from the tight set of his jaw and the way he is eyeing me shows that he knows I am full of shit but I’m a master at shielding my thoughts and emotions, it’s a skill that I have honed and there is no one better at it than me.
