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ONE
“Thank you for meeting with me.”
Zara lowered into the seat that Julian Scanlon held out for her. His invitation to join him for a drink in Purdy’s had been unexpected. But once he made it clear the offer wasn’t social, she couldn’t refuse. Raising her eyes, she scanned the space that had once been so familiar to her. She hadn’t been here since the raid where she’d killed a man.
Purdy’s was bustling again, alive with the upper tiers of management from the surrounding business district as if the night they’d all been attacked here didn’t happen. The robbery hadn’t deterred patrons. Its location had always been convenient for the major businesses that occupied the blocks around it. The fact that there was some danger attached to the establishment probably helped reinvigorate trade. The rich and gorgeous could walk on the wild side without venturing out of their preferred zip code.
Elvis had blasted holes in the ceiling with his automatic weapon. But the scars of the night that changed her had been patched. All new furniture had been brought in since that fateful night. The owners obviously took the trauma and used it as an excuse to remodel.
Despite all of the changes, the room still felt familiar. In the countless times she’d sat here, reminding herself of how far she’d come since walking out of her father’s house against his wishes, she would never have been able to project who she’d become.
Taking in a breath while Julian seated himself opposite her, Zara adjusted her focus to look past the CI lawyer to the bar. A major reason for her comfort and familiarity was there on a stool, hunched over a beer. As soon as she told Brodie that she was meeting Julian here, he began to make plans as though this was a full-on Kindred op. She had to remind her love that she’d only been on one date with Julian in the past and it had been a bust, so he didn’t need to wage war.
He’d still grumbled his displeasure and refused to let her come alone. So he was observing from not too far away. Given what had happened the last time she was here, Zara wasn’t averse to having backup on hand. She wouldn’t want to take action without her chief’s direction like she had to the last time.
Brodie had been in a bleak place when she’d pulled the trigger and taken her first life. By choosing to be with her tonight, she guessed he was trying to make up for not being around to execute Elvis for her.
Julian cleared his throat and the tension in his body intrigued her, though not enough to ask what was bugging him. That much became apparent when he spoke in a slow, deep tone. “First of all, I’d like to extend my condolences. Losing Mr. McCormack, it was a… a shock to us all.”
He didn’t have the slightest idea how they’d lost Grant. Only those present in Sutcliffe’s kitchen when the lethal shot was delivered knew the truth. “Yes,” she said, examining the grain of the wood beneath her glass.
It had shocked her to find out just how easy it was to obtain a death certificate, even without a genuine body. But when your boyfriend was an assassin, he knew how to handle these things. Brodie’s initial concern hadn’t been explaining where his older brother was. The Kindred were deep in their own project of trying to decipher who Benedict Leatt was connected to. But questions were being asked, mostly of her, so she had to become vocal to the point of nagging when highlighting to her colleagues that when rich CEOs went missing, people noticed.
So, when one of Grant McCormack’s cars was found burned out after a tragic road accident and the dental records of the single corpse in the car were found to match the CEO, a death certificate was issued.
Brodie had covered their bases, the Kindred knew how to conceal death and misdirect, even if they didn’t usually work on the scale of someone as well-known as Grant McCormack. Zara had never questioned Brodie about the people he’d assassinated, meaning she couldn’t be sure about how far the Kindred had gone to protect themselves or cover their tracks.
The pity in Julian’s countenance was disconcerting. She wasn’t Grant’s widow, but as far as anyone in CI knew, she was closer to Grant than anyone else. “His lawyers are tracing his relatives,” he said. “Cormack Industries is at an impasse. Grant held the controlling stock of the company and that will be passed to his next of kin. Until we know who that is and what they plan to do with the firm, decision making is difficult.”
Grant’s death had just been announced at the start of the week, though it had been three weeks since he took the bullet that killed him. She hadn’t been back to CI because she and the Kindred were still basing themselves in New York. Zara knew enough of the process and the people to understand that CI would be in disarray while the lawyers tried to fish their heads from their asses.
Brodie shunned every mention of CI, but he wouldn’t be able to avoid it forever. He was the last of the McCormack line. Grant had no wife and no kids, their parents were long gone. Brodie was going to inherit his father’s company, whether he wanted to or not. That would mean talking to lawyers and learning how to handle business—fast.
“Yes,” she said, peering at him. While everything he was saying was true, she wasn’t sure what she was expected to do about it. No one knew about her personal relationship with the younger McCormack brother, who no one in the business or the media had seen or heard from in decades. “But I don’t understand what that has to do with—”
“The board asked me to approach you because we had a personal relationship,” he said with a furrowed brow.
A personal relationship that lasted as long as it took her to make her excuses and leave him on a street corner not too far from here. “Approach me about what?”
“You know Grant’s office better than anyone. No one can even get into the room.”
Her and Grant’s fingerprints were the only two that were authorized to open his office door, though IT could probably find a way to override that. Tuck, Kindred’s hacker, would be able to do it. It had to be a show of respect that they hadn’t gone snooping yet.
But his statement brought this meeting into focus. CI wasn’t expecting her to trace Brodie, they were expecting her to hold down the fort, which given its current state of uncertainty would be a hefty task for anyone to achieve alone. She was experienced in running Grant’s office, but she wasn’t superhuman.
“Are you asking me to come back?”
As far as Julian and the others there were concerned, she had never left her job at CI. Except without Grant, she had no role there, no reason to return. After Art’s death, she had resumed her duties as Premium Personnel Coordinator as a way to monitor Grant. Now that he’d been eliminated as a threat, she had no further mission at CI.
Although, if Brodie ended up in Grant’s position, she would have to guide him through dealing with day-to-day life as a CEO. Somehow, she couldn’t picture her love in the grand executive chair in Grant’s immaculate office that had once been his father’s.
Brodie wouldn’t like not being able to take Maverick into meetings, and he had zero interest in platitudes. His talent for small talk and polite civilities was nil. Being that he didn’t like people, he would struggle to deal with them every day without the constant risk of a potential body count hovering over them.
It was obvious that Julian was uncomfortable tonight. His expression shifted from a frown to something more solemn and then it became sterner. Any speculation there had been about her relationship with Grant must have intensified in recent days. She and he were both away from CI at the same time, and the nature of their relationship had slid into a grey area since Brodie had come into her life.
The introduction of Brodie led to her and Grant broaching more sensitive personal topics and their conversations were often fraught and emotional. It wouldn’t surprise Zara if the volatile nature of their encounters hadn’t been noticed by staff.
“Yes,” Julian said. “Once the lawyers locate the beneficiaries of Grant’s will, there could be a shakeup. I don’t know what will happen. But we will need a strong hand to steer the ship. All of Grant’s staff are used to reporting to you. I know they would appreciate it if you were around to lead them again.”
