AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No.” Dad picks up his drink and takes a sip, then another before putting it down again. He’s not looking at me; his stare is on the round ice cube inside the glass. “I don’t know London, son, but your mother knew Amelia.”
“Through Earl?” Because that’s the first thing that comes to mind. A few muffled curses come from a few of my men. They’re yelling at the TV, and when I hold a hand up, they quiet down at once. “Is that how you knew London’s mom?”
“That, and Julian Conte, her spouse, did business with us.” Dad reaches into the messenger bag he brought onboard and pulls out a picture. He places it face down and pushes it toward me. “We ran in the same circles and did a few social functions together. They were a very nice couple who had shit luck with the company they kept.”
I don’t miss his emphasis on the word “company.” Picking up the photo, I bring it up to my face and study the people in it. Mom and Dad are to the left, with Amelia, and the man I know to be Julian, in the middle. They’re laughing at something, having a wonderful time at what looks to be a Christmas function of some sort.
However, my eyes focus on the last person in the group. His face is familiar, just younger in appearance. An angry asshole putting up the front of a good friend and enjoying himself while his date looks to be bored.
Marcus Foster looks the same.
Same miserable expression.
The devil in me recognizes the malice in him. His thirst for money and power. His willingness to kill everyone in his way to obtain it.
He’s pulled the tail of the wrong demon this time.
“He knew her father.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“Yes.”
“There’s more to this story, isn’t there?”
“That’s what Earl believes, and so do I.”
Placing the photo down, I look at my old man. “He came to you for help?”
“About seven months ago. He’s worried about London’s safety.”
“Is that why...?”
“I reacted?” Dad nods. “In part, yes.”
“You knew who she was?”
“Your mother wasn’t sure—a lot of time has passed since we saw Amelia—but I knew immediately. Aside from the pictures Earl has shown me, she’s her mother’s spitting image.” Leaning forward in his seat, he lowers his voice. “Malcolm, you have to know that my surprise wasn’t at her being there, or not approving, but the shape she was in. Those women have been through enough, and I wasn’t about to stand back and let her pay for a crime that isn’t hers.”
“Why didn’t you come to me the moment Earl spoke to you?” I can’t disguise the bite in my tone. The anger at knowing I could’ve saved her sooner.
“Because you made a deal with the Riveras.”
Understanding dawns on me. “And they should’ve been dead by now.”
“Exactly,” he says with a heavy sigh, shoulders drooping a bit. “The last thing we wanted was for them to run, or worse. They’ll kill her out of desperation, and then Marcus will gain total access to her inheritance. We couldn’t run the risk of word getting back—”
“There’s a rat,” I deadpan low enough so only he can hear.
“You know?”
“I have my suspicions, and I’m letting the scum trap himself.”
He rubs his jaw, eyes shifting to my men behind us. “You’ve always been ten steps ahead of everyone.”
“Paying attention to details is my job.”
“And yet something is bothering you.”
“I failed her.”
