AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hedge fund wunderkind Patrick Wolfe was killed on Wednesday night when his car lost control and swerved into an oncoming vehicle…”
And that’s pretty much it. I frown. Patrick Wolfe was a rich and influential man. His death alone should have made this accident a bigger deal. So, why was it so underreported?
I think about the kind of power and connections that Sebastian has. Connections that could put the lid on a reporter’s questions, for sure. But he was a kid back then, just a teenager. He told me himself how he couldn’t even get Scarlett out of Larkspur for years.
So maybe it was someone else who kept the press at bay?
Or maybe there’s no story here at all, just a tragic accident, like the reports say.
I spendthe next hour scanning anything I can find for additional details, but I don’t have any luck. No suspicions of foul play, no signs Patrick was drinking… I can’t even find any names for the people in the other vehicle, and there’s not even a mention of them in half the articles, so I have to guess that they were all OK.
So much for a fresh new lead. This seems like a dead-end.
I figure I should hit the boutiques before heading back to the house, especially if I have a fancy event to attend with Sebastian tonight, so I pack up and call it a day. I’m just walking out, when I see a familiar face: James. He’s pacing in the doorway, talking on his cellphone, but he waves when he sees me, and gestures for me to wait.
I pause, uncertain. The last time I talked to James, someone took incriminating photos of us together and sent them to me at the house as a threat.
But I dealt with Becca. She’s probably too busy defending herself against the embezzlement charges I engineered to care about putting a wedge between me and Sebastian now. Besides, James reminds me of Miles in a way, there’s a sweet sincerity about him that’s a welcome break from all the cutthroat egos I’ve met in London.
“Hi,” I smile, as he ends his call and strolls over.
“Hey, stranger.” He greets me with an easy smile. “I was wondering if I’d see you again. Some of us aren’t lucky enough to ever be free of this place,” he quips, and I laugh.
“Have you been spending a lot of time at the library, then?”
“Only every day,” he gives a dramatic sigh. “Makes me wonder why I didn’t pick an easier career. Something fun and simple, like firefighting, or Grizzly bear wrangling.”
I laugh again. “But think of all the good you’re doing with your…?”
“Post-Doc in Industrial English Labor Practices of the late twentieth century?” James replies.
“Right. Exactly. Just what the world needs, whatever that is,” I say, smiling.
He laughs. “Want to tell my mum that? She swears I’m wasting my life with academic research.”
“So, another vote for Grizzly-wrangling then?”
“Or the Civil Service.” I raise my eyebrows, confused. “Don’t ask,” he says with another friendly smile. “Hey, I don’t suppose you have plans tonight? A group of us are meeting for Trivia Night at the pub, if you want to come join. It should be fun. Dorky, but fun.”
I feel an odd pang. It all sounds so… Normal. The kind of thing an ordinary girl my age would be doing on a Friday night: beers, and friends, and trivia.
But my life has never been ordinary.
Even before Sebastian, my Friday nights were liable to take a turn into mafia business, and the only drinks I enjoyed were the ones I served behind the bar of Nero’s club, with one hand on the gun I kept under the counter. And now…?
Now, I have an empire to destroy.
“Sounds like fun,” I tell him, sincere. “But I have a thing, with my boyfriend.”
“Ah yes, the mysterious other half.” James doesn’t seem phased by my response. “Well, have fun, and if you ever feel like joining, the offer stands. We meet every month, make a night of it. Let me give you my number, in case your schedule frees up.” He scribbles it on the bag of a flyer, and hands it to me. “I better get back to work,” he says. “See you soon!”
“See you,” I agree.
I fold the number, and slip it in my bag, already knowing I won’t be calling him. The girl who would hang out at Trivia Night never existed, and James may be a sweet guy, but he could never understand the dark rage that fills my heart or drives my vendetta.
I’m still playing an act with Sebastian, but there’s more truth to it every day than the girl James thinks I am.
I’ve just stepped out of the building when my phone goes off with a text. It’s Sebastian. I freeze in panic, wondering for a moment if he’s watching me, but then I check the message.
