“I don’t know. Roderick didn’t say, and he’s the one who called. I guess we all get to find out when we get there.” I shrugged before looking at the younger guy beside me. “Just fair warning, Maeve is… intense.”
Conrad slowly looked beside me to Robin, then Blake, before meeting my stare again. His light blue eyes were weary when he asked, “Why specifically givemethat information?”
“Besides Blake’s warning to make sure I maintain boundaries with you?” I tilted my head slightly, studying the man beside me. “You jerked when I mentioned my rapist and the detective questioning me about it, so it seemed prudent to mention it.”
“Most people assume a man—”
“I was a prostitute,” I interrupted him gently, “starting when I was seventeen, and I didn’t become a call girl until I was twenty-one. Rape is something I have become intimately acquainted with given my life circumstances, so boundaries are something I respect, no details necessary.”
“Maeve won’t,” Blake muttered, and I shook my head.
“Maeve won’t do anything to you guys. This is about me and, if I had to guess, whatever she found when I asked her to look into my parents. I gave her twenty-four hours before I headed to Millfield. Guess she found something I can use.”
“And Roderick will be there because…?”
“I have no idea,” I responded, my stomach turning with nerves. “But it can’t be anything good.”
We remained silent the rest of the way to her place. Ansel parked the SUV and twisted in his seat to face me. “You’re supposed to go in alone, yes?”
I nodded once.
“The Russians won’t like that,” Blake commented, but they didn’t seem surprised by where their father was going with the conversation. I raised my brows, curious to see how this was going to play out.
“You go in, you come out, and get right in this car. If you go anywhere besides that, you won’t have to worry about the Russians,” Ansel warned, the chill in his voice lowering the temperature of the vehicle. Blake licked their lips, a sure sign of nerves, while the men on either side of me became so still I wasn’t sure they were breathing.
I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned forward until I could brush my lips against his in a barely there kiss, undeterred by his threat. “You still owe me.”
“You follow directions, and I can arrange what I promised you before.”
“Please don’t speak sex code in front of me.” Blake exaggerated a shudder, their teasing tone breaking the tension in the car. “It’s creepy.”
“Who said anything about sex?” Ansel asked, breaking our eye contact to look at his child with amusement. Everyone claimed they saw something more between us, but this was how we normally acted with each other. Actually, it was a little more tame than usual. He hadn’t mentioned my revelation about calling me for his wife’s passing, though I had only pointed it out yesterday, but there was now a slight distance in his gaze that wasn’t there before. Soon, we’d be addressing whatever this was, our denials aside, but not right now.
“He promised me someone to kill to help with stress relief and exercise.” I chuckled darkly, forcing myself to focus on the present. “Nothing like a good chase through the woods to get your blood pumping.”
“Oh my god.” Blake rubbed their face.
“I had a few ideas—” I started, but Ansel hit the unlock button.
“Go. Now. You need to earn the reward before you start trying to make demands for it,” Ansel ordered. Conrad got out of the car, stepping aside so I could get out. He didn’t move far from me when I just stood there, staring up at the house I had been to so many times before. This felt different, though. It felt… final. Something in my gut was telling me that once I walked in there, I would be changed. The same woman wouldn’t leave this place, and I had to wonder what pieces of me would be left behind.
“Do you need someone to come with you?” Conrad asked softly.
“I can’t ask that of you,” I told him, forcing myself to shake my head. “I’ll be fine.”
“I offered.” Conrad looked at me, and something in his light blue eyes seemed cautious but deadly.
“Anything that happens in there isn’t leaving that house,” I told him, not wanting to be overheard with the door still open. “And that means to everyone.”
Conrad gave me a ghost of a smile as he slammed the door shut. “Secrets are my specialty.”
“Then let’s go,” I told him, squaring my shoulders before heading up the stairs with my unexpected companion right behind me
Why had she called Roderick instead of coming directly to me? What the hell is going on?
Not wanting to waste any time, I knocked on the door. Before I even finished the first knock, Roderick was opening the door and ushering us inside. He didn’t even stop to chastise me for breaking his direction of coming alone. My lips parted in shock as I took in the state of Maeve’s usually spotless home. The furniture was destroyed, with papers and broken decor scattered everywhere
“What the fuck is going on? Where’s Maeve?” I asked Roderick, rounding on him even as I realized I didn’t have Vas’ knife. My hand clenched, missing the weight of it in my hand. Was it at Ansel’s place? The F?rstner Family home?Fuck.