Gotta keep her healthy if we intend to grow old together.
Shit, this means I have to be extra careful at work now. No more taking unnecessary risks with my already risky job. Okay. I can do that. I mean, if Wraith can, so can I.
Once her blood sugar is stable, and we’re dressed, I tell the annoying person knocking on the door to fuck off. I assume it’s Havoc or Discord bothering us since I share this room with them. But whoever it is doesn’t go away. Also, the knocking isn’t aggressive banging like I expect from my asshole friends.
When I yank open the door, it’s not an Unholy standing on the other side. Not that I’m completely shocked to see Kerri. She was on her way to Sanctum. Me, being a gentleman, I kick the door open wider and stand aside. “Come on in, sweetheart. She’s right here.” Then to Faith, “Look who put on her big girl panties and graced us with her presence.”
“Be nice, Jester,” Faith warns as she crosses the room. She grabs Kerri’s hands and pulls her friend inside. “So, what’s so important that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?”
Kerri rips her hands out of Faith’s and glances from her to me. She licks her lips, looking way too serious for this holiday. “It’s bad.”
Faith drops on the bed. “What’s bad?”
I go to leave, but Kerri stops me. “No, please stay. You need to hear this.” The tall blonde sits beside Faith and drags in a deep breath. “Conner’s dead. Daniel Davenport murdered him.”
Faith’s face drains of color, and her eyes go wide. She leans away and slaps a hand over her mouth. Shakes her head, her brows furrowing. After a few seconds, she lowers her hands and says, “I don’t understand. Why would Davenport kill his son’s friend?”
“Because Connor knew Daniel is the person behind onyx. When cracked under the pressure, Daniel murdered him.”
18
Faith
Ithink I’m going to be sick.
Oh, God.
This isnothappening. Daniel Davenport is a shitbag, sure, but a drug lord? Absurd. Yet Kerri seems to believe this so wholeheartedly, she looks like she’s on the verge of tears. My friend never cries in front of people. To her, it’s undignified. She’s also shaking, with her gaze darting between Jester and me.
“Okay.” I’m still struggling to make sense of this because Daniel, a murderous Walter White? This is crazy on so many levels. “You need to start at the beginning because I’m lost.”
Jester slams the door closed and stalks over to us. Since I’ve been home, I’ve mostly seen the carefree version of him. Right now, he’s lethal, and holy shit, it’s kinda terrifying. And when he kneels to get eye level with Kerri, it’s like I see him through a new lens. “Davenport, as in the prick Faith worked for who tried to rape her?”
I shoot at him with finger guns. Then shake my head at Kerri’s confusion, silently telling her I’ll explain later. “Same prick.”
He snarls. Actually snarls. “He’s such a dead man it’s not even funny.”
Cringing, I pity Daniel because when Jester gets him—and there isn’t a doubt in my mind he will—his death won’t be quick or clean.
Kerri, always the picture of composure despite her trembling, faces down Jester’s anger. “I don’t know the full story of what happened, only what Mike confessed to me. I guess he couldn’t take the guilt, either.” She glances at me. “You know how the basement at Davenport Trading needs an access code? Daniel had it installed because that’s where he runs his onyx lab.” Again, she shifts her gaze between Jester and me. “He’s hiding it in plain sight.”
Of course, he is.
Because no one would suspect an esteemed businessman would operate an illegal designer drug enterprise in the basement of his own building. Same as they wouldn’t have believed me if I went public on how he cornered me in his office and tried to rape me. He presents as this loving husband and proud father. The noble entrepreneur who built Davenport Trading from the ground up on nothing but his laurels. I’m Mayhem trash who dared to ingratiate herself in Brighton’s gilded halls. He’d say I tried to seduce him, and when he rejected me, I resorted to blackmail or unfounded accusations for a payday. Because although the rich and powerful could always manipulate the system, with much of the country still in ruin, it makes it that much easier for jerkoffs like Davenport to thrive.
“What do we do?” I ask Jester.
“You? Nothing,” he snaps. “I already planned to kill the prick for putting his hands on you. This just makes it more fun.”
If the situation weren’t serious, Kerri’s expression of horror would honestly be hilarious. But she quickly settles back into her usual stoicism. “This isn’t funny, Jester.”
Jester blinks at her, puzzled. “Who’s fucking laughing?”
“You, apparently.”
Oh my God, Kerri is chastising him. This is golden.
Jester glances at me for guidance. I bite back a smile and shrug. He looks back at Kerri. “I’m dead serious, Kerri.”
