Carlyle
Zipping my pants on my way down the stairs, I ran both my hands through my hair before checking the time on my phone. Despite the sex, the late-night, thetraffic, I wasn’t going to be too late this morning. When I emerged from Valerie’s apartment building, Carl was waiting, and the car I’d driven around yesterday had disappeared back to my garage.
“Step on it. I’ve got shit to catch up on.” Before I even shut the door, Carl was pulling off the curb, and I propped my elbow on the door as the past day raced through my mind’s eye. I didn’t want to ruin my time with Valerie, but gears were starting to turn, and I, unfortunately, had to have a little chat with the Italian princess rotting in her own piss and shit in my basement.
At least Jerry’s replacement wasn’t entirely incompetent and found out the original voice in that video.
Glancing over at Theo, a scowl on his face and his knee bouncing from agitation, I cocked my head in silent question. He scoffed quietly, turning away from me, but I knew he wouldn’t keep his mouth shut for long.
“Illya’s been restless for weeks.” Grinding my teeth at that, I only nodded, and Theo rubbed his mangled palm against his jeans as if it itched. “I’ve felt the same anxiety since she brought it up, like some shit’s gonna go down. I don’t think Vegas is a good idea right now, Carlyle.”
“We’ll see what information Isobel coughs up after marinating in her own shit for a few days before we make any decisions.” I tapped my cheek as my mind raced, still scrambled from Valerie’s voracity, and I cleared my throat roughly. “Who’s voice is it?”
“Diamon’s.” A harsh bark of laughter burst from my chest at Carl’s reply, and I clenched and released my fist in my lap. “How’d he know whatever he knew, though? That’s kinda the real question.”
“Oh, I have a feeling I know exactly how he figured it out.” That Italian scum was smarter than I gave him credit for— not by much, though. Apparently, he was capable of some rudimentary scheming, even if it was crude. Carl sped up at my growl, and my heel tapped against the floor mat as a few more pieces fell into place.
Isobel wasn’t good for much but being a pawn. When her plan with Wren fell apart, she must’ve had him assassinated at Diamon’s suggestion.Because he’s a spineless, dickless piece of shit, who thinks he’s too good to get dirty.When she started making infiltration moves on her own so sloppy, he needed to get rid of her.
That much was obvious. The only part that didn’t fit was how did he know my father was going to hand me the reins when it wasn’t decided until Mateo fucked up?
“Theo, what do you say we have a boys’ night out at a certain bar?” Casting him a dark smirk, I sat up a little as Theo shrugged, rolling his eyes a little. “I think that snake slithered into the wrong fucking bed.”
“You think she made a deal with Diamon?” I almost cringed, hearing that idiot’s name so often in such a short time frame, but I managed to simply shake my head. Theo frowned under furrowed brows, and I knocked my temple softly before his face morphed in a scowl. “You think she interfered somehow, though. Fuck this shit, Carlyle, you know I suck at this shit.”
“She sells girls she sees no potential in. What if she unknowingly got a girl that wasn’t as downtrodden as she seemed? And what if that girl wiggled her way into my operation somehow? This is starting to get exciting.” He only sneered at me, turning back to the window, and my smirk widened. “Yes, it really is. At least I know one thing right now. Valerie’s not going to get caught up in the middle of this, which is nice. Not to say she’s not going to get caught in her own shit, but I don’t have to worry for right now.”
“You don’t buy girls, boss.” Piping up from the driver’s seat, Carl took a hard turn, and I suddenly felt even better about today.
“I don’t, no, but my brothers do.” And that was all that needed to be said. I’d get the Italians, one or both of my brothers, and Valerie and her sister were going to be fine. Everything was fuckingpeachy.“I’m going to enjoy this.”
My body moved on autopilot when we finally pulled into the compound, and I rode the elevator to the basement as my thoughts consumed my attention. How was I going to personally kill Isobel? There were so many options! So many, it was almost dizzying. Just this once, I was going to enjoy it, and she would know who the haunt when her fake ass got stuck in limbo.
When I opened the metal door to her room, she jumped with a petrified shriek, and I downright grinned. The rank stench of piss-stained her dress and pooled at her feet, eating away at the fabric and her skin, but it barely registered. Huge, terrified eyes met mine, bloodshot and bulging, and I clapped my hands exaggeratedly as Theo closed the door behind me.
“Congratulations, you dumb cunt! I’ve decided that since I’m in such a good mood, I’ll let you goas soon asyou answer my questions. And be truthful— lying will just sour my day, and you don’t want that.” I hauled myself onto the table to rub my neck and shoulders with both hands, just needing to do something. Isobel was quiet, a hope flickering in her eye, and I cocked my head. “Did Diamon know you tried to meet with Esmarissa?”
“Yeah. He tried to talk me out of it because she wouldn’t listen, and he was right.”
“How long ago did the meet happen? Did he know then, or did he find out afterward?” She was so fucking stupid, and I held up my hand when Isobel opened her mouth instantly. “Also, where did you meet?”
“I invited her to New York about a year and a half, maybe twenty-one months ago. Diamon knew about it at the time, and he knew when it fell through. He made sure to rub it in my face.” I nodded when Isobel confirmed my suspicion, and she leaned forward in the chair despite her arms tied behind the back. “Can you at least untie me? I’ll tell you anything you want to know, Carlyle. You promised to let me go.”
“Theo.” He was already fishing his knife from his pocket, and she slumped in relief as I calculated my next question. “Diamon mentioned you talked to someone from Texas about killing Wren. What about?”
Isobel didn’t say anything as she was cut free— her arms, at least— and she rubbed her wrists and rolled her shoulders. I let her have this moment, and she sat up a little straighter before clearing her throat.
“The guy had an accent, but he was who I hired to kill Wren. He’s worked for me before, so I knew I could trust him to get the job done. Standard stuff, mostly.” She panted a little from talking so much after such an ordeal, and I licked my teeth as my eyes narrowed on her. “There was no way Diamon could know he had a Texan accent unless he bugged my phone. We were never that close, and I don’t have names or any personal details on the guy. I don’t even know if the accent is real. I don’t care. He killed Wren like I needed him to. That’s all the information we ever shared.”
“Really? Diamon made it seem like you were your usual, whiny cunt self. It’s probably the most believable lie he could sell me, of course. Hemight’vebeen smart enough to think I was already going to kidnap you and wring your neck, and he gave me a little push. Then, after I had you, he sent me a video intended for my father, which, well, let’s face it, that’s not going to do anything, anyway.” Big, brown eyes widened, and I hopped off the table to circle Isobel, still sitting in her own puddle of filth. My brows furrowed over my slight frown, and I waved a thoughtful hand as her information gave me a full picture. “I feel so bad for your father for having such idiot children. Not a good single one in the whole bunch. I mean, when you name your kid ‘Diamon,’ I suppose it’s expected that he’ll be a fucking imbecile. It only makes me want to crush you grease monkeys even more finely under my heel.”
“W-what-t?” Looming over her as her face paled a sickly yellowish-green, I frowned at the alarm brightening her fevered eyes. “You promised to let me go!”
“Go where, though? When? How? See, if you were smart, Isobel, you’d realize there’s no way you’re getting out of this room. You could’ve kept your mouth shut, and the outcome would’ve been the same, but you could’ve still stuck it to me. You should’ve been more specific with your demands. Instead, you wasted away here, simmering in your own piss like the ugly creature you are.” Holding out my hand to Theo, I took the warm gun he always carried and pressed the barrel to Isobel’s cheek. She whimpered pathetically even as the light died in her eyes, and I hadn’t even pulled the trigger yet. For a second, I watched her slump in defeat andman! It felt so good!“You know what, I’m not going to kill you, Isobel. You’ve been so helpful, after all.”
But she knew dying was her best option, and I was kind of disappointed when he just sunk so low in her chair. Piss dribbled on the floor, the disgusting reek of shit pluming all around her, and I walked out before handing Theo his gun back.
“Guard the door.” Carl waited patiently, a huge toolbox by his feet, and I nodded curtly at him. “Weld it shut.”
