“So, it’s the funniest thing…”
“You won’t believe what I did this weekend…”
“Hey! I have a strong new alliance for the family business! I just had to marry someone to get it.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to work,” I sigh. I’ll approach it the way I do when giving someone bad news when I’m in my office at King International. Calm, matter of fact. No arguing.
I nibble on my cuticles, waiting for Zed to pick up.
“Aria! Where the hell have you been!”
Right to it, then.
“Zed, I know about Uncle William. This is not a crisis, we can transition smoothly into your role as head of the Syndicate, I promise.”
“Are you kidding?” he says incredulously, “First Dad dies and then Uncle William is murdered within three months? Do you know how this makes us look?” Zed’s voice is shaking.
Zed’s talking about our father so casually,I think resentfully,lumping him in with Uncle Bastard. He took everything from us when he murdered our parents.
“Listen to me,” I say slowly, precisely. “Yes, this is high stakes. I’ll put out an official statement for the family and we’ll handle this together, all right? Nothing has changed. Our Syndicate isstill the vault that holds the world’s secrets. I know this is sooner than you planned, Z, but you can do this. You’ve been training for this your entire life. Uncle William was a disruptor. And not in a good way.”
“Where are you?” he asks, “Why did it take so long for you to get back to me?”
“About that… I’m going to patch in Elana.” Dialing her number, I’m not surprised when she picks up immediately.
“Hello? Aria! Finally! We’ve been calling and calling-”
“Elana honey, take a breath.” Cringing, I repeat the story Lachlan and I came up with. We met on vacation in Greece - since that was my original cover - and fell madly in love in a matter of days and flew to Scotland to be married by his family’s parish priest.
Both lines crackle, highlighting the silence while my brother and sister digest this.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Zed rasps out. “Uncle William was assassinated while you were eloping with some stranger?”
“Well, it’s not like she knew Uncle William was being murdered when she got married,” Elana says reasonably. “Lachlan MacTavish? Looking him up…” I hear the quick strokes of her keyboard and then she squeals. “Oh, my god he’s gorgeous!”
I am so glad that Lachlan is not listening in on this phone call.
“The MacTavish Clan?” Zed’s tone has changed to an unwilling respect. “They’re the most powerful Mafia in Scotland. Cormac - the Chieftain - has done business with us.”
“And he will again,” I assure them. “I know this is jarring, and I’m sorry the two of you have been on your own during this crisis. Where is Uncle Bast- Uncle William now?”
“On a slab at the MacCulty Funeral Home,” Zed sighs, “No autopsy needed.”
“Any leads on who would have done this?” Childishly, I cross my fingers.
“No,” he says, frustrated. I can picture him ruffling his hair and pacing, the way he does when things are disordered and people aren’t doing what he expects.
“I’m sure you have Jordan and Haruko on this, correct?” Our cyber experts were two of the best in the business, they could dismantle a firewall with a touch of a button and crawl their way through the dark web while eating a sandwich.
After all the things I’d been forced to witness while searching for an assassin on the dark web, I don’t know how they do it.
“Yes, they’re trying to connect some threads and see if they turn into something. There was no warning, no statement, we’ve tripled security at the estate but there’s been no sign of anyone coming after us.”
“This sounds more and more like some extracurricular activity Uncle William was involved in,” I offer, trying to sow the seeds of doubt. “Especially since no one has approached us.”
“Maybe,” Zed says doubtfully, “I’m glad you’re safe with the MacTavish Clan at the moment, all things considered.”
“Yeah, but when are you coming home?” Elana asks plaintively.
