He holds his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay. Okay. I suppose it’s story time.” His snakelike smile returns as he leans back against the chair, putting his hands behind his head.
The way he looks at me sends chills down my spine. Every alarm bell in my head is screaming to kick the fucker out, but I know I need the information he has. He also knows I can’t do this without him, and that’s what makes the anger boil in my gut.
“Everyone assumes I’m always the bad guy, Miss Riley.”
I snort but let him continue.
“But, you see, I’m a businessman like everyone else around here.”
I want to point out that most businessmen don’t go around assassinating people, but then again, that would be awfully hypocritical of me, so I keep my mouth shut.
“I take business where I can get it. I rarely pick sides. After all, this world only cares about money.”
I can’t argue with him there.
“Recently, I found myself in an interesting predicament. Oh, how you’ve woven a tangled web, Miss Riley.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I snap before I can stop myself.
Peyton shakes his head and waves his finger at my interruption as if I’m a petulant child. “I found myself in the company of a very interesting employer that just happens to have been involved in your precarious last assignment, but what’s even more interesting is that you found yourself in the same situation with your current case.”
My mouth falls open as Peyton squints, thinking for a moment. “Wait, I suppose it’s no longer your current case, seeing as your target is in jail. And once again, the people you should be after are not only off the hook but richer than they were before.”
I clench my fists under the desk. The heat of my anger creeps up my neck. “Who, Peyton? I need a name.”
“Vivario.” He smirks at me, watches me, his face slowly morphing into a smug smile as the truth dawns on me.
“Vivario. Vivarium. Reptiles. Snakes. The black snake crime syndicate,” I whisper.
Peyton claps mockingly. “Very well done, Miss Riley. Now was that so hard?”
I want to punch the man in the face so badly that my hands shake with restraint.
Peyton stops clapping and leans forward. “This is where the fun part comes in.” He pauses for dramatic effect, and I nearly knock himunconscious. “I was hired by the black snake crime syndicate to assassinate Owen Mills.”
I suspected it, but the question I wanted to know most was: “Why?”
Peyton shrugs. “Why else? Money. He cut off the funds from those three companies when he acquired them by destroying the men who were bank rolling the entire crime operation. You can imagine how unhappy they were when they found out.”
Peyton's smile turns sinister. He leans closer to me as if he has a secret. “And imagine their reaction when they found out you almost ruined their mission in Italy and then wound up protecting the one man that may have taken down the biggest crime syndicate in the world by murdering a bunch of rich creeps.”
“What were they trying to do in Italy?” I ask, though my mind is beginning to link everything together, and I’m pretty sure I already know the answer.
“Get the CIA off their trail. They did an admirable job, if I do say so myself. Not only did you fail your mission in Italy, but now it’s under investigation, halting all efforts to take them down.”
“But how did they know?”
Peyton clicks his tongue. “Come now, Miss Riley. I know you’re smarter than that.”
I squeeze my eyes closed and take a deep breath, my composure on the brink of snapping. “The rat.”
“Very good, Miss Riley.”
“My rat is someone at the CIA.” I suspected it. No one else outside the CIA, aside from Eagan, could have gotten access to my files. But that doesn’t narrow it down much.
Peyton claps enthusiastically. “Very good! See, I knew you were smarter than you look.”
“If I ever find myself alone in your presence again, Mr. Radd, you'd better watch yourself. I will not hold back on punching that smug smirk right off your face. Permanently.”
