Elias Black is the ghostly private arms and security contractor who is selling his services to the highest bidder without bending the knee to any one crime family. I unknowingly came to spend Christmas with the man who is the head of the murder-for-hire ring so dangerous, federal agents are visiting tattoo parlors looking for records of dudes gettinginkedwith his insignia.
No…Branded.
All mafia is corrupt and dangerous, but contract killers operate on another level. They are murderers without a soul.
I clear my throat. “No problem, love.”
I am fucking dead.
They have my plates, which are masked. But if Elias Black’s hacking capabilities are as good as I suspect they are, he already knows who I am. Someone supplying contract killers to mafia bosses will also know the Quinlans are aligned with Ares Zervas. Black had to know that the wife of his dead mercenary David Sinclair works for Ares. Heck, if David talked at all after his initial attack, Black knows that I was involved in his ultimate disappearance. Lourdes Sinclair asked Ares outright if he had her husband killed, and Zervas admitted to it!
I might very well be gunned down any second.
“Daddy always has different guards,” Fallon casually explains. “They must not have recognized me.”
Daddy.I blink.
I’m about to meet Elias Black, pretending to be his daughter’s boyfriend. And we all know what happenedto all the other eejits who crossed that threshold. They went missing right after.
Fucking great.
The armedguard in the booth gives me a short nod before pressing the button that lowers the spiked strip across the drive. I consider gunning my Audi and go sailing across a snow bank on my right. But I’d probably end up stuck in someone else’s backyard. There is no way in hell that Elias Black doesn’t have the Ashbourne police in his pocket.
As long as I’m in this town, I can’t so much as go one mile over the speed limit.
I close my window and casually ask Fallon, “Why are you using a different last name?”
Fallon fiddles with her dress. “My father worries about things happening to me. Said if people didn’t connect me to him, I could live without guards trailing me around. Nova is my middle name.”
I wonder why a man so powerful would let his mentally unstable daughter…
As I say this, the idea is so crystal clear. It’s not for her protection. Heobviouslycan provide that.He’s distancing himself from her. She’s an embarrassment to him.
Fuck.
Chapter 45
Rhys
We proceed up the winding drive. It carves through a thicket of skeletal maples and ends at the sprawling stone mansion perched high on the bluff. The Hudson River stirs below, black and flat.
Carriage lamps glow faintly in the frosty winter air, lighting up the three-car garage bay. The whole property looks like it was plucked out of some glossy estate magazine.
Every inch of this place screams old money. This kind of wealth isn’t to be flaunted. It’s hidden in private banks, some of it collecting dust and interest for decades.
Fallon twists her hands to cope. We just drove up to a fortress disguised as a fairy tale. Even my hands are white knuckled on the wheel.
Another guard booth near the house sits squat at the final turn before the main courtyard. I see silhouettes behind the house’s windows watching us against the snowy glare. Watchingme. Possibly getting orders to kill me the second I step out of the car.
I freeze halfway out of my seatbelt, one thought burning in my head. Protect Fallon. Even if that means pushing her away so she doesn’t see me get killed.
Mind sharp, I get out, and Fallon does as well. She’s at my side before I realize she’s bounced over to me.
She fusses with my sleeve, tugging it straight. “He notices everything.”
“I’m not here to impress your father with my wardrobe.” I snap my arm away.
“You have to try.” Her voice cracks. “Please, Rhys.”
