“I want in on Anita too. She conspired with Julia to murder me.”
“I have an idea,” he says. “Knight called me late last night after you fell asleep. He’s throwing a Christmas party at the Carter residence tomorrow night. I told him we’d all be there. Even if we don’t have intel on Chad’s whereabouts by then, it’s a good opportunity to do some snooping.”
“We can test the waters too. See if Rhett has told him anything about me or Ares or his plans.”
He toys with strands of my hair. “Exactly, and I’ll get Anita there. We can deal with her then.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“I’ll update the others.” He kisses me briefly. “I have some things I need to do this morning, but keep your afternoon free. We’re going wedding shopping.”
* * *
Jase takes a shower while I pull my robe on and slip my feet into my fluffy slippers. Then I head out in search of Ares. I don’t like how things were left earlier, and I need to see if he’s all right. There is no light trickling out from under his door, so I pad down to the kitchen. The roar of an engine draws me to the front door in time to watch Ares peel away from the curb on his Triumph. Damn it. I really wanted to catch him before he left for work. I can see he’s struggling, and I want to be there for him, but he’s got to let me in. Tapping out a quick text on my cell, I ask him to call me when he has a break.
Jase, Bree, and I eat breakfast together, and then he leaves. I help Bree with her unpacking, and she fills me in on her escapades last night with Baz. “He knows something is up,” she says as we put clothes away in her closet.
“What did you tell him?”
“I only mentioned about Lilianna and arranging that meeting for Ares with Ruben, but Baz isn’t stupid. He knows there is more to it. I really think we should bring him in.”
“Jase will never go for it.” He’s always had a fractured relationship with his brother—even more so after Baz fucked me at my initiation.
“He will if you talk to him.”
I arch a brow. “Do you think I have a magic wand or something?”
“Magic pussy,” she retorts, and a burst of laughter erupts from my mouth.
“I’m not sure I’d go that far, but I’ll accept the compliment.” We grin at one another, and it’s like old times.
“We need all the help we can get, and Baz has a lot of valuable contacts and access to our father’s files and key resources within the Lust & Envy Luminary.”
“Can we trust him?” I put the last of her sweaters away.
“Yes. Despite what Jase believes, Baz is not our father’s mini-me. Far from it. Baz is smart. He knows how to play the game. He has done it so convincingly even Jase believes it. But I see behind that front he wears. Baz doesn’t agree with everything. He’s not going to blindly continue things the way they are. I’d stake my life on it.”
“Okay. I’ll work on Jase.”
Bree throws her arms around me. “I’m so excited we’re going to be sisters-in-law.”
“It’s all happening so fast it hasn’t truly sunk in.”
“It sucks that you can’t do it your way.”
I lean against the doorway. “It’s only a piece of paper. What matters is what is in our hearts, and in that, we are finally aligned.”
ChapterSixteen
Jase
Ihave a productive morning, and I’m smiling like a Cheshire cat when I return to the house. Removing the small black box from my pocket, I secure it in the glove compartment of my Maserati for later. I get out of the car and lock it with the key fob, whistling under my breath.
The sight of Julia’s bright pink car parked outside the front of the townhome I once shared with her stops me for a second. Julia got what was coming to her, and I count my blessings I avoided that nightmare. I don’t know where things went wrong with her. She was actually sweet as a kid, and there was a time we got along. But not in recent years, and living with her these past few months was a test in patience and self-control.
I make a mental note to get the car towed the second the meeting with the Board of Luminaries ends on Friday. Ash doesn’t need a reminder every time she comes and goes from our house. Bree already took Julia’s dog to a local place so he can go to a good home. James can deal with the rest of her shit or have one of his staff box up her stuff if he’s languishing in the basement at Luminary HQ like I suspect he will be.
I bound up the stairs toward our front door, still grinning like a loon. I dreamed of marrying Ashley, but I was losing hope it would ever happen. I wish we were doing it our way, at a time of our choosing, but I’m not complaining. I hope the things I have put in motion will help it to feel like it’s our choice and not something demanded of us by her sociopathic father.
