My journey down the hallway towards the last door on the left before the conservatory—where, presumably, Colonel Mustard committed murder with the lead pipe—is waylaid by the artwork on the walls. Suddenly, I feel like I’m in a gallery. These paintings are insane… is that a Mondrian?!
30
Wesley
This isn’t black and white anymore.
I let the cat out as soon as the door closes, and he promptly slinks across the room to hide under the desk. I don’t blame him—my hair’s raised about finding a dog here, too—and Madison already explained that he’ll come out to explore once he feels safe.
Hopefully she’ll do the same, though I’m far less concerned about Madison coming out of her shell. If she keeps making comments about being spat on, I’m going to give her exactly what she wants in front of everyone like I’m marking my territory.
Swiping a hand down my face, I stifle my groan. I’m not normally such a damn caveman. It’s not as if I’m genuinely worried about Mac or Dimitri making a move. They’re so settled and happy, it’s frankly maddening. Nor am I particularly worried that Madison means anything by it—she’s probably the most overtly flirtatious person I’ve ever met. It’s how she is. I know that. Ilikethat.
Nothing gets me going more than seeing someone covet something that’s mine. Except maybe getting to teach her a lesson about who she belongs to…
“You’re moving around well,” I say, noting Dimitri’s single crutch as he heads towards his spot in the room. He’s not even leaning on it heavily.
“Da. I have always been a quick healer.”
Mac pulls his chair up to the edge of my desk. “Don’t keep us in suspense, Short Round. I feel like you’ve been gone for weeks. Catch us up; tell us what happened. The General put out another hit on her after you took the job? And it’s open season, to top it off?”
“Very unusual,” Dimitri remarks.
I nod, blowing out a long breath. So much has happened. Where to begin?
Probably with the part that they’ll think is the most important. “Yes. And there’s been a… development.”
“Good or bad?”
I won’t even bother trying to figure out how to answer that one. “Felix is Madison’s uncle.”
As predicted, Dimitri goes stiff and still. “What?” he demands, anger lacing his tone.
“They’re not strictly related, but that’s just semantics, I think. The point is they know each other very well. He’s faking her death for us to get the other assassins off our backs.”
There’s a second of stillness and silence, then Dimitri straightens. “You are saying that you know where he is at this very moment?”
Yeah, I figured Dimitri would hear that and want to take action. I take my seat at my desk, taking care not to accidentally step on a tail or kick the cat. “I am… but I’m also saying he’s helping us—her.”
“So we will go there later and kill him?” Dimitri guesses.
“No…” I sigh. “He knows more about the General than we do. He’s the one who made the connection with SmarTech I mentioned—he sent Madison in. He could be useful.”
Dimitri scoffs, waving his hand dismissively. “This is not enough to save his life.”
Mac jumps in to help—likely because he was never completely sold on the idea of killing Felix. “Wasn’t it you who said that it’s poor form to kill a neutral, useful man?”
He narrows his eyes at Mac but jerks his chin in a reticent nod. “He was no longer neutral the moment we discovered he had kidnapped my woman.”
“I know. But,” I say, holding up a hand when he would argue, “he’s notnoton our side. He abandoned Kyle instead of finishing the job and taking the payment months ago. He got Eleanorout. And if he helps us with the General, then we’re more or less on the same side—at least temporarily. Perhaps the situation ought to be reexamined from a new angle.”
“And what angle is that?”
“The one where he’s family to someone who’s important to me,” I answer flatly.
Dimitri makes a face, then blows out a long breath through his nose. He turns his head to the side, and I almost miss the small nod that shows he’ll hear me out. “You and Nicole deserve your revenge, and I’m not saying Felix deserves to simply be forgiven. But this isn’t black and white anymore.”
“I suppose having information makes him useful,” Dimitri admits after a few seconds. He doesn’t seem particularly happy about it, but it’s a start.
