“You did well,” he murmurs and he sounds so hot saying it. His voice deep and proud. I follow him further into the penthouse with my boxes that he helps me carry before dumping them on the floor in the kitchen.
I don’t say anything more to him as he starts to make us a drink. I know Sarah is still screaming into a future that no longer includes me, thinking of revenge, but it’s something that doesn’t need to be discussed, because deep down I know Ethan already has something planned. It’s best if I don’t add any more fuel to the fire.
But the one thing I do know is whatever happens next…it won’t be gentle and it won’t be accidental.
CHAPTER 30 - ETHAN
Sarah should have listened. I warned her. I’m meticulous about warnings. They’re not emotional and dramatic responses. They’re statements of future fact.
Ignore them, and the future becomes… unpleasant, depending on your chosen resolution. I plan to make Sarah’s become a living nightmare. Death would be too easy, so I’ve come up with a better idea.
I‘m sitting behind my home office desk when Marcus arrives. Marcus doesn’t knock as he strides in, excitement on his face that I have a job for him. He loves the drama. His leather jacket creaks as he sits in the chair opposite me. Calm eyes hide the things he has seen. A man who has seen worse than consequences and learned to treat them like the weather, to always be prepared for the unexpected.
“Uh-oh, you look irritated,” he says.
“I’m past irritation.”
That makes him smile faintly and he stands andwalks over to the bottle of whiskey on the side table and he pours himself a drink without asking.
“Tell me about the problem.”
“Sarah. She was instructed to disappear quietly, warned not to contact Leo and make threats. But she ignored the warnings.”
“Blackmail?”
“She tried.”
Marcus exhales. “Blackmail is a hobby for stupid people.”
“She believes herself exceptional.”
“Wannabe gangsters do.”
I stand from my chair and move over to look out of the window, needing to gain control of my anger, which is becoming borderline impossible.
“She threatened to expose a private agreement. Called it kidnapping. Said Leo would hate me,” I turn and lean against the window to face Marcus, and he listens to me carefully.
“And?”
“She also made threats to him. Went against my instructions for this to be forgotten.”
“You’re pissed.”
“I’m murderous. Now is the time for action.” I walk to my desk, open a drawer and remove the file with all the details of my plan. Sarah’s future.
“She didn’t listen,” I say. “That means she must be… redirected.”
Marcus studies the file for a few minutesbefore raising an eyebrow at me with a large grin on his face. I knew he’d like this.
“I thought you wanted her gone.”
“Gone is a flexible word, it doesn’t have to mean dead.”
That’s a mess I need to avoid for multiple reasons. Also I like the idea of keeping her alive in hell. Knowing the control I will have over her, how she will regret every day of her life crossing me.
“I want her unreachable but accessible to me.”
He nods slowly. “That can be arranged.”
