I start laughing.
“What’s so fucking funny? This could kick things off big style, Ben. You don’t want her in any shit.”
“Wray died four years ago. Alba kept it quiet and they’ve fabricated a lot of shit to make it seem like he’s still alive. Mainly because he was a scary mother fucker.” I chuckle again and watch an eagle descend rapidly having spotted its dinner.
“How do you know he’s dead?”
Truth or dare?
I rarely tell the whole truth because it doesn’t always serve me well. Sometimes a pinch of reality can lead to the whole scene being exposed.
This was Isaac. Gut told me I could trust him.
I’d soon find out if that was true.
“How do you know, Ben? Because if he is, it changes a fuck ton of pictures. And security plans.”
It would. They wouldn’t know who to be scared of.
Truth.
“Because it was me who killed him.”
I hear ocean waves from the other end of line, the cry of a gull. I haven’t surfed for years and I now want to be there, in some desolate and wild Cornish cove with rocks and tales of pirates and Blair.
And Isaac.
“You killed Iain Wray?”
“I did indeed. And if he was still alive he wouldn’t be interested in fucking Blair. She has too many holes.”
“Did you…”
“It wasn’t a crime of passion, Zak.”
“Why?”
I look up at the sky. A storm hovers on the horizon. The truth was an elusive thing.
“Orders.”
I hear him expel the breath he’s been holding.
Then he speaks, his accent the opposite to mine.
“Who the fuck are you, Ben?”
“Depends on who you are. But right now, I’m the person who makes that scandal go away. Keep your eye on the cousin.”
There’s another pause. “How’s Blair?”
“Safe.” So fucking safe.
“Why are you keeping her safe?”
I hang up. It’s a good question. Just one I can’t answer.
Chapter Six
