In any other circumstances this task would be beyond my comfort zone of cruelty, but Hailey’s responsible for Aalyiah’s death. If there’s a sin that’d make hurting a woman easy on my conscience,thisis it.
“Yes,” Rhett confirms. “You need to be smart about it. I won’t mind if she dies prematurely so long as it looks like an accident. I’m sure Vaughn will be monitoring Hailey. If you scare her too much, if it’s too obvious you’re trying to turn her brain into mush, she’ll tell her father. If she does, he’ll pull up your whole life history, and hewillconnect the dots. Don’t underestimate him.”
“What if it doesn’t work? What if she starts remembering?”
“Then you need to put yourself in a position of trust.”
“Trust,” I scoff, testing the word. He’s losing touch if he thinks this is plausible. “You expect me to try and break her, and at the same time get close enough that she’ll trust me when it all goes wrong? You’re mad.” I drop the envelope on the floor, scattering its contents. “I’m twenty-six, for Christ’s sake. Not exactly college material anymore, Rhett.”
He chuckles, waving a dismissive hand. “You won’t be the only twenty-six-year-old there.” Another envelope lands in my lap. “Bios of your fellow students. Mostly spoilt rich kids and army brats.”
I pull the thick file open, landing on a picture of some guy, his personal details listed on the right.
“This isn’t your average college, Carter. It’s a playground for the rich and insufferable. Under the pretense of higher education, they do whatever they fuck they want, blowing through their trust funds.”
I don’t like where this is going. I skipped school in favor of working for Rhett and Dante. I was never the academic type. Not stupid by any measure, just too damn greedy for the day jobs college education sets you up for.
Dante was a much smaller fish back when Rhett first sent me to Chicago. A fish with the love of his life in peril. He bargained for the safety of his now-wife with anyone who’d agree. My father saw an opportunity. He agreed to hold off his men if Dante would take me off the grid and under his wing.
There was too much heat surrounding Rhett back then—even more now—and he needed me off the radar.
At least that’s the official story, but knowing Rhett Willard, he simply wanted his illegitimate son to earn his way in this world without help or theWillardsurname making things easy.
No special treatment.
I didn’t enjoy the notion as an eighteen-year-old, but I appreciate it now. I earned my place. Proved my worth. When the option surfaced to join my father’s ranks two years ago, I considered it only because of Aalyiah.
Working with Rhett was never high on my list. I respect Dante. He has values. A code of honor. A moral compass I admire.
Rhett has none of those things.
And Aalyiah knew that.
She hated the man our father became. She despised his dealings, blackmail, and pointless murders. She didn’t want that for me and told me to stay in Chicago.
I listened. I always fucking listened to her. Maybe if I hadn’t, maybe if I moved when I had the chance, she’d still be alive.
She deserved better from me. Her memory deserves better.
“Fine,” I grind out, tossing the file aside. “I’ll do it.”
But not because the ground’s slipping from beneath Rhett’s feet. I’ll do it because Hailey, knowingly or not, had a hand in my sister’s suicide.
She’s responsible.
And she will be held accountable.
9
Carter
Rhett and Apollo left the safe house before the sun fully rose over the horizon. They took my Corvette, promising to drop it off in Chicago where it’ll wait fuck knows how long for my return.
I wasn’t pleased about losing my car, especially when Apollo handed me the keys to a 1966 Pontiac GTO.
My first thought:you have got to be fucking kidding, but once I peeked into the garage that changed to:holy hell.
The car is state of the art. Renovated, lowered, painted matt gray. The ancient sound system has been updated to allow for a CD player and a hands-free system that seamlessly connects with my phone at a touch of a button.
