Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
N ico put the call on speaker. The person on the other end of the line barely let him mutter a greeting before they hissed, “You better be calling to tell me you killed that bitch within the hour, because she was just here!”
Ren’s eyes narrowed. He knew that voice. So did Dammit George, who started growling immediately.
Isla.
He shifted his gaze to Neal, and the shock in his eyes told Ren he’d had no idea his assistant wanted Lark dead, which was kind of a pity. There was still part of him that wanted the little schmuck to be guilty so he could just let Nico kill him. Anyone who’d had Lark and fumbled the bag as badly as Neal had deserved nothing short of death, in Ren’s humble opinion.
“That cunt,” Tenley mouthed.
Ren agreed. But he was more worried about how Lark was taking this new development. It had to be hard to know that someone you’d been kind to hated you enough to take an active role in your murder.
But when he caught her eye, Lark’s expression took him by surprise. She didn’t look hurt or even shocked.
She looked pissed .
Which probably shouldn’t turn him on. But surprise, surprise, it did.
“Ms. Shaw has turned out to be surprisingly…resourceful,” Nico told Isla, giving Lark a little wink that made Ren want to throat punch him. “I’m afraid I have to demand additional compensation to finish the job. For my inconvenience.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Isla shrieked. “You agreed to the original price. I’m not paying you another cent.”
Nico brushed a bit of dirt off his sweater. “Well, if that’s how you feel, I’ll just let Ms. Shaw go. She’ll probably go directly to the police, since I’m fairly certain she recognizes your voice. But if you can’t afford the additional payment, I completely understand.”
There was a pregnant pause on Isla’s end of the line before she asked, “She’s there? You have her?”
“I do.”
“Prove it.”
He sighed. “Fine. Hold for a moment.”
Tenley sprang into action. She shoved Neal out of his chair onto the ground and ordered Lark to sit in it. Then, she gave Lark’s hair a good tousle and pinched some color into one of her cheeks to make it look like she’d been hit. “Hold your hands behind you like they’re cuffed and look scared.”
Lark did as she was told, and anyone who didn’t know her would assume Lark was terrified for her life. But Ren knew she was just channeling her rage into the act. And by God, it was sexy.
Maybe there was a career criminal in his good girl, after all.
Nico snapped a picture, showed it to Ren, who nodded his approval, and sent it off to Isla.
Another long pause on her end, followed by an evil chuckle that made Ren’s blood boil. “Send me your location,” she said. “I’ll pay you an extra twenty-thousand—not a penny more than that—if you let me watch you kill her.”
Nico glanced at Ren. He nodded. “Of course, darling,” he said. “Sending you the location now.”
When he ended the call, he gave Ren a palms-up gesture. “What now?”
“I need some additional information on Isla, I guess,” he muttered. “Any idea why your assistant would want Lark dead, Neal?”
Neal pulled himself up off the floor and dusted off his grime-encrusted suit jacket. He shot Nico a nervous look before admitting, “I don’t know for sure. But…she did get drunk at the Christmas party last year and told me she loved me.”
Everyone blinked at him for several seconds before Tenley said, “No. Seriously. Why does she want Lark dead?”
Neal threw his hands wide. “It’s the truth! That’s what she said. I told her we needed to keep things professional because I was marrying Lark. She apologized, and I thought that was the end of it. How was I to know she’d hire a hitman to kill my fiancée?”
“Ex-fiancée,” Lark and Ren said in stereo. But Lark added, “And you didn’t think that was something I had a right to know? That your assistant was in love with you?”
He gave her a mulish look. “I didn’t do anything wrong, so I didn’t think it mattered.”
She sighed. “It doesn’t. I should’ve ended the engagement long before then.”
Nico scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Wait a minute. What’s this woman’s last name?”
“Franchetti,” Neal answered. “Why?”
“Jesus,” Nico muttered. “Isla Franchetti. She’s my boss’s niece.”
Lark frowned. “So…the mafia does want me dead?”
“No,” he said. “My boss would’ve assigned me the job if he wanted you dead. She took out the contract on her own, which would not go over well. Mario will kill her if he finds out she took out a hit and put the entire family at risk without his OK.”
Tenley frowned. “He’d kill his own niece? What a shitty family.”
“You have no idea,” Nico said dryly.
“This is good news,” Ren said. “All we have to do is tell Mario about the hit and let him deal with Isla. Nice and simple.”
Lark bit her lip. “I mean, I’m not a big fan of Isla’s, and the thought of her ending up in a landfill doesn’t exactly fill me with grief. But still…isn’t there some way to end this without killing her? Can’t we just threaten her into canceling the hit?”
Nico shook his head. “She’d probably just agree in the moment, then hire another hitman.” Then his eyes lit up. “But I might have a way to get her out of the picture that doesn’t involve death.”
Ren suppressed a groan. What were the odds that Nico’s plan was going to be anywhere near as nice and simple as his had been?
But one look at Lark’s hopeful expression made his concerns irrelevant.
Fuck .