Chapter 34
BLADE
By the time we finish our meal, Brewer’s text comes through.
“What does it say?”
Delilah peers at me anxiously, and I show her the screen.
Head to Ryder’s office when you finish up. Bring Delilah.
The color drains from her face. “What does this mean?”
“They have information. And darlin’–”
“Yes.”
She is biting her lip, worry etched on her pretty face, and I fix her with a sharp gaze.
“There is nothing to worry about. Understand?”
“If you say so.”
I hate how that text has painted a frown on her face, and with a sigh, I jerk my head toward the door.
“The only way to fix that smile is to get this over with.”
She nods, gathering our plates and placing them on the rack. With a brief wave to Lou, we head toward Ryder’s office.
A gruff voice tells us to enter, and I hope for Delilah’s sake this is what she wants to hear.
As we head inside, I notice Snake and Brewer on the couch, and Lucy standing beside Ryder, pointing at some documents.
She glances up as we enter and flashes Delilah a welcoming smile.
“Hey, welcome to The Rubicon.”
She leaves Ryder’s side and approaches Delilah.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to say hi when you arrived, but just so you know, if you need anything, want anything, or anyone to talk to, I’m your girl.”
“I appreciate that.”
Delilah is nervous; I can tell by the way her smile trembles, and Lucy’s expression is sympathetic.
“It’s okay, it’s perfectly normal to be worried, but when you’re inside these walls, there isn’t anything to worry about at all.”
She addresses Ryder over her shoulder. “I’ll arrange coffee, then I’ll do some digging.”
“Thanks, darlin’.”
His gruff response diverts our attention to him, and as Lucy closes the door behind her, he smiles at Delilah.
“Are you settling in okay?”
She nods.
“Got everything you need?”
“Yes, um, thanks.”
He winks, putting her at ease.
“Take a seat. We have some news.”
She perches beside me on the other couch, and Snake smiles at her with reassurance. I tried to tell her there is nothing to worry about, but it sure helps when they back that up by making her feel at home.
Ryder grabs a chair and sets it down in front of the couch, sitting astride it as he usually does and fixes Delilah with a reassuring smile.
“As you know, Gideon Fox is about to marry your childhood friend, Tallulah Monroe.”
Delilah nods, her hands together, her fingers tied, and I press my leg against hers to reassure her.
“We’ve been investigating the woman in the sanatorium who is meant to be you, the one who is supposedly dead.”
She nods, biting her lower lip with anxiety.
“It threw up an interesting fact.”
I wait for the mic drop.
“There never was an occupant of room 1637.”
“I don’t understand.”
Delilah blinks and Snake adds, “On the record, the occupant is Aspen Costello. The staff assigned to her care were paid off. The entire wing of that hospital operates with no patients, and only the doctors and medics employed by Gideon Fox know about that.”
“But what about their families?”
Delilah stares at Snake in disbelief, and Brewer interrupts. “All the names listed are ghosts and connected to The Serpent Society. We believe it’s a holding place and when the heat either intensifies, or circumstances change, the occupants move out in a body bag, but not from the sanatorium.”
Delilah is stunned and completely lost, and I grasp her hand. “What they mean is that the bodies are disposed of long before they are declared officially dead.”
The penny drops, and the horror in her expression tears at my heart.
“So, my body bag was intended to leave from Rockwell Academy. Then, a few days later, I’m pronounced dead and their crime is covered up.”
“That’s right.”
Ryder leans forward. “You were never there. Just an entry on the patient register.”
“But my parents. Why didn’t they check on me?”
Her eyes are full of unshed tears, and Ryder’s expression is grim.
“Because Gideon would have spun a twisted tale. Something along the lines that it would impede your recovery, you were responding to treatment, that kind of bullshit.”
“And nobody had cause to doubt him.”
She says bitterly. “He is the golden boy. Can do no wrong, and Harmony Straits sanatorium is merely his alibi to murder.”
They nod.
“But why say I’m dead when he doesn’t have the body? That’s risky.”
“Is it?”
A look passes between us, and Snake shrugs. “We may have given him reason to believe yours was one of the bodies at the morgue.”
“But how?”
I grip her hand tighter. “Because we can, darlin’. We can alter records to suit our agenda, and it suited us to declare you deceased to buy you some time.”
“You mean I’m free.”
Her eyes shine as her shoulders drop, all the tension leaving her, and Ryder nods. “If that’s what you want, but we have a better alternative ending.”
I don’t miss his fierce expression and stifle my grin.
Gideon Fox messed with the wrong man when he involved The Reaper’s kids.
Not to mention the sons and daughters of another fearsome organization that goes by the name of Club Mafia.
Gideon’s days are numbered, and it’s a race to see who brings him down first.
“I’m listening.”
Delilah squares her shoulders and sits up straighter, and pride blooms in my chest as she shakes off her fears.
Ryder stops as Lucy enters, balancing a tray of coffee, and only when we all have a mug in our hand and she leaves, does he lay out his plan.