Chapter 5
Chapter five
Sage
I’m more emotionally drained than I thought possible. It’s been a week since Adam died and this is the first night I’m able to spend in my own home.
Nova has been inconsolable at most times and Adam’s family is horrid. Every single one of them laid the blame at Nova’s feet.
Why weren’t you good enough to keep him home at night?
Why weren’t you out with him to keep him from accepting a strange drink?
You never supported him.
You’re such a leech. You won’t get a penny from the will. We’ll contest it and fight until there’s nothing left.
Such a waste of breath.
I begged Nova to come stay with me while his family was there, but she wouldn’t budge.
Our parents showed up periodically, as did many of our cousins.
I’m the only one that refused to leave her side.
All I see is how she’s getting worse. I know she loved him and knew this wouldn’t be easy for her, but I need her to see the open door in front of her.
There had been an investigation, a short one, but after reviewing the footage from the bar and interviewing the staff, the police didn’t find any foul play. The autopsy confirmed he died from anaphylactic shock.
I’d forgotten about his allergy. It wasn’t a common one nor something served at family dinners. But thinking back on it, he’d been adamant about no fruit at their wedding. He wouldn’t take a chance that mangoes weren’t part of whatever dessert or dish.
They had the funeral yesterday and his family left this morning. I stayed with Nova for the day, making sure she took care of herself. I think I’ve convinced her to see a counselor. Even if I have to drive her to the appointments myself, I’ll do it.
But tonight, I need some space. I have nothing left to give anyone.
My home feels cold and the scent in the air is stale. It needs a little life in it.
I spend too much time in the hot shower, making the small bathroom fill with steam.
It’s like sanitizing myself from the week of toxicity.
I can’t blame my parents and cousins for not staying around those people for so long, but it would have been nice to have a break of my own. Nova needed someone on her side.
It’s late and the call for peaceful sleep drags me to bed. A sweet, dreamless sleep fueled by a kind of exhaustion I’ve never experienced takes over my body. But not for long.
I wake with a start, pulled harshly into consciousness. The house is silent, but something isn’t right. I can’t describe the urge I have in my chest that I need to get up. Then I hear it. The shutting of a cupboard.
Someone is in my home.
Gently crawling from my bed, I grab my robe from the hook on the door with a shaky hand and my limbs are weak from the spontaneous adrenaline. The soft fabric of my robe has enough weight to stay in place around my body as I tie the knot at my waist.
A weapon. I need a weapon. Who am I kidding? I don’t have anything and I’m not about to grab my bedside lamp to carry through the house. I should call someone. The police. But deep down, I know who it is and why he’s here.
I haven’t heard from him or seen him since brunch with Nova, the day Adam died. He’s here to collect.
After a not so steady breath, I slip into the hallway and walk down the stairs.
My attempts at making my steps silent only make the creaks sound louder.
The house is dark. I have curtains on every window and door.
There are too many neighbours, and being in a string of townhouses doesn’t leave space for privacy.
It takes time for my eyes to adjust to the darker shapes of the furniture. My couch and chairs, the end tables, the kitchen island.
“You have a decent selection, pet.” The seductive baritone wraps around the room, sending a string of warmth through the chill of shadows. That isn’t right. It should be cold fear he ejects into the room. His voice shouldn’t carry warmth.
A tall figure pushes off the kitchen counter. I pause next to the end table beside the couch. Reaching over, I turn on the lamp, taking away one advantage he has over me. He’s way too comfortable in the shadows. If I can see him, I might be able to map out the danger I’m in.
Barrett stands three feet in front of me, drinking from one of my whiskey glasses with two fingers of the light brown liquid. I recognize the colour as my favourite Irish blend.
“You know why I’m here.”
“Yes. We had a deal.” I start to move toward my computer bag where I hold my entire life, including the pictures I took of him and the alleged audio file.
“Stop.” The word lashes out and hits me in the chest with the force of a thick branch snapping back at me. I freeze, terrified to look at him. “That’s already done. You had one copy of the pictures on your computer.”
“You hacked my computer?” I pinch my lips together, holding back the accusation. It’s a small violation in the grand scheme of things.
“Yes. I assume the only other copies are on your phone?”
“I’ll go get it.” I press the balls of my feet into the floor to turn around.
“Soon,” he coos and sets his fingers against the crook of my arm.
“There is still something else missing.” Barrett closes the distance, pressing his front to my shoulder.
I hadn’t realized how much of a height difference there is between us that night at the club.
I think the shoes I wore fooled even myself. “I couldn’t find the audio file.”
“It’s there.” He hasn’t left me any room to step away.
“A fake one is.” His lips lift as he sips his drink.
Fuck. I didn’t prepare for this part. I expected to have control over what and when I handed it over. Show him the files and let him watch me delete them.
Barrett leans around me and sets his glass down on the end table. “There’s no audio file, is there, pet?”
When I don’t answer him, he sets a knuckle under my chin and lifts my gaze to his. He tilts his head down to my level.
“Answer me.” His demand is more coaxing than controlling. He drawls the words in a way that soothes my throat and pulls a response from me.
“No.” None of this has worked out the way I thought it would. When I didn’t hear from him, I wondered if he’d brushed me off as a nuisance. And then I drove Nova home that morning to find the police there, waiting to give her the news that her husband was dead.
“We have a problem. You can’t hold up your side of the bargain.”
“I still have the pictures. You’ve deleted the copies.
I’ll delete the originals off my phone. I’m still giving you all the evidence I have.
” I know it isn’t enough. He wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t have made the noises to wake me and put on this show if the pictures alone were enough.
He’s playing with me. At the club, he seemed cultured.
Still dangerous, but he was calm, almost courteous.
The man I’m dealing with now is the other side of the coin. The assassin covered in shadows.
“That’s not enough, pet. You bluffed.” His knuckles move away from my chin, sliding down the side of my neck. My heartbeat jumps. “And an accidental death isn’t cheap. Seems you owe me.”
“I don’t suppose you accept a payment plan?”
His chuckle brushes a hot breath against my ear. “I’m afraid not.”
“What do you want?” I force strength into my voice, although I don’t speak loudly. Our hushed conversation weaves with the shadows and the warmth he brought into them.
“You’re going to work for me.”
I turn against him, unintentionally pressing my chest against his. His hand falls from my neck, sliding down my arm to slip inward and rest on my hip. His touch sears—a threat of its own. “Work for you how?”
“However I wish. When I call, you come.”
“Not good enough. I want details.” I can’t allow him to walk all over me. If I don’t demand clear boundaries, I could be stuck with him indefinitely. But do I really have a leg to stand on? Am I capable of freeing myself from him?
“You aren’t in a position to make demands, pet. And I don’t have any details to give you. It’s an IOU. I’ll call you when I need you.”
“One.” I swallow.
“What was that?” He grips my chin, not tightly, but enough to tilt my head back. This is a negotiation and I can’t let him have that much control. I jerk my chin from his grasp, surprised he allows it.
“One job. A job for a job.”
“Each job has a different value. There’s no one job to equal what I’ve done for you.”
“Then give me a number.”
“No.” He pulls in a slow breath while a grin forms over his lips. “But I’ll give you a limit. Up to five jobs.”
It’s a limit, a boundary, and I’m smart enough to know not to push him too far. “Deal.” I’m indebted to an assassin.