Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Leith
By morning I’ve decided to let Galiene lead us to our enemies.
Let her dig herself a deeper hole and incur a worse punishment.
I’m not going to let her know just yet that I’m on furlough.
If I subject her to rough questioning now, she may not give up the answers I seek.
I prefer she damn herself while making herself useful.
I also want to confirm for myself that the legal assistant I trained since I started with the Syndicate has betrayed me. She knows enough about the Crew that I’ll have to take measures to ensure she doesn’t blab.
That is, more than she has already.
Since I pay her generously, I suspect whoever hired her is offering her more than just money.
Over breakfast I call her and put her on speaker. Iona sits kitty corner to me, pushing aside her fruit bowl as she waits to see how this all pans out.
“Leith, how are you?” Galiene opens.
“It’s four days before the Lowing trial,” I remind her.
Her brief pause tells me everything I need to know. She’s surprised I’m still worried about the Lowing case when I’ve been fired. Somehow she knows I was let go. Who told her?
“O-of course.” Sounding uncharacteristically uncertain, she recovers quickly. “When would you like to meet up?”
“This afternoon at 3. My work office.” I’m setting her up to contact Iona in the meantime.
When we’ve rung off, Iona leans her forearms on the table. “So Darian might be behind it after all.”
“We don’t know enow to say.” I take a sip of coffee. “Keep an eye on your burner phone. I fully expect her to make another move involving you.”
“How do you figure?”
I hitch a shoulder. “She thinks we’re still clueless. We’ve been useful to her till now. Why wouldn’t she and her associates continue to try to use us?”
Iona’s eyes glimmer with excitement. “And you want to use her to find out who sent her.”
* * *
Iona
An hour after breakfast, Leith and I are working in his study, researching the nine names in Galiene’s texts, when another text comes in on my burner phone.
“Go to a pet store and buy Leith a dog.” I gape at the screen as another text pings through.
“After you’ve dropped it at home, meet me at Café Mistral, in the city center, at 2.
Tell Leith you’re meeting with an author.
If you don’t want your mother to go to prison for euthanasia, you’ll complete these tasks now. ”
I pale, showing the messages to Leith, whose features cloud with disgust.
“A dog that’s come from a puppy farm? I’d sooner shoot myself than have anything to do with pet store dogs. She knows that.” He tilts his head. “That right there may be the answer to some of our questions.”
Leith is strangely tight-lipped about what he’s thinking, and I get nothing more from him on the subject.
I can’t help but feel out of the loop, that Galiene knows this important fact about him and I don’t.
How much more does she know about his life and perspectives that I have no clue about?
They share an intimate bond that goes back eight years, while I’ve barely known him six weeks.
We work for another few hours and have a quick lunch, then Draven and Leith drive me into the city center. A hailstorm of heartbeats rains in my chest as I step over the threshold of the café. Galiene knows Maw committed euthanasia on her father. What else does she know?
And how does she know it?
More importantly, who else knows?
Finding an empty table, I wait for over fifteen minutes.
I’m just about to give up, when Galiene sails through the door on sky-high stilettos, wearing a light coat, black wool trousers, a white cashmere top, and pearls.
She’s even more elegant than the other three times I’ve seen her.
Without acknowledging me, she perches in the chair opposite, plops her Dior handbag on the table, and lifts a well-manicured finger. This is a self-service café.
A bearded barista stops and gives her a goofy smile. “What can I get for you, miss?”
I roll my eyes as she orders. “A medium oat milk triple decaf latte, served in a large cup.”
No please or thank you.
“Coming right up.” He scurries away, looking as if he’s serving royalty.
I glare across at her. “What do you want?”
I’ve taken it on faith that she and Leith haven’t podgered,?1 but my faith is wearing thin these days.
Looking across at her, I can’t help but imagine what Leith must see as he works with her every day.
A perfect, well put-together woman with hair and skin a top model could only dream of and the body to match.
Galiene produces a document wallet and levels me with a smug look.
“I know Leith forced you to marry him, Iona. In here I’ve printed out all the relevant files I found on a drive he accesses at work—a drive I had someone hack into.
I know he holds over you the fact that your maw committed euthanasia, his plans to ruin your stepfather and sister, and even his threat to replace your identity.
It didn’t take a genius to piece together why he had all this at the ready. ”
As she pauses to let this sink in, I try to remind myself all this is in the past. But is it? Leith was blackmailing me as recently as the other day. And while he’s lifted my house arrest, he hasn’t said anything about his threats.
With a quiet smirk she goes on. “Leith and I had a very detailed plan for how to poison your food. Eight days ago. Leith asked me to map it all out so all he had to do was execute it.”
Her smirk widens as my jaw drops. It’s all too likely that Leith was still planning my death eight days ago. It galls me to think she had a hand in the preparations.
“Aye, I ken all about why he married you, Iona. He wanted to get rid of you, to avenge himself on you.” She takes one of Leith’s belts from her coat pocket. “He left this behind at work the other day. I thought I’d return it.”
She sets it on the table, sliding it across to me. My hands curl into fists under the table, and I shake with rage. Did they fuck at his office?
Her lips curve into a serpent’s smile. “Now, Iona, you’re going to testify in court that Leith forced you to marry him. Because if you don’t, I’ll broadcast to everyone who will listen that your mother mercy killed her own father. She’ll spend the rest of her life in prison, like as not.”
“Why are you doing this?” I strain. At this moment Galiene seems like evil incarnate.
She examines her impeccable nails. “I enjoy doing the world favors. I’m selfless that way. You and Leith were never meant to be together. I’m giving you a chance at an uncomplicated life, free of the darkness the Syndicate brings. Be grateful to me, Iona.”
A deep voice clears from behind me, and both our heads snap up. I twist to find Leith coming around so he stands between me and Galiene. “I was on my way to the office and saw you two in the window. Where’s your author, Iona?”
I blink, having completely forgotten about that fiction. My heart is weighed down by more pressing concerns—like a husband who cheated on me, wanted to poison me, and still holds several threats over my head.
Galiene fills the awkward silence. “I was on my way to meet you when I saw Iona in here and came in to say hi.” She stands and drapes herself over him, laying a hand on his arm and smirking down at me. “I’m ready to work on the Lowing case.”
Once more I’m struck by how natural they look together—like when I first saw them in the other café.
“I’ll give you a ride. My car is right outside.” Leith takes her elbow and leads her toward the door.
I follow, my chest hollow and my feet leaden. Is this how it all ends? Does the bitch get the prince?
The door slams in my face as they close it, and the bearded barista waves me down.
“You need to pay, miss.”
I fumble around for a ten-pound note and slap it in his hand, then hurry out.
Leith opens the back door for Galiene and settles her in back. Then he pops open the driver’s door, beckoning to me. “Get in.”
Since Draven is riding in back with Galiene, I round the car and slide into the passenger side. Something is very off about all this.
Leith tints the windows and roars off, driving away from his work.
“Where are we gaun?” Galiene asks.
Leith nods to Draven, who grabs her wrists and cuffs them, snicking the manacles tight. She screams, but he fastens a gag around her head. She kicks and beats her heels against the back of my seat, until Draven ties her ankles with a rope.
“That oughta do her.” He nods with satisfaction.
Leith reaches over and lays a hand on my thigh. My brain wants to slap it away, but my body is too grateful for his affection. “I heard everything through the mic I installed on the back of your phone.”
I grit my teeth. “Why did you let her go so far?”
His devilish smirk arrows straight to my core, torching it. “I wanted to see if you finally trust me. You didn’t, did you, Scheherazade?”
“Since you heard what she said, I’m surprised you’re asking,” I grumble.
He gives my thigh a squeeze. “I told you I would never cheat on you as long as you service me. Mibbe I should clarify: I will never cheat on you, period.”
“What about the poison?”
“She fabricated that. And I keep that belt in my wardrobe at work. I have five of them.”
“And the blackmail?”
“I won’t blackmail you if you trust me.” His hand moves to my chin, holding it. “Can you, Iona?”
I swallow, unable to answer, I’m so worked up. “I think you wanted to see me squirm.”
A sadist’s smirk pulls at his lips. “That too.”
Twenty minutes later, Leith pulls into the gravel drive of a gorgeous Arts and Crafts house in Bearsden. He passes under an archway to the rear car park and pulls the car over near a back door. Declan stands waiting, hands shoved in his pockets.
“What are we doing here?” I ask.
From Galiene’s cries behind her gag, she knows why we’re here.
Leith meets her eye in the rear view. “We’re gaun to put a few questions to Galiene.”