Page 34 of Retaliation
“Electric fence is down. I’m in. Rounding the west side of the mansion now. Part one of our plan is complete,” Tibby whispered, a little breathless as she ran.
“Oh I do love fireworks!” I exclaimed and clapped as others started doing the same.
Another security guard ran down the steps, barking orders into his earpiece as he went. “Secure the driver. Bring him to the lower level for questioning.”
Okay, so maybe I set up the Uber driver. But he was, in fact, a slimy dickhead. Tibby found out he’d been snapping and selling very inappropriate photos of girls who were too drunk to notice as he drove them home. He had his own sleazy site on the dark web with hundreds of photos. So I really wasn’t all that sad about planting fireworks in his car or feeling remotely guilty about the blast blowing him to bits. And if it didn’t, the tiny device on his jacket would shock his heart and kill him instantly. One less creep in the world.
To make sure no one suspected me, I planted several tiny bombs on a few other cars after Tibby secured the guest list. It would look like a targeted attack against the rich and powerful. Something too wild for little old me to come up with.
“Well, I’m off to the party then. Thank you for the entertaining reception, Samuel.” I winked at the guy as I took my purse back.
His mouth flopped open like a fish out of water. For being a Blackbyrn, he was rather dimwitted. Poor guy was going to get eaten alive by this shitty cult, unless I destroyed them all first.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Leviathan
Ihated attending these fancy events. Andras and Devon at least fit the part; they both looked excellent dressed up. We all wore custom tuxes, similar styles, but they really looked the part. I fidgeted with my bowtie. It felt more like a noose. I pulled it loose, my skin hot as the memory of my father’s torture flooded my mind.
Samuel Delano was a beast of a man, average height, but thick muscles all over. He trained almost as hard as Ty in the gym. My father was duty bound guard to Ezekiel Parrish, Dev’s father, like Ty’s father was to Laszlo Blackbyrn. While they were all the Kings of The Obscuritas, Laszlo and Ezekiel were the brains, and Darren and Samuel were the brawn. When Dev’s father was killed, the dynamic shifted to Laszlo now being guarded twice as heavy. We knew as soon as we were told about Ezekiel’s death that it was no accident. Part of Dev broke that night.
I looked over at him, his back to us as he gazed out of the window. If I were being honest, I missed my brother. We refused the dynamic of our fathers and instead vowed to be friends and equals in all things. We protected each other equally. When he cut us out, it was like a missing link, our circle was broken. Having him around just these few days made my heart ache for that bond to be healed.
My phone rang, pulling me out of the emotional spiral, and I grimaced at the caller ID.
“Hello, father.”
Samuel grunted. “Son. I assume you’ve heard about the recent death of Jackson?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course. What of it?”
“Watch your tone, boy,” Samuel growled down the line. “Jackson was tasked with keeping an eye on Devon Parrish. And now I hear Devon has rejoined the group.”
I turned to Dev and frowned. “Not exactly.”
“Did he murder Jackson?” Samuel asked, his voice deadly serious even as I laughed.
“No, father. We’re looking into it. Whoever killed Jackson was clearly a professional. Andras has his best people on the case.” I faced the others, their attention turning to me with curious eyes.
“Well figure it out, and quickly,” Samuel shouted.
I pulled the phone away and pressed mute, ignoring his rant.
Andras raised an eyebrow as he sipped his vodka. “Why is he so angry tonight?”
I shrugged. “Who knows.” I unmuted the phone. “Father, I have to go. We’re needed at the party.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Samuel huffed. “We moved the prisoner earlier today. A tip came through that something might happen at Vespertine tonight. Stay alert. Keep your daemons close.”
“Will do.” I hung up, not giving a single shit if that pissed him off. “Well that was random.”
Ty leaned forward in the armchair, his sleeves rolled up and his bowtie hanging loose around his thick neck. “Interesting. I also received a call from my father. He was equally vague.”
Andras stalked across the room and began retying my bowtie. “Suspecting Devon is a strange accusation. If Father actually thought Devon killed that letch, Devon would be locked in a cell. He was testing you.”
I frowned. “Testing me for what?”
Andras patted down the lapels of my jacket, and I swatted his hands away.
