8
Crewe
I didn’t see London the next morning, but Finley assured me she was well.
She hadn’t tried to kill herself in the middle of the night.
Ariel knocked on my open door. “Bones is an hour out.”
“Thank you.” In an hour, my prisoner would be gone forever. Joseph, along with the rest of the world, would know I made good on my threats. I unleashed unforgivable punishments on my enemies—something they could never forget.
“Anything you need me to do before I head home for the day?” she asked.
“No, that’s it. Have a good night.”
She smiled before she walked out.
I stared out the window to the green island beyond. The sky was pale blue, nearly white. The wind was light that afternoon, the storm off the coast of Ireland long gone. I admired the beauty of the outside world before I realized it was time to get London ready.
I walked into her bedroom without knocking since I owned her and the room. “Pack your things. He’ll be here in thirty minutes.”
She sat at the foot of the bed with her knees pulled to her chest. In a baggy shirt and sweatpants, she looked like she hadn’t slept at all last night. Her eyes were directed out the window, a defeated gloss to her gaze.
“Did you hear me?” I asked with more force.
“I don’t have any things because I’m not a person…”
I listened to the melancholy in her voice but didn’t let it sink under my skin. I walked farther into the room until I was by her side. Then I grabbed her by the throat, surprised when she didn’t show the slightest reaction. “Enough with the pity party.”
“Why couldn’t you just kill me?” Her voice broke, and tears streamed down her face like an unexpected avalanche. “That’s vengeance enough.”
“But not good vengeance.” I released my fingers from her throat, annoyed my touch had no effect on her. “Forget your tears, and get over it.”
She looked up at me, her cheeks stained with tears she’d already shed. I’d never witnessed her cry before even though she’d struggled the entire time she lived there. Like diamonds, her tears sparkled. They caught the natural sunlight from the window and twinkled. Just when old tears streaked down and dripped off her cheek, new ones developed. “Please don’t do this, Crewe. There’s still time.”
All I did was shake my head.
She grabbed my wrist and squeezed it. “I know you’re a good man. I know you’re better than this.”
I watched new tears well up inside her eyes before they bubbled and dripped out. Her fingers wrapped around my wrist just the way she gripped my arms when we were in bed the night before. Something shifted inside me, a feeling I couldn’t identify. I wasn’t even sure if it was good or bad. “I’m not a good man. I take intelligence from friends and allies, and I sell it to their enemies for a profit. I’m not better than the law since I refuse to obey it. I live by my own rules, my own moral code. If I want to sell you, I will. I don’t give a damn if you’re an innocent woman trying to save lives. To me, you’re just a pawn in a game. Your suffering and your death mean absolutely nothing to me.” I twisted my hand from her grasp. “Nothing.”
I sat on the couch and watched the minutes tick by. The large hand of the grandfather clock moved round and round, marking down to the moment when Bones would land on the field outside my home.
I sipped my scotch, feeling the ice cubes press against my lips as I drank. When the glass was empty, I refilled it and rested it on my knee, staring at the clock again. London had stopped sobbing fifteen minutes ago. Even with her door closed to her bedroom upstairs, I could still hear her cries.
They annoyed me.
Finley entered the room. “Sir, the helicopter has just landed. Bones will be here shortly.”
I raised my glass to him. “Thanks, Finley.”
He nodded and left.
I abandoned my drink and rose to my feet, adjusting my tie without seeing myself in a mirror. I placed my hands in my pockets and walked to the front door. “London, get your ass down here.” I’d give her a second to take a breath before she walked downstairs to be claimed by this madman. But if she waited too long, I’d walk up there and drag her down by her hair.
Finley opened the front door and ushered Bones and his two cronies inside.
“Always a pleasure.” I shook Bones’ hand.
“Likewise. And where’s my little pleasure?” He wore a gray suit with a black tie, standing at my height but with much more fat around the middle.
“She’s coming.”
“Excellent.” Bones handed a suitcase to me. “It’s all in there.”