Page 75 of Graveyards & Greed

“Where are you at?”

I glanced at Drakos. “I'm at Drakos’s loft. I can meet you at the mortuary or Luigi’s in fifteen.”

He stood, his sheer size suddenly making the patio feel small. “Tell her to come here.”

Alexa heard him. “That will work. I'll be there in ten.” She hung up and I scowled at him.

Shrugging, he bent down and gave me a quick, hard kiss. “Even if you met her at your apartment, I’d still go with you.”

Ten minutes later, I buzzed her in. We stood around the kitchen bar, and I passed Alexa a leftover taco and popped open a seltzer for her. “Spill it,” I urged, foregoing pleasantries as I slid the food over.

She glanced between Drakos and me then took a drink. “Your father has a life insurance policy out on you.”

Her words made no sense at first. “Jeffrey Whitlock? The man sitting in prison right now?”

“Yes.”

“But… how? Doesn’t the insurer need my consent? And how does a prisoner get a life insurance policy on someone?”

Alexa let out a long breath. “He’s had it since you were a child, so he didn’t need your consent, and the yearly premium amount is minimal.”

“Why would he do that?” Anxiety and hatred flooded my system. Whenever I thought my father couldn’t get worse, he somehow managed it.

“How much is the policy worth?” Drakos asked.

Alexa hesitated. “Usually, there’s a maximum amount a parent can take out, but this is an annuity.”

“How much is it worth?” I whispered.

“Almost half a million.” Alexa picked up her taco and took a bite. “We can get the policy canceled now that we know about it. Especially when the policyholder finds out he’s in prison, and why.”

As I reeled over the news, Alexa finished her taco.

“There’s something else. I’ve been… uh, monitoring Ivan’s feeds.” She glanced at Drakos and winced, likely knowing Ivan would soon hear about her hacking into his system. “LeBaron figured out you were with Drakos that night at Titties when the two bikers went missing. He ran your image through a facial recognition program.”

I rolled my shoulders, feeling the weight of my decision settle. “I'm going to find a way to kill that fucking bastard.”

Alexa raised her eyebrows. “Which one? Your father or LeBaron?”

Drakos straightened. “They both need to die. But it’s going to take some planning, so in the meantime, we’re getting married.

“Christ on a cracker. We don’t need to rush into this,” I ground out.

Alexa stood. “Whoa! Married? Who said anything about marriage?”

Drakos’s eyes narrowed. “We absolutelydoneed to rush this.” He had a good foot of height on me, and I had to kink my neck back to meet his hard stare, but we squared off.

“You think prosecutorial immunity is a good enough reason to tie the knot?”

“It’s just one of the many reasons. But, yes, I do.”

My temper ignited as hurt swam through me. “Yeah? Well, I’d rather—”

“What the hell iswrongwith you guys?” Alexa cut in as she turned to Drakos. “I swear, you and your partners may be richer than most small countries, but you’re all emotionally stunted. Seriously. Why can’t you just tell Sylvie she’s the most unique, intriguing woman you’ve ever met, you love her and want to marry her, and she’d be safer if you do it sooner rather than later?”

Alexa turned to me and pointed. “And you.”

“Me? What did I do?”

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