Page 43 of Odin

I sat and watched as the light went out from her eyes. Cordelia Conti Lombardo was dead.

I hurried to the bedroom to survey the scene I had to work with. They had already torn the bed apart, and setting the stage wouldn't take much effort. I was glad that the room didn't reek of their fornication. Grabbing the chief first, I laid him on one stack of pillows. I laid the bitch flat on the bed with her head on his shoulder, wrapping her hand around his waist. The tray was the last piece, and I placed it on the nightstand. My work here was done.

Walking out of the room, I used the phone to call back down to the central office.

“I serviced Room 929, as requested. They spilled a drink, and it was an easy cleanup.”

“We’ll mark it down.”

No thank you. No fuck off. No nothing.

I would burn the uniform when I made it back to my playroom, but for now, I snuck out the side door and walked to my car. Stolen plates were on the back of the car, so I wasn't worried the camera would pick up a partial. As long as they couldn't get a good read on me, and they wouldn't, I was fine.

I sent Mr. De Angelis an email as I sat in my parking garage.

I am going to need a cleanup on Aisle 2.

The strawberry containers broke open.

-O

He wouldn't send a cleanup crew for this, as the chief and Cordelia needed to be found in their compromising position, but I wanted him to know that this was over.

He replied a few minutes later.

S is alright.

Tomorrow, 9 AM.

-AD

There wouldn't be much to discuss tomorrow, but this was just procedure.

Serena was working at Euforia tonight, and when Mr. De Angelis had heard, he'd sent extra guards and two additional Syndicates to watch over her. She wasn't aware that there were extra eyes on her in the club.

Standing in my playroom, I burned my clothes and accessories before showering in the basement.

My suit was already ready for me. Dr. Nystrom had just finished an emergency appointment and was dropping in on his wife.

***

The news was having a record season. First the De Lucas and then the mental health crises at the police station. Now, they reported that the chief and Cordelia Conti were victims of the epidemic. The reporters had found their first marriage certificate and were having a field day with the conspiracy theories. Were they back together? Had it been a second-chance romance? Had Lorenzo found out, and it had driven them to a suicide pact? Each revelation was just as atrocious as the previous one.

Housekeeping had found them dead in their hotel suite. They'd called the police to report the deaths, but it had cost them any new check-ins as the hotel was on lockdown. Their staff had received a night off with pay, which I thought was nice, considering how they treated them. The medical examiner wasn't sure how to diagnose the cause of death, but he had erred on the side of caution, ruling it an accidental overdose.

The Lombardos asked for the media to let them grieve privately. In reality, no one missed Cordelia. She had gotten what she deserved.

Epilogue

3Years Later

Serena

I sat on the deck lounger, staring out into the vast unknown. The waves crashed against the sand in a rhythmic lull that almost made me believe anything was possible. The sun set over the water in bright pinks, oranges, and purples as I watched. I could have stayed here forever, but our time on the island was ending soon.

I'd turned twenty-one, and there had been a difference in opinion how I should celebrate. Katalina had tried to talk Odin into letting us go out drinking and dancing for the night. She had claimed we'd never had that chance to be young, and this was our opportunity to live a little. He had let her ramble on and had never said a word. I was actually the one who had turned down the idea. The only place we would have gone was Euforia, and I spent too much time there as it was. Going to work on my day off wasn't exactly how I had wanted to spend my birthday.

My father had offered to plan a family party at the compound, but I'd turned that down as well. There had been too many whispers about why I wasn't pregnant after three years of marriage. My family meant well, but they unknowingly fed into my anxiety that something was internally wrong from the rape. I didn't want to put a smile on and listen to them give me advice on how to get pregnant. Sex wasn't an issue.

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