Page 70 of Reaper Flame

“That was the pathologist’s office,” Zander continued, holding up his cell. “The manor wasn’t empty when you burned it down.”

“You’re lying,” Giles said, but his voice was an octave higher than usual like someone was sinking their nails into his scrote.

“What have I got to gain by lying? My manor is gone,” Zander replied. “They’ve identified the body.”

“Who?” Vixen asked.

Zander didn’t take his eyes off Giles. I didn’t think it was possible for the cousins to hate each other any more than they did, but resentment sizzled in the air.

“Penelope Cole.”

Giles’s rosy cheeks turned a ghostly white. A shade I’d only seen on cadavers. It wasn’t a surprise Penelope would try to leech off the Sevens. I bet she’d caught word they were out of town and wanted to make quick cash. Her family fortune was crumbling, and after dropping Giles and failing to seduce West, she had nothing and no man to rely on.

“You’re making it up,” Giles stammered.

“Did you really think Hiram would send his best men to do your dirty work?” I asked, looking at Giles in disgust. “Do you think his men are the type to check whether a building is empty before blowing it apart?”

“I don’t believe you,” Giles said. His tone was riddled with desperation like he wanted to convince himself. “Any of you!”

“Listen closer, cousin. Because that’s not all,” Zander hissed. “Penelope was pregnant.”

Pregnant?!

Mieko gasped in horror, and Vixen turned on West. “You didn’t....?”

“Of course fucking not!” West spat. “I wouldn’t touch her. The only time I saw her was at Red’s fucking funeral, which means...”

West’s voice trailed off. As the realization dawned on Giles, he looked like he wanted to throw himself into a fucking fire. I remembered how devastated he was when we attended the funeral together. It crushed him to see Penelope sidling up to West. He loved her, and now? She was gone, and so was his unborn child.

“You’re lying!” Giles screamed, his voice shook and shoulders trembled. “It’s what you want me to think! Just like you did with Red!”

“If you don’t believe me, call the pathologist yourself,” Zander said with no ounce of sympathy.“They’ll tell you the same thing I did.”

Giles pushed aside his security and fled. He thought burning down the manor would be the ultimate act of revenge, but it cost him the most important people in his life. He couldn’t fix this mistake with his Uncle’s help. Death was irreversible, and there was no worse punishment than him having to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his miserable and pathetic existence.

* * *

It’s funny how the death of someone you hated can still get under your skin. Penelope was a gold-digging bitch I’d have been happy to scalp on many occasions, but she didn’t deserve to die like that. Motherhood could have been the making of her, but we’d never know.

Since we heard the news, a strange, unsettling feeling swept over Lapland. West had been sitting alone at the bar drinking for an hour. I pulled up a stool next to him. Emotional conversations weren’t usually my jam, but I had to say something.

I cleared my throat and asked, “Are you... you know ...okay?”

What a stupid fucking question! Of course he’s not!

He drained his glass and slammed it down, then poured another.

“I’d feel better if I could put Giles in the ground,” he replied.

West hated the person Penelope became, but he used to care about her once.They had a shared history. They’d known each other since boarding school. Penelope used West’s feelings for money and crushed his heart, but, before all that, she must have been bearable for him to fall for her.

“Why do you think she was at the manor?” I asked.

“Money,” he replied without hesitation. “It’s what she always wanted.”

She must have been desperate. Maybe that’s why she jumped at the opportunity to be West’s guest at Rocky’s funeral? Sure, she had feelings for West for years, but there could have been more to it. After finding out she was pregnant and Giles was destitute, she needed to fill his place quickly. Was she planning to seduce West? Would she have told Giles about the baby? There were many questions we’d never get the answer to.

“I guess that’s one thing she and Giles had in common,” I replied wryly. “He’s already got the worst punishment.”

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