Page 3 of Blood & Lace
"Sasha."
He laughed. "Sasha. I knew I should have killed that bitch."
"Yeah, you should have, because she's going to get the last laugh."
I snagged the phone I'd been using all evening and turned on recording. George tried to shoot more vitriol my way, but he fell. When the shaking started, a seizure wrapping him in its grasp, I stood over him and watched. His arm shot out, his hand tightening around my ankle, but I knew it wouldn't take long now.
Once he stopped moving, I crouched down and pressed two fingers against his neck. No pulse. George was gone.
I stopped the recording and put the phone away. Grabbing my clothes, I redressed, cleaned up any fingerprints and DNA, and then headed out. The stairwell was as empty as the elevator, and I took them down two at a time until I reached the ground floor.
That was a close one.
I took out my notepad as I waited for a taxi. Carefully, I made another notch on the page before I tucked it away again.
Mission completed.
1
ONYX
“The bodyof prominent tech billionaire and philanthropist George Abbot was found dead this morning in his uptown loft. Police say there are no signs of foul play or an attempted break in, but the investigation is still open and ongoing. George Abbot was known for the good he's done in the city of New York, but with his death there's been a slew of very serious accusations along with a file that was emailed to the police of potential victims who might have been brutalized by the man. Nothing is confirmed, but we'll bring you more updates as they come to light.”
I turned away from the television and towel dried my hair as my tea cooled. Now that I was mission free, I had some errands to run. There were people that needed to be taken care of, money that needed to be distributed, and I had to return Sasha's, of course. She'd proven she was serious about the job. I didn't need to take her money.
After all, I really did have plenty of my own.
I tuned back into the TV in time to see something that piqued my interest. When the volume came back up, I grinned a little.
“There's more news that the Black Widow of New York has struck again. George Abbot is thought to be one ofmanyvictims. Even though there was no sign of foul play, police are searching for the Black Widow's signature, a card with a single black widow on it. The words Um sementem faceris, ita metes—you reap what you sow—usually come along with it."
Now, that brought me a sense of satisfaction. There was no point in going around killing these bastards if the friends that ran in their circles didn't know the truth; that someone saw everything they did, and they wouldn't get away with it.
Ringing dragged me out of my thoughts. I checked the ID before pressing the phone to my ear. "Cara."
"Hey, beautiful," she said. "Saw the mission went well."
"It did," I confirmed. "Took me a minute to get him to warm up, but it all worked out in the end."
"You're so good with them." She chuckled. "They always go where you lead."
"Don't they?"
I checked out my nails in the sun. There was a chip in one of them. My little fight with George had ruined that manicure quickly, hadn't it? Ugh. I had to go to the shop this afternoon. It was hard enough trying to reel in these men who trusted no one and nothing, being anything less than perfection just made my job that much harder. No need for that.
"Are you ready for another one?"
I paused. "So quickly?
"What? You bored of the game already?"
I chuckled. "No, never that," I answered as I made my way to the kitchen. I sipped on my green tea. "Usually we have some space, that's all."
"True, but this one is a doozy, and I know how much you hate this particular kind of bug. The lowest of the low. Scum. True vermin."
My body went cold. "Fuck."
"Yeah."
