Page 71 of The Price of Mercy
“Because if he is, I can convince my father to attend. He loves to gloat, and it’s the perfect opportunity for him to examine how much damage he’s done.”
“I don’t want to be anywhere near your fucking father.” My arm twinges at the memory of his heel on my broken bone. “I’ll kill him.”
Sam’s eyes brighten. “Good. That’s the point.” He stands and steps in front of me, cutting off my erratic pacing. “I want you and Kane to get rid of him. You’re good at this kind of thing, aren’t you?”
My heart races. Killing Samuel Wright, although gratifying as fuck, isn’t a walk in the park. “I’ll never be able to get close to him.” What’s more, my kills with Kane were planned down to the minute. We spent months setting everything up for a perfect finale. We don’t have that kind of time with Samuel.
If he attends the party, he’ll be on our doorstep within weeks.
“You will,” Sam insists, grabbing my arm. “I promise. I’ll create an opening. The party is the perfect place.” He releases me and fidgets with his watch band, tugging on the end repeatedly. Raw, red skin peeks out from beneath. “He doesn’t usually bring security. Thanksgiving was an anomaly.”
“I’m not going against a group of armed guards.”
Sam frowns. “He won’t have any.”
I cross my arms. “You’ve got to be joking. He won’t come anywhere near us after that stunt he pulled. He knows we’ll be out for blood”
“That’s the thing—he’s overconfident. It’s his biggest flaw.”
If I tell Kane that Sam’s on board for murder, my boyfriend will be a bundle of incessant energy as we count down the days. It’ll be unbearable. But, I can’t pull this off on my own. I need his crazy ideas to come up with a solid plan. So how can I tell him without getting him too riled up? Or, worse yet, without Mercy finding out?
I doubt she’d be willing to ruin her family’s party—the one good tradition they have going for them—for a little throat-slitting.
The bigger question is why does Sam want to kill his father all of a sudden?
“What’s in it for you?” I narrow my eyes as Sam swallows. “Inheritance? If the cops sniff around, you’ll be suspect number one. Golden child finally reunites with his rich bitch father, only for dad to keel over within a month. It’s suspicious as hell, Sam, and not the kind of court battle you want to go through.”
“I don’t care about the money!” Tearing his watch off, he throws it to the ground and scratches the irritated skin on his wrist. “All I care about is Mercy. How is she?”
I repeat myself from earlier. “See for yourself. Go talk to her.”
“I can’t,” Sam grimaces, grinding his jaw. “I already told you.”
“Why not? Because Daddy’s watching?” I pick up the watch and turn it over to inspect it. “Is this thing bugged?”
“No, I had it checked. It’s a normal watch.”
Shoving the watch into his chest, I snarl. “Then what’s your fucking problem?” I throw my arm out towards the lobby where Mercy’s waiting. “She’sright there, Sam, completely unaware that you’re here. She’s been crying herself to sleep, did you know that? Can’t remember a damn thing she dreams about, but I hear it every night.Sam,don’t leave; Sam, where did you go?; Sam, why did you abandon us?Over and over and over again. It’s enough to make me—” I laugh bitterly as I tug on the ends of my hair, the searing pain in my scalp keeping me grounded. I could get lost in the sound of Mercy’s cries.
“Because if I go out there, I won’t leave!” Sam shoves me back. “If I see her face, even once, I won’t be able to walk away. And right now, she needs me. Not in her arms where I want to be, but where I can be useful. Out here,” he spits, slamming the heel of his palm over my heart. “Where I can’t fucking touch her!” He snarls like an animal and clenches his eyes shut. “I’m doing this for her. The only way to rip his claws out of her is to transfer ownership. That’s the bullshit I’m dealing with. This contract was written in fucking blood. It’s like some—” His face twists. “Underworld shit. He’s the king of hell, and we’re souls for him to collect.”
“He doesn’townpeople, Sam. That’s illegal.”
Sam scoffs. “So is killing people, but that’s never stopped you before. Forty-three people, Zane? Are you fucking crazy?”
Dread fills my gut like lead. “How do you know that?”
“Because that’s his latest punishment.” Sam’s sneer is ugly as hell. “Tallying up how many people you’ve killed and how they died. Don’t ask me how he has the resources. I just knowthat there’s only so many dismemberment videos that I can take before I fucking crack.”
There shouldn’t have been any recording devices on site foranyof our kills. “It has to be doctored footage. That’s impossible.” Yet, Sam knows our exact number of kills. A wave of anxiety ripples through my body like an undeniable current, easily sweeping me into a panic. If Sam already knows that much about Kane and me, what else can he find out? Are our whole lives on record in some billionaire’s basement for him to laugh at whenever he damn well pleases?
Does power like that even exist?
“Mercy’s forty-four, isn’t she?” Sitting in one of the patient chairs, Sam puts his head in his hands. “Just another number for you two. I can’t fucking believe it.”
“Oh, don’t act all high and mighty. You know if the roles were reversed and Mercy wanted to kill people, you’d be lining up victims for her.” I hold my head high. “I have no fucking regrets, because I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. And you, Sam, are no different than me. Don’t you dare pretend to be shocked and disgusted about what we’ve done until you’ve had a good, hard look in the mirror, because I promise you, the minute she looks you in the eyes and whispers her greatest desires, you’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy. No matter the cost.”
Sam takes a deep breath and meets my eyes. “I can’t do that with a leash around my neck.” He pulls at his collar next, loosening his tie when that doesn’t satisfy him. “Getting rid of my father serves two purposes. It ensures that I have enough assets to do whatever the hell I want with my life, and—” He stares at the wall between him and Mercy. “It passes ownership of every fucked-up contract my father owns to me, including the one with Ingrid Morningstar’s name on it.”
