Page 31 of Broken Discipline
“Ramona Kylie Carter,” I said firmly, putting an end to that guessing game. The three of them fell silent, glancing at each other, like this was another clue to their puzzle.
I shouldn’t have said that, but Ihatedwhen they treated her like an object. She had a damn name.
“She was Kylie before she married Bruce, right?” Saunders asked.
Bloom waved his hand at Saunders, dismissing the question, then added: “What did you exchange for his wife?”
I checked my watch, then shifted back in the seat. “Carter Care is going public. He wants a controlling share of the stock.”
“Lies,” Upchurch said. “Carter Care would never go public.”
“For the right price, no?” Saunders asked, his eyes shifting back and forth between me and Upchurch. “If the wife means enough to Carter, and less to Bruce, then it’s a good trade for both of them, correct?”
“But Carter Carehasn’tgone public yet,” Upchurch shifted forward. “Tell us the truth. How did you convince my cousin to change his will?”
I held back the grin building inside of me. This was what I had expected. Saunders was insignificant; it was his job to work within the board, attending and commenting on every meeting, and Bloom was only doing his due diligence because he was the director of the board. But Upchurch? Upchurch found this to be personal, and that amused me.
I didn’t care about the Astley fortune, nor did I care about Bruce’s will. But BruceowedRamona and the twins. If his will happened to change before his business trip, excluding the bloodline clause, then that was a strange coincidence.
A strange coincidenceIhelped create. Negotiations were never my strong suit, but people could be accommodating when held to the right circumstances.
“Why do you care about his will?” I taunted Upchurch. “You’re sure he’s dead?”
“You know that these things—”
“Business is business,” I said confidently. I tilted my head. “Bruce and I made a deal. He went on a business trip and gave me specific instructions to wait until he returned to take the company public.”
“My cousin ismissing,you ignorant asshole,” Upchurch said loudly, standing up, if his anger was bursting at the seams. Bloom coughed into his fist, trying to ignore the outburst, but Saunders’s jaw dropped; he was taking in the drama. “And if that fortune goes to one of those brats,” Upchurch continued, “I will make sure that I find out who messed with the papers, and those responsiblewill pay for it.”
This time, I didn’t hold back. A smile lifted from my mouth, washing over me like a hot, sunny day. Upchurch thought he could threaten me, when I could kill him over this table before his fellow board members had the chance to yell for help.
The only reason I hadn’t was because of the rest of the Marked Blooms Syndicate. This wasn’t a war. This was simply a battle between Upchurch and I.
His confidence was irritating, but it gave me an advantage. I waved a hand in front of my face, dismissing the conversation.
“The Marked Blooms Syndicate never interferes with member negotiations or issues, correct, Bloom?” I asked. Bloom nodded his head and Upchurch bared his teeth, scowling at me like a wolf. “Our business is a private affair.” I leaned over the table. “So it’s none of your business, Upchurch.”
“And we want this to be resolvedpeacefully,which is why I’m checking in right now withbothof you,” Bloom said, cutting in. His glare shifted between Upchurch and me, then settled back on Upchurch. “Carter Care is one of the best elimination contractors we have. Wecannotlose them over simple family drama.”
Upchurch’s nostrils flared, while Bloom and Saunders exchanged looks. I didn’t trust any of them. They were all out for their own good. Even if Bloom and Saunders didn’t care about Upchurch’s cousin, they were gettingsomethingout of this. And I was getting something out of it too:Ramona.Membership was the only way to get into Opulent Gates, and if that’s what it took—faking loyalty to a bunch of wealthy criminals, contract killing for them, even killing my own father at the Masquerade—then so fucking be it.
“Well, if that’s it,” Bloom said, straightening himself. “That’ll be all today, Carter.”
I shook hands with three of them, even Upchurch. But as I left the room, Upchurch followed me out.
“Carter,” he said. I kept my hand on my holster. Upchurch glared at me. “Bloom might not see your betrayals clearly, but I do.” His upper lip curled. “Watch your back.”
I kept myself cool, not giving him the satisfaction of an answer. Upchurch wasn’t worth my time or attention. When his time was up, he’d pay for beating Ramona too. All I needed was the right opportunity.
Outside of the Bloom Estate, I rolled my neck, irritation building inside of me. It was time for a pleasure kill. Lennon wasn’t a contract for Carter Care; he was a Marked Blooms Syndicate member who had tortured Ramona at the Masquerade, this time putting increasingly heavy weights on her feet as she straddled a triangle-shaped bench, the top point like a blade cutting into her pussy. In the surveillance footage, Ramona had been blindfolded, but whenever she angled to one side or the other, Lennon hit her with a shovel, increasing the pressure of impact each time.
I couldn’t kill her abusers all at once. Part of getting rid of them was taking care of them one by one so that the Syndicate never caught onto the pattern. High-visibility Marked Blooms Syndicate members, like Lennon, had enemies. I wasn’t the only one.
And I took pleasure in knowing that soon, it would be Upchurch’s turn too.
The Lennon Estate had one weakness. Because Lennon was a botanophile, he hired out a specific landscaping service, a company that had worked for him for years, long before he had his millions. Shielding my face with a large hat, I dipped inside of the Flower & Vine building, then quickly found two uniforms in the locker area. Once my Carter Care guard and I were dressed, the guard drove one of the work vans to the Lennon Estate. He ‘worked’ on the plants while I knocked on the front door.
A puffy-faced man stared back at me. A thin sheen of sweat covered his face, a full suit cloaking his body.
