by B. B. Hamel
I turned to Penny and gently took her arm. She was shaking, and she wouldn’t look at Old Bern’s body.
“Come,” I said softly, pulling her with me. “We have to go now.”
“You killed him.” She whispered the words.
“I did. And by the time the others realize it was me, it won’t matter anymore.” I steered her to the door.
Redmond followed. “When do we move on her?” he hissed, trying to regain some of his self-confidence after nearly shitting himself.
Stupid idiot. It was all worthless bravado.
“Soon. We move on her soon. Gather your forces and consolidate your strength. Make sure you have control of the Orchard family. Then, we’ll kill that bitch Maeve.”
Redmond grinned wickedly.
I pulled Penny away, and she didn’t resist.
I wished she understood why I was doing all of this.
Everything, all the blood, all the bullets, all the suffering and death, everything was for her.
From the moment I saw her to now.
Everything, for her.
11
Alice
Eight Years Ago
Blackwoods College
I waited until there was no sound coming from either end of the stairwell.
It was a cold, concrete structure, and I felt my hairs stand on edge. I was always anxious whenever I contacted Maeve, but this was on another level. She’d made sure I understood how important this mission was, and how there was no possibility of failure.
I either murdered Penny Servant, or I didn’t bother coming home.
The phone rang several times before Maeve answered. It was her private line, and only a handful of people knew the number.
Once, that would’ve brought me pleasure.
Now it only made me shift from foot to foot.
“Hello, darling Alice.” Maeve’s voice was silk on velvet, a smooth cascade of fresh running mountain water. I shivered and leaned against the wall, trying to steady myself.
“Hello, Mother.”
She wasn’t my real mom, and I never called her that back home. But since I came to Blackwoods, we had an agreement: I was never to use her name, no matter what, even when I was sure that I was alone and nobody could hear.
We had to be careful. This wasn’t some game.
And if it was, I couldn’t afford to lose.
“How are things at school?”
“They’re going well. I try to study as often as possible, like you asked.” Code for: Penny’s still alive, but I’m working on it.
“I appreciate your dedication to your studies.” Meaning: don’t fuck this up.
“I did notice something strange about my roommate.”
“Oh, did you? The coin girl?”
I tried not to smile. Maeve avoided saying her name at all costs, and took a strange, sick pleasure in demeaning Penny in often subtle ways.
“Yes, the coin girl. A boy’s been following her around. Maybe you’ll have heard of him. Kaspar Baskin.”
A long silence. Maeve knew the Baskin family intimately. They were another set of Oligarchs, an old and storied group of famous psychopaths, and she had no love for them at all.
“I might’ve heard of him. From what I understand, he’s very clever.”
“He seems extremely interested in my roommate. I’m not sure what that means.”
“Be careful with that boy. Your studies are paramount, and I wouldn’t allow some college crush to get in the way of you graduating on time.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Mother.”
“Good. I don’t want you getting embroiled in anything dangerous.” She emphasized that last word: dangerous. “Study hard and fast, my darling. I believe in you.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
With that, we got off the phone. I stood staring down at the floor processing for a while, trying to read between the lines of what she’d said. Kaspar was dangerous, that was obvious, but there wasn’t much else there to parse through.
Which suggested Maeve didn’t know much else about him.
That was surprising. Maeve knew everything about everyone. She made it her mission to know the things that shouldn’t be known and went out of her way to collect rumors, stories, outright lies, and whatever else she could get her hands on.
Information was her game. The other Oligarchs used strength of arms and money to fight amongst each other, but Maeve practiced something much subtler. She was the spymaster, the thief in the night, the dagger in the back beneath a full moon. Maeve employed targeted assassinations and smear campaigns, and never went to war.
War was a boy’s game, she always said. War was for children, and we weren’t children.
I left the library stairwell and headed out into the night, walking slow. Kaspar was a problem, but I couldn’t decide how big of one. Penny seemed to find him more obnoxious and annoying than anything else, but it was the way he looked at me that set my spine tingling.
Like he knew something that he shouldn’t.
Kaspar was dangerous and smart. If Maeve said so, then it was true.
Only I had to decide how smart, and how dangerous.
And if he needed to be eliminated.
Or if I needed to move up my timetable.
I should’ve stabbed Penny in the throat in the middle of the night and been done with all this. My reasoning felt thinner and thinner the longer I went. Maeve wanted me to send a message, but that could be accomplished very easily with the right amount of blood.
No, I was dragging my feet for another reason.
That bothered me. For as long as I’ve known Maeve, I’ve only ever wanted to make her proud. Nothing else mattered—not boys, not school, not any of the myriad little silly things most girls my age thought about.
For me, it was Maeve and Maeve alone. I wanted her approval. I craved her attention.
Killing Penny would give me all of that and more. Killing Penny would make Maeve happy.
So why didn’t I just strangle the girl and be done with it?
I wandered into our dorm and trudged up the steps. My mind was spinning around that problem and I didn’t notice that the door to our room was open until I pushed it open and felt no resistance.
I stared in at Kaspar as he stooped over Penny’s dresser, his hand shoved in her drawer.
His eyes slid over to me.
He should’ve looked embarrassed. I caught him in the act of touching Penny’s things—her underwear, by the look of it, which was creepy as all fucking hell—not to mention the fact that he’d broken into our room. Anger started up my throat, but I choked it back down, fighting to keep myself calm.
Maeve always taught me that a calm mind made better decisions, and I needed my wits right now.
Kaspar straightened slowly. He tilted his head, frowning like I was the one interrupting him.
“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to keep my tone smooth.
“Going through Penny’s things.”
“I see that. Why?”
“Because she won’t answer my calls, and I want to know why.”
I let that hang in the air. This madman was so crazy that he couldn’t imagine why someone might not be interested in playing his little game.
“Have you considered that she just doesn’t like you very much?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Then consider it and get the fuck out of my room.”
He didn’t move. Kaspar was a big guy, easily twice my size. His fists could smash through my teeth if he decided he wanted to squash me like a bug.
I forced panic away. I wouldn’t let it drag me under.
Suddenly, his face changed from the slightly annoyed to the mildly curious. He leaned against her bed and crossed his arms.
“Maybe you can be helpful.”
“I don’t think so.” I opened the door wider. “Please leave before I start screaming for help.”
“I doubt you’ll do that.” He gestured with his hea
d, beckoning me closer. “Come in here and talk to me.”
I hesitated, but I was tempted. I needed to know Kaspar if I wanted to size him up as a threat, but going into that room and trapping myself with that snake was a terrible idea.
I stepped past the threshold but left the door wide open. It was my one nod toward safety. If Kaspar minded, he didn’t show it.
I sat down on my bed and crossed my legs.
“What do you want to know?”
“Does Penny have a guy in her life?”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“Does she have family issues?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Is she gay?”
I snorted and shook my head. “No, and it’s insane you’d even ask.”
He leaned closer, his eyes sparkling with intensity. “Is she afraid of me?”
I let that one sink in before answering.
“I think so, yes.”
He smiled like that was the answer he wanted.
“I want you to tell her to come out with me.”
“Why the fuck would I do that?”
He stood up and brushed his hands against his pants like he had filth on them. “Because your room is shockingly bland. No personal effects, no letters from home, no pictures, nothing. It’s like you have no past at all.”
I opened my mouth and snapped it shut. That fucking bastard went through my things. He must’ve done my side first before moving on to Penny’s. I wondered how long he’d been in our freaking room and who the heck let him in.
He was right—I had nothing personally identifiable. I had the surface-level trappings of a life, like books, posters of favorite movies, and a few small Ninja Turtle statues that could’ve been from home but were actually bought from the dollar store a week before leaving.
But nothing that would’ve passed any sort of scrutiny. Fortunately, Penny wasn’t exactly the most paranoid person I’d ever met.
Kaspar was dangerous, and he was clever.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said defiantly, tilting my chin up to stare in his eyes.
His grin widened. “I don’t know who you are or what you’re playing at, and I truly don’t give a shit. The Servant family can deal with their own shit. So long as you leave Penny alone, feel free to hang around and spy.”
“I’m not spying and I don’t know what Penny’s family has to do with any of this.”
“I’m sure you don’t.” He drifted toward the door. “Tell her to come out with me, little spy. Otherwise, I’ll cut your throat and toss your body in the lake, and don’t think that’s an idle threat.” He waved and left.
I collapsed back onto my bed, heart racing.
That man was a nightmare. He was a freaking monster.
He saw right through my cover and knew something was wrong with me.
But he didn’t realize why I was here. He thought I was sent to spy on Penny—but he had no clue the extent of the plot against her.
I was an assassin, not a spy.
A killer, not a watcher.
I’d have to move up my timetable if I was going to pull this off. Kaspar’s scrutiny was getting too intense, and he was getting much too close to my real identity.
Except the same thing holding me back before was still there, making me hesitate now.
I could strangle her tonight, drag her body into the quad, and leave her there, dismembered and oozing. I could slam her head in the door until her brain leaked all over the floor.
But I didn’t want to.
As soon as I did it, my life as a college student would be over.
The truth hit me in the chest. It took my breath away and I couldn’t identify the feeling that flooded me.
Regret? Nostalgia? Anger?
A little of all three, and so more much.
I spent my life with Maeve. I owed her everything and loved her like a goddess.
Only I’d never had freedom like this before.
Never really had any friends.
Penny was the closest I’d ever gotten.
I liked her. I hated myself for it, but I liked her. She was sweet and funny and earnest, and not at all like what I imagined the daughter of an Oligarch family would be. There wasn’t a hint of pretention in her, which might’ve been to her detriment.
Still, she was smart and she was strong.
And she was trusting.
I wanted to stay here. I didn’t want to kill my only friend and run back to Maeve’s quiet, cold manor house. She’d give me a job, more responsibility, more opportunities than I could ever imagine, but it was like a wall had grown between my life there and my life here, and I didn’t want to cross back over.
Kaspar might force my hand, and I hated him for that.
I rolled onto my side, two warring desires fighting for control, and I didn’t know which would win.
12
Penny
Present Day
Rome, Italy
I expected Kaspar to seem triumphant. He helped take down a notorious and powerful Oligarch, and installed his ally as the head of the Orchard family. Most men would’ve gloated about that.
Not him. If anything, he seemed even more angry.
We met Redmond at a quiet restaurant in a working-class neighborhood tucked in the back of a water-strewn alley. I thought the whole house might crumble at any moment, but as soon as we stepped inside, the heavenly smell of freshly cooking pasta sauce, mussels, chicken, and more assaulted me with heavenly spices.
Redmond and his soldiers were already there. He stood and greeted Kaspar like a brother, hugging him, kissing his cheek. Kaspar managed to smile back, though I got the sense that he wasn’t happy about anything at the moment. The two men sat back down and Redmond lounged, offering wine and bread with spiced olive oil. I took the chair next to Kaspar and tried to pretend like I didn’t exist.
“It was touch and go there for a moment, Kaspar, my good friend, but you did it.” Redmond beamed like a schoolboy after winning a soccer match. “I’ll admit that I had my doubts.”
“You shouldn’t doubt me. Your father never did.”
“My father’s dead now so that doesn’t matter anymore.” Redmond laughed heartily. I noticed that his soldiers weren’t smiling.
“Have you consolidated power?”
“Oh, yes, I tossed out the old guard. My father’s advisors weren’t happy about his untimely death at the hands of some very rough Sicilian gangsters, but these things happen in our line of work.” He winked absurdly and drank down his glass. “Some didn’t want to go quietly, but any that were disloyal are now dealt with.”
Which meant the Orchard house went through a very bloody purge.
“Good. You don’t have time for a protracted ascendency. I had hoped that you had plans in place before taking over.”
“Plans, don’t worry about plans. I grew up in the Orchard house. They all know I’m their master now.” Redmond grinned back at his men.
Neither of them smiled.
Not that he noticed. He looked back at Kaspar, his cheeks pink and healthy, and raised his refilled glass.
“To our little deal.”
“To our war.” Kaspar toasted him and drank.
I cleared my throat. “What war?”
Both men looked at me like I was a fern that decided to spread legs and tap dance.
“Kaspar, why do you insist on letting the dogs sit at the table?” Redmond’s eyes twinkled like he’d told the greatest joke ever.
But fear jolted through me as Kaspar slowly looked at him.
“Penny will be my wife. If you speak of her that way again, I’ll cut out your tongue, Redmond.”
“Oh, lighten up. She’s only some Servant bitch you want to impregnate. Pretty though, I’ll admit it, and she must be a nice—”
Kaspar slammed his wine glass into Redmond’s face.
Redmond’s soldiers reacted fast, to their credit. Their raised their weapons and began shouting as Redmon
d toppled to the floor, grabbing his cheek. Shards of glass were embedded in his skin, his blood mixing with the thick red wine. Kaspar’s men threatened Redmond’s and the room exploded in shouts.
“Enough,” Redmond shouted, standing. He held his hands up. “Enough, god damn it.”
Kaspar sat motionless, glaring at Redmond, seemingly oblivious to the guns pointed at his face.
Slowly, Redmond’s soldiers stood down. Redmond picked glass from the wounds and flicked it onto the floor, sighing like he’d read a particularly sad scene in a book.
“Last warning,” Kaspar said.
“I hear you loud and clear. But understand something. My father is dead, and Orchard is all mine. If you want my help, you will treat me with respect.”
“Respect is earned. You give it to me, and I give it to you.”
Redmond took a breath and sat. “That is why I’m not killing you.”
“That, and you need my help to maintain control.” Kaspar leaned forward. “Watch your tongue around Penny.”
“Do I get a say in any of this?”
Kaspar glanced over. “No, you don’t.”
“I want to hear from the girl,” Redmond said, dabbing at the bleeding cuts with a napkin. “What do you think about the way your future husband’s been acting?”
“He’s not my future husband, and I don’t much care for this jealous stuff.”
Kaspar grimaced. “Penny,” he said, warning.
“No, I think your new ally should hear this.” I leaned toward Redmond, who looked totally amused. “I’m not a willing participant. My sister all but sold me to Kaspar, and now this insane bastard’s keeping me prisoner until I agree to marry him. What do you think about that, Redmond?”
Redmond only laughed. “Sounds about par for the course, darling.”
“Leave it alone, Penny,” Kaspar said, sounding exasperated.
“You all play your games and expect everyone else to fall in line.” I leaned back, crossing my arms, feeling powerless.
“She’s not wrong, Kaspar. You do tend to nudge things in your direction.” There was a menacing edge to Redmond’s tone.
Kaspar sighed and wiped his face with a hand. “We’re wasting time. The longer we sit around and talk, the stronger Maeve becomes. If you think she doesn’t know what we’re planning, then you don’t know her at all.”