Page 49 of Pretty Evil
I stare at her with a growing hatred as she shrugs. “You understand how it works, Alexei. You’ve used my services a few times. I’m a professional and I don’t want to issue a refund so I do everything I can to deliver. Serena Vieri arrived two days ago, and I only have one more chance tomorrow. It’s all arranged, and I’m assured of my success, so everyone’s happy.”
“Not everyone.”
I growl, “I’m guessing Serena Vieri wouldn’t be too happy and neither would her family. You are taking a risk even attempting to remove one of them, so I will ask you again, who ordered the hit?”
Her eyes widen as I back her into a corner and as she opens her mouth to speak, Mikhail growls, “The name or die. It’s your choice.”
He wraps his hands around her neck and whispers darkly, “I will snap your pretty neck in two if you don’t give my brother the name.”
He increases the pressure on her neck, and she croaks, “Okay. I’ll tell you, just keep me out of it.”
Mikhail relaxes his hold, and she sighs. “It’s not worth dying over. The hit was arranged by Giselle Matasso and Joseph Stoner is my way in.”
“How?” I say with deepening anger, and she says angrily, “He ordered some flowers for his wife and I’m the delivery girl. As soon as I get access to the house, I will be shown to the kitchen. There will be four glasses of champagne on the tray waiting and one martini cocktail, which I am to add the poison to and then leave.”
“That sounds risky.” I glance at my brother. “Anyone could drink it.”
She shakes her head. “Apparently, Serena can’t stand champagne and the cocktail is her usual drink. They will be celebrating some business deal Joseph is negotiating and nobody will detect the drug because it’s untraceable.”
“Then why didn’t he add the drugs himself?” Mikhail says with confusion. “Why involve you at all?”
She shrugs. “The fuck I know. Like I said, its easy money.”
She laughs softly. “That family is one crazy assed pile of shit. I was told to hold off doing it on the flight to avoid the authorities being involved, and it was important that she reached her destination in one piece. It would have been far easier to add it to her drink on the flight over.”
Something doesn’t add up and I can’t put my finger on it. She’s right, about the flight over and like my brother, I am wondering why Stoner couldn’t add the poison himself.
I have a feeling we’re not seeing the full picture here and so I say darkly, “You will carry out your instructions.”
Her eyes widen and I snarl, “You will say nothing of our meeting and just report back that you did as instructed and if anyone finds out you told me about this, you will be the next corpse in the mortuary.”
She stares at me with a calculating expression, and I can tell she is weighing up the positives of which side to fall on. The fact our reputation is far more ruthless that Giselle’s makes her lower her eyes and sigh. “I’ll do it. I give you my word.”
“Oh, I know you’ll do it, Regina.”
I laugh softly. “You see, I currently have a contract of my own in place, and it relies on you doing what I say.”
“What are you talking about?” Her eyes are wide, and I say with a wicked grin. “That’s a very pleasant neighborhood your parents live in. I doubt there is much crime there at all. How shocking it will be when they are found dead in an apparent suicide pact. I wonder what the neighbors will say?”
“Fuck you, Alexei.” She yells. “Fuck you! You keep away from my parents or…”
Mikhail grips her neck hard and squeezes, causing her to choke as she gasps for air, and then he releases her and growls, “Now shut the fuck up and do your job. If it goes according to plan, we walk away. What is the saying you Americans use…” he grins. “Oh yes. The ball is now in your court. Decide wisely.”
I stand to leave and say pleasantly, “This was nice, wasn’t it? Enjoy your flight home, Regina. Stay safe.”
As we leave, Mikhail cuts the ties we used to bind her wrists and ankles and we leave without another glance in her direction.
Regina has too much to lose, which is why I am assured of her services. After all, family is everything.
CHAPTER25
SERENA
Idon’t do excitement. I can’t even remember the last time I was excited, but I am now.
Stoner is full of his own self-importance because today he is negotiating a business deal worth millions. At least that’s how he puts it. He seems kind of high on life right now after Shade offered him a business deal he couldn’t refuse and it was with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to my brother and his guards earlier on today.
I know it was just a smoke screen to bring me here and I hope he didn’t give Stoner too much money. Like me, my brothers don’t trust him at all and I still to this day don’t know what my mom sees in him.