Lady Killer (Dead Girls Club #2)

3. Lucian

Chapter three

Lucian

“ . . . I am already playing the game, Mr. Blackwell.”

The unshakable impertinence of this girl was astounding.

When she had padded into my study, leaving damp sock prints in her wake, I immediately recognized her.

Luz Torres, the girl at the center of all the murders occurring in my town. The same girl who’d seemingly ensnared half the men in my family.

Everest made no attempt to hide that she was his latest obsession, and I was well aware of Alister’s fascination with her. Even Nixon and Locke seemed to be fixated on her, though they tried to hide it.

I’d seen photos of her from the research Alister had compiled. She was attractive enough—petite but curvy, with blazing amber eyes and a natural pout. If she hadn’t been far too young for me, I suppose I could’ve seen the appeal.

Up until now, as far as I’d been concerned, she’d been the twins’ problem to manage.

But now that problem was sitting in front of me, and despite everything that I’d read about the girl, nothing had prepared me for her tonight.

She made quite an impression in her rumpled workout clothes, with her still-wet hair plastered to her head, her makeup faded . . . Even so, she held her head high and carried herself with a deliberate grace.

There was little doubt that she was here because Everest, and likely Alister, intended to ask me to let her live, despite her committing an unsanctioned kill on Blackwell land.

I was also aware that if I said no, the former would almost certainly throw a temper tantrum of catastrophic proportions.

Still, I didn’t like to reward bad behavior .

“If the girl is to be believed, then the Croft asshole was involved with whoever has been selling drugs under our nose,” Nixon said.

“And now we have no one to question about the broader scope of the operation,” I shot back.

Ever since she stabbed him in the hand, Nixon’s interest in her had become increasingly antagonistic. Yet here he was, offering not quite a defense, but providing at least context for her actions.

Nixon shrugged. “Everest would’ve likely killed him for touching her before we got anything good out of him anyways. I’ve sent someone to search his apartment. Now, we can start to compile a list of known associates.”

He was right. Everest was a talented killer but a terrible inquisitor. That was Locke’s job, and if Croft had in fact attacked the girl, there likely wouldn’t have been enough pieces of him left for my cousin to question once Ever was done with him.

As it was, Locke had disappeared after finals at Hollow Oak. Which was fine by me. As long as he was where I needed him, when I needed him, he was free to play academic as much as he liked.

Ignoring Nixon, I further inspected the predicament in front of me .

Cruelty was built into my bones. Being the heir to the Blackwell empire required it.

The mistake that so many made was to confuse cruelty with haste. A quick death was merciful, which was why I never rushed.

Mercy was not in my nature.

Many a man had withered beneath my stare, unable to resist the natural urge to submit in the face of the bigger threat.

Every single twitch was a tell, and I took great satisfaction in watching titans of industry crumple before me—their heads bowed, their shoulders curling in.

The girl was dwarfed by the chair around her, her feet barely touching the floor, dressed in a filthy outfit that cost less than my breakfast. And yet she sat unbowed, her spine as straight as steel, her ankles crossed delicately as if she were a lady receiving her subjects.

I let silence continue to fill the room, wondering how long she could hold up under my scrutiny.

She was still scared, that was obvious. From the hum of her breath to the tightness in her jaw, I could only imagine the gamut of emotions running through her.

But she never let the fear control her . . .

A minute passed by, and then another .

She remained impassive while Everest started to shift in his seat, cracking his neck. I wasn’t surprised that my only friend’s patience appeared to be running out.

Standing behind her, Alister remained stoic as ever. The handful of words he’d spoken and his tight grip on the back of her chair had been the only hints of his investment in the situation so far.

Nixon remained hidden in the shadows.

“Nothing you’ve told me explains why this girl is still alive and sitting here before me,” I said in a cool tone, looking to provoke a reaction.

Everest lurched forward in his seat with a growl. “No one touches her!”

Any other man who made such demands of me would have paid with his life, in addition to hers. Everest got away with more than most because of who he was to me.

“You forget that I give the orders here,” I said. “If I say the girl dies, she dies. And, if I say she dies at your hands, you will cut her heart out and give it to me yourself.”

He shot me a devasting glare. It was a point of pride for him that he never disobeyed a direct order from me, although he was a master of twisting my words.

“Am I clear, Everest? ”

Alister’s knuckles had turned white as he gripped the back of the chair hard enough to stretch the leather. Nixon had started pacing.

The girl merely uncrossed, then recrossed her ankles, her expression unchanging, as she waited for me to hand down her sentence.

“If she dies, I die, and I’ll take the rest of the world down in flames with us,” the psychopath said resolutely.

The girl rolled her eyes.

Everest Collins, arguably the most prolific killer in North America, was threatening to end a lifetime of loyalty to my family, a lifetime of loyalty to me, all for her, and she remained unimpressed.

I turned my attention to my youngest brother.

“And you, Alister, what will you do if I deny the obvious reason the three of you brought her to me and order you to kill the girl?”

His face betraying nothing, he took his time to respond. “I believe killing her would be premature—?”

“That’s not what I asked you.”

Alister’s jaw twitched.

“I’ll do it,” Nixon piped up, his false bravado at odds with his earlier behavior.

“Of course you would.” I scoffed .

Nixon’s offer was more about Alister than the girl, though I was certain it would cost him more than he cared to admit.

“No one is killing her.” seethed Everest, his body shaking with building rage. “If you’re that pressed by her, Lucian, then give her to me and no one will ever see her again.”

That provoked a reaction from both the girl and Alister.

“I would rather die than be your prisoner,” she said, turning to cut Ever a poisonous look and earning one in return.

“Careful, darling,” Everest gritted out quietly. “Your death is still very much on the table and you’re not helping.”

“She’d be better off dead than your plaything,” said Alister.

“Agreed,” muttered Nixon.

Letting out a long sigh, I sat back in my chair.

My brothers and Everest worked faithfully under my command, and despite the harsh veneer of leadership that I was forced to adopt, I appreciated what they did for our family . . . for me. Still, they had no idea the things I’d done to protect our legacy. To protect them. If I did my job properly, they never would.

Heavy was the head that wore the crown, indeed .

“What would you do then, Alister, if you were in my shoes?” I asked as the air grew nearly suffocating with tension.

“We know that Luz is being targeted by the serial killer, and she’s the second link we’ve found between the drug ring and whoever is killing the girls. She has information about Aaron and his friends. Keeping her alive is the best way to draw out the killer and take down whoever has been selling drugs on campus.”

“We’re not using her as bait!” Everest protested.

“We’re not locking her up either,” Alister pushed back.

The girl spoke up. “Do I have any say in this?”

“No,” all three men said at the same time.

Impressive. They almost never agreed.

“So, what, I let your little friend live and she’ll help the three of you do the job you were already supposed to be doing? That hardly seems like a fair deal to me.”

“I’m good with poisons.”

“Little girl, I lead the most exclusive network of killers for hire in the world. You think I don’t have access to half a dozen of the best poison makers alive at a moment’s notice?”

She bit down on her lip, swallowing her response, but the acrimony in her eyes told me I had wounded her pride. Good .

“You always say to do whatever it takes to get the job done,” Alister argued. “Luz is what it takes. She remains our best chance at catching the killer, the one arrogant enough to knowingly flout our rules on our land. No one knows or cares that she killed Croft, but if word spreads about the serial killer running amuck in Shady Harbor, it will start to impact our family’s reputation.”

“And if the killer kills her before we can catch them?”

“Then she’s dead, like you wanted,” Alister replied evenly.

I pretended to mull over his words, but my decision had already long been made.

“You have until the end of the spring semester,” I said, causing Everest to jump to his feet to argue.

I raised my hand to silence him. My decision was final.

“Alister is correct. We need to catch this Virgin Sacrifice Killer, or our true enemies will use it as an excuse to undermine us. The longer this goes on, the weaker we look. Which is why you have until the end of term. If the girl cannot be used to draw out the killer by then, then her time is up.”

Everest looked furious but said nothing, while Alister simply nodded. It was the most generous offer they would get from me, and they knew it .

I turned my focus back to the girl. There was a softness to her expression that I hadn’t seen before. Where one might have expected fear or even gratitude, there was something else—careful, contemplative—and I couldn’t quite discern how she felt about the deal. Not that it mattered.

“Four months to catch the killer, and you do not kill on your own again without permission. Do you understand?”

She pursed her lips at the final condition of her sentence but ultimately nodded.

“Words, little girl,” I ordered.

“I understand, Mr. Blackwell,” she replied without inflection.

“Excellent, and remember: if you fail to catch this interloper by then, my family will have no use for you, except to send the killer a message of our own.”