Personal: The Extended Edition (Private #3)

Chapter 22

Wes

I suspect whatever was in that needle was some sort of animal tranquilizer considering how long this woman has been unconscious.

On one page?

I’m grateful my wife saved us the time and effort of having to drug her for relocating.

On the other?

I loathe the idea that this could’ve been in Bryn’s system.

That she planned to inject her with whatever this shit is and take her to only Joker knows where.

Seeing the redhead woman finally coming to on the yacht couch across from me prompts me to exaggerate my next chopping motion to be much louder than the previous. The sound successfully startles her awake to the site of me menacingly holding a cleaver and smirking. “ Evening, Jean St. Clair. ” Another chop to the dead fish on the small wooden table in front of me is delivered. “Or should I say Catalina Masters. ”

Her green eyes struggle not to widen in surprise.

“You can fake your name. You can fake a background check. Hell, you can even fake your fingerprints,” I coldly inform while gripping the edge of the fish once more. “But faking your direct DNA is impossible.”

This time my hacking motion is followed by J.T. casually leaning back on the couch beside me, lit cigar being removed from his mouth. “I think it’s time we have formal introductions, don’t you?”

She futilely struggles against her rope confines in objection.

He motions a polite hand inward and begins, “I’m-”

“ Heeeeelllppppppppp! ”

“No one can hear you,” I inform in between carefully separating the severed pieces.

“ Hellllppppppppp! ”

“It’s one of the reasons yacht sex is my favorite.”

“That is certainly a perk,” J.T. arrogantly agrees. “Personally? I-”

“ Helllllppppppp!!!!! ”

“Prefer the mile high club.”

Tossing the fish head into one bucket precedes me warmly nodding, “I look forward to finally joining that.”

“ Helllllpppppppppp!!! ”

“The crew is currently occupied .” My eyes lift to lock onto hers. “They were given explicit instructions by their employer – who was happy to loan me this boat after I generously donated to her charity – not to come above deck until I commanded.” A devilish smile slithers into place. “See, that’s the thing when dealing with powerful people.” The expression deepens. “We’re more than willing to provide assistance to our allies when war has been declared.” I lean slightly forward and growl, “ And that’s exactly what you’ve been raging, isn’t it, Miss Masters? ”

“ Fuck you, ” she hisses on a wiggle of her figure.

“Much like I did when your niece offered, I’m going to have to decline.” Her mouth drops in disgust, yet I call out, “ Brynley! Could you come here, please? ”

The love of my life strolls out of the nearby living room area she had patiently been passing the time during word searches in. Her all-black clothing – that won’t be missed when the time comes to dispose of it – cloaked frame cheerfully arrives beside the tied up individual while Park and Holmes who had been keeping her company position themselves beside the two metal buckets we’ll be filling.

“J.T.,” my attention briefly cuts to him, “would you care to make those introductions now?”

He steals a couple quick puffs of his cigar prior to announcing, “Everyone this is Catalina Masters. Your niece ,” his smoking free hand gestures at her, “fucked me ,” a second gesture inward is made, “to try to get to him ,” the waving happens in my direction. “Your niece ,” J.T. stabs the air in front of her again, “also poisoned her mother ,” Bryn theatrically waves, “in a terrible attempt to get your ex-brother-in-law a promotion.”

“Little Prey,” I interject, gaze connecting with my wife’s, “could you show how to properly cut into the fish to maintain more of the meat?” An undeniably sinister smirk is attached to my offering of the knife. “I think it’d make a better chum mixture with hearty chunks.”

“Of course!” After taking the weapon, she turns her attention to Park and Holmes. “Could you boys assist me?”

“Whatever you need,” our trusted guard states.

“I’m gonna need you to hold her down so that she stays still.”

“ Noooooo! ” screeches the older, immobile woman.

“I wanna make sure I don’t nick the bone.”

Her howls of objection unquestionably fall on deaf ears.

Those that are here wouldn’t be if they felt differently.

Now, is not the time to have to question anyone’s loyalty.

Devotion to this family.

Now is the time to see it.

Prove it.

And the only reason Janae didn’t join us on this outing is because she had a prior obligation with her brother.

I like that it provides her with a solid alibi, not that she’ll need it.

This incident never happened.

We were never here.

The three of us attended a private soiree on South Haven Island that lasted well into the morning.

As for Jean St. Clair?

Well…the life of a con artist tends to catch up to them at some point.

The forged goodbye letter and point proving paperwork should be enough for Silas as well as everyone else who “knew” her to accept this woman’s abrupt disappearance.

Bryn yanks up the woman’s sleeve, firmly pinches the territory, and instantly begins sawing at the pale flesh, unbothered by the blood dripping between her fingers. “You wanna go nice and slow.” Agony filled screams are spewed into the dark of the night. “ Long. Straight. Slices. ”

“I see.”

Once she’s finished, she holds up the gory prize for us all to admire. “I learned that from a Turkish chef back in college.”

The hunk of flesh being tossed into the bucket prompts the team members of security to relinquish their hold on their crying female.

“ Park, ” transitioning the knife into my possession is done between proceeding, “tell Ms. Masters what it is we know.”

“Catalina Masters is the twin of the now deceased Catharine Masters.” He holds his position in preparation of another Bryn- led carving session. “Catharine – Penny’s mother – committed suicide shortly after she was relocated to Switzerland for treatment.”

“ Exiled! ” Shouts Catalina. “ Banished! ”

“Those mean the same thing,” my best friend points out around another pull on the cigar in his mouth.

“ Wrongfully imprisoned! ”

“ Rightfully imprisoned ,” growls my wife on a savage grasping of her throat. “That Daphne Flake purposely poisoned the woman that is now her stepmother for weeks all because she had a Scooby-Don’t plot she thought would bring her misplaced revenge and justice.”

Grabbing another fish to dissect is halted to toss her an icy glare in tandem with Bryn releasing her grasp. “ Sound familiar? ”

“Watching you suffer…” her green glare attaches to my mismatched one, “watching you almost lose those you love again and again and again is justice. Hearing how miserable you were when she couldn’t remember who you were. How heartbroken you were having something taken from you that you can never get back.” She wheezes past the increasing pain. “You deserve all the hell and more you’ve been through for taking what little family I had away from me!”

Confusion cocks my head. “You blame me?”

“Of course, I blame you!”

“Why?”

“ You’re the one who took Catharine’s husband away! You’re the one who led to their divorce! You’re the one who then locked her daughter up! You’re the one who made it so she could never see her again! You’re the one whose heartless decision to separate a mother from her daughter led to her taking her own life!”

“I see, so Little Red Crazy Hood has to be held accountable for nothing?” Bryn bitterly bites.

“ You ,” she sneers as I arrange the cold dead creature in front of me, “ripping her from Catharine literally drove her insane.”

“Pretty sure insane just runs in your family’s DNA,” my wife not so quietly mutters.

I would co-sign that statement any and every day of the week.

Instead of rebutting, I slam the clever down near the fish’s head, sending the body part soaring. “ Park. ”

“Catharine was a pill popping alcoholic-”

“You shut your filthy squint eye mouth!”

“ Drowning in fucking debt ,” he continues around his own glaring, “because she hadn’t found a new target to fuck for money.”

“You-”

Bryn’s bloody hand slaps itself over Catalina’s mouth on a bitter beam. “ Continue. ”

“Catharine – like yourself – was a con woman except while you did it over misplaced anger, she did it , to be kept in a life of luxury.” Park folds his arms across his chest. “She would study men connected to wealthy men rather than go directly for the wealthy ones herself. Part of her probably knew that those with real money would be able to spot her a million miles away, but those near the wealthy individual, wouldn’t. It’s why Clark was the ideal target. He was…an elite member of the estate staff. Well paid. Extremely valued. Trusted. He made the mistake of thinking he was marrying for love-”

“The mistake that keeps on fucking taking,” mutters Bryn as I slice another piece of fish.

“-when in reality he was simply being milked for money.”

“Not picking up on victim vibes ,” J.T. announces before leaning forward to allow his ash to fall on Catalina like a human ash tray.

“Catharine picked what she felt was an easier mark when she chose Clark; however, she wasn’t expecting not to be invited to the Wilcox’s estate or that he would always be loyal to them rather than to her.”

“His loyalty to me is what saved your niece’s fucking life,” I inform on a harsh pointing of the tool. “You should have gratitude .”

“Having Penny was the ticket to keeping her lifestyle flowing without having to keep up appearances. Once Clark agreed to fork over constant cash, without the constant effort, she was set. However, when the divorce went through, and the cash cow stopped mooing…She went back to her old ways, most recently becoming the mistress of a drug lord who she – stupidly – made the mistake of stealing from.”

Bryn snarkily leans forward and states, “Stupidity definitely runs in your family.”

“The supposed ‘suicide’ wasn’t a suicide at all.” Park innocently shrugs his shoulders. “It was a hit. ”

Tossing a hunky chunk into the closest metal container precedes me meeting her glare again. “ Your thirst for vengeance was severely misplaced. ”

“Ermbying!” she shrieks behind my wife’s hand until it falls at which point she repeats, “ You’re lying! ”

“Why would we lie?” J.T. inquires, scooting to the edge of the couch. “People lie when there’s something to gain or lose or hide. We have none of that.” He stretches across the table and smashes the cherry of the cigar into her bare thigh to hear her scream. “ We have you. There’s nothing else we want. Eliminating you solves any other problem.” His stare lifts to Bryn’s. “You wanna cut that part out next. I don’t know if sharks like burnt meat.”

“They’re less picky than you think when they’re really hungry.” She drops her face into Catalina’s view. “And they’re really hungry at this time of night.”

“ Hence the buckets .” I tip my head in that direction. “However, before we finish turning you into a buffet for whatever creatures are nearby, you should know that Penny not having contact with you or her biological mother was her choice. ” Sloppily flicking bones into the other bucket results in some pieces landing near her feet. “ She wanted a fresh start. She wanted a second chance at life. She requested I not provide that information to anyone to guarantee she didn’t fall victim to the same shit she had for most of her life.”

“ L-l-l-liar… ”

“Like J.T. pointed out…why would I lie?” The indifferent shrug conjures tears into her eyes. “What do I have to gain? Your rightful anger this time?” A sarcastic scowl is presented. “The only reason I want you to know that your niece…your healthy , chocolate shop owning, recently married and had a child niece…wants nothing to do with you is because I want that to haunt you for what little time remains of your life.” I carelessly toss the cleaver down and creep to the edge of the couch. “Physical scars…physical pain…that’s easy to ignore. However, psychological, ” malevolence freely flows through my glare, “the very thing you put my entire family through? There’s no escaping that.” Rising to my feet is followed by me reaching for the container that has pieces of her in it. “Enjoy knowing she will live a long and healthy and happier life without you in it.”

“We certainly will,” Bryn smugly declares.

“ Men ,” my chin tips to our guards, “continue carving. We’ve got buckets to fill before daybreak.”

“ Yes, sir, ” security echoes, igniting her sobbing and screaming to return.

Casually strolling along to the opposite end of the ship is done bloody palm to palm.

When we arrive, I shift the bucket from my possession into hers to give her the honor.

To allow her to be the first one to take back so much of what has been taken from her.

Bryn lovingly grins and presses her mouth warmly on top of mine.

It’s impossible not to spread her lips and even more impossible not to roll my tongue around in circles, wordlessly proclaiming everything it is I’m sure she needs to eventually hear. Cupping both her cheeks to pin her in place, to pin her to me, to this moment, to my undying pledge to care for her, for our family, for eternity becomes the only thing that matters.

And our family is the only thing that matters to me.

Not the money.

Not the wealth.

Not the cars.

Not the companies.

Not the charities.

Not even what I once considered my legacy.

No.

Loving and protecting all the parts of our family is the only legacy worth cultivating.

And that all starts as well as ends here.

With her.

***

Thank you for reading Personal: The Extended Edition (The Private Series #3)! I hope you loved this contemporary, amnesia, billionaire romance!