Page 94 of The Dollhouse

We met Carter in the car, the engine of the vehicle idling in front of the building’s side entrance, right in the parking lot. He had sunglasses on, though he lifted them the moment Zoey got in the back. I would’ve climbed in the back with her, but I did not ride in backseats.

His green eyes studied her in the rearview mirror. “Well? Is that it, then? Are we ready to get this shit over with?” Carter didn’t sound too thrilled, and he was unable to hide it, unlike me. I sent him a frown, and all he did was shrug and get the car going.

We had a meeting with a certain someone first, and then we could check out the house I’d gotten for us, and then do a bit of shopping. I knew what kind of area Hillcrest was; it was not a community I was used to. The rich, the spoiled—oh, don’t get me wrong, I had money, lots of it, but my money was covered inblood. Every dollar. The ones in Hillcrest were born to wealth, sons and daughters of CEOs and other Fortune Five Hundred companies. The elite of society.

But we all knew by now the elite of society got up to some pretty illegal shit. Maybe not murder, maybe not like me and my line of work, but they were dirty all the same. Mark my words. You couldn’t trust the lot of them.

Zoey turned on the Bluetooth in the car and forced us to listen to her music the entire drive, which caused Carter to grumble to himself and me to spend my time gazing out of the window. The last time we’d left was after the attacks. We’d run with our tails tucked between our legs.

This journey was different. It would end differently. This was for Zoey, and even though I might not be happy at leaving everything behind for now, I would stand by her side. That girl was mine. I’d meant it from the first moment I’d laid eyes on her.

Zoey Marbella was mine. Every inch of her body. Her heart, her mind, her fucking soul. I had claimed her, and I refused to let her go. And so, of course I would do everything in my power to see she got what she wanted, and if that was petty revenge against her family, then petty revenge it would be.

There was something sexy about Zoey’s determination to fuck shit up for her family, to thank them for how they’d treated her in the past. It only made me want her more.

The scenery took a while to change. Farther and farther we went from our home, from our turf, and into the den of the unknown. I truly did not know what to expect from the man we were meeting with first. Sylvester had told me that the Scotts had been friends with the Lucianos for years now; it’s why their doctor and one of their own had met us in the cabins after the attacks.

I’d spoken to him on the phone; he didn’t sound like the happiest guy around, but he sounded like a man who got shit done, someone who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. My kind of man. Stern, no-nonsense, the kind who didn’t take shit from anybody. He was helping us in Hillcrest, but there would be a price. I didn’t know what it would be yet, if he’d require money or perhaps my own services as a hitman, but I was willing to do either, provided his aid did help Zoey in her revenge.

Revenge. Some people claimed it was a stupid thing, something only the hurt wanted. Some people claimed if you forgave the ones who wronged you, you’d be happier for it.

Me? I was not of that school of thought. If someone wronged you, they should pay. I’d offered to kill her family for her, but Zoey had laughed it off and said they deserved to live with shame instead of die with it. I supposed that kind of torture would be eternal and the worst kind for a family like the Marbellas.

It was only when the highway told us the exit to Midpark was one mile away that Carter spoke, “So, who’s this guy we’re meeting?” Midpark was the city right next to Hillcrest, another hoity-toity place, the place the Scotts called their home. “Don’t tell me it’s that Lincoln guy.” He shot a glare at Zoey through the mirror, and Zoey giggled.

Since I had no clue what that was about, I said, “His name is Markus Scott. He took over for his father many years ago. He’s kept in contact with Richard, and now Sylvester. He has many connections in the area, connections we’ll need.”

“In Hillcrest,” Zoey spoke with a roll of her light blue eyes, “connections are everything. When you’re rich, you don’t get anything on your own merit. It’s all about who you know, or what favors you can do for people.” Her tone came off as bitter, as if she truly hated the life she’d left, and I didn’t blame her one bit.

“He’s going to want something,” Carter grumbled, never one to like owing people.

I nodded. “We will see when we meet what he wants in return for his help. He was tight-lipped about it over the phone.”

“Are you sure he’ll help?” Carter asked, tossing me a glance as we got off the exit and waited at the light. The GPS on his phone said we were less than ten minutes away now, just a few miles from our destination. “Lincoln seemed like an asshole.”

Zoey spoke up, “That doctor dude seemed nice, though—” The moment she said that, she knew she’d struck a nerve in me. That doctor dude, as she’d called him, had insulted my stitching job on her arm. Which, all right, might not have been as good as his, but still. He’d rightly pissed me the fuck off.

“Either way,” I muttered, frowning, “we’re about to find out.”

After following the GPS, Carter pulled off the road and stopped the car in front of a giant metal gate. Its spikes towered above the vehicle, reaching towards the sky, easily ten feet tall. A stone wall lined the giant property, and I had to admit, I was somewhat jealous of the setup here.

A lot of land, a lot of privacy—something even I couldn’t get back home. I might have a decent sized house, but land was in short supply. You didn’t own acres and acres of greenery along with a mansion, not like the Scotts did, apparently.

“Uh, should I honk?” Carter asked, shrugging, and Zoey rolled down her window, poking her pink head out of the car. She pointed.

“There’s a button next to the gate,” she said. “I could get out and push it. There might be a speaker—” It was as she said this that the gate rattled to life. They must have cameras somewhere—or a lot of places, really—and saw us sitting here.

The gate opened, metal creaking as the gears worked to pull it open, allowing us the opportunity to drive right in. Carter took the car in slowly, and I studied our surroundings. The house sat pretty far back, and as we approached it, I could not help but be in awe. It was far larger than my home, or even the Luciano mansion. The Scott residence was more like a castle than anything else, and though it did not happen often, I was impressed.

The Scotts truly were a family of wealth, and I wondered how they kept their fortune.

“Holy shit,” Zoey whispered as we pulled up to the front door. “This place is ginormous. Who the hell needs a house this big? I thought the houses in Hillcrest were huge, but this—I don’t think I’ve ever seen a house this size.”

Carter put the car in park, turning her off shortly after. He looked at me and then Zoey. “Are we all going inside or what?”

“Zoey and I will go in,” I told him, unbuckling my seatbelt. “You remain here.” I did not wait for Carter’s response, getting out of the car shortly after that. I ran a hand down the front of my suit, tugging it and getting out any wrinkles that might’ve formed during the drive.

Walking around the car, Zoey stood near me, her head angled back to gaze up at the impressive architecture. Dark stone, it towered over us. “Do we really need this guy’s help?” she asked, her voice sounding more like a squeak, as if she was nervous.

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