Page 61 of Broken Queen
“Masquerade?” I rubbed my forehead. “I thought the Syndicate only held those once a year.”
“Once every quarter, actually,” he corrected me. “But this one we’re doing early, to hold it in your honor.”
In my honor. There was something awfully strange about that. I was a scumbag from Oakmont, clawing my way up their ranks, and yet, the secret society was filled with complete and utter bullshit, just like Oakmont. Fairview and its favorite private community, Opulent Gates, might have had a shiny exterior, but the residents were as pathetic and unworthy as the rest of us.
But maybe that was the point. Maybe everything in this strange, fucked up situation was all a fabrication, and we were just thin little threads holding it together.
Maybe it didn’t matter if Zira was right or if I was wrong. It was bullshit, anyway. We both wanted the same things; we just wanted them in different orders.
But damn it, I couldn’t stand someone using my own tricks against me.
I don’t know what possessed me, but the next words slipped out of my mouth like drops of rain: “Sure. I’ll be there.”
“Can you come early?” Bloom asked. He cleared his throat, then lowered his voice: “I’ve got a discussion I’d like to have with you.”
A sudden charge ran through my chest. A new opportunity to be with Daddy Bloom. Alone. Where I could kill him and finally end this.
“Sure, Master Bloom,” I said sarcastically, then I hung up. If Bloom knew I had killed Ernest, then this ‘discussion’ could have been his chance to kill me. But I didn’t care. I was going to kill him and end this once and for all, and then the Bloom Estate and everyone in it would be a speck in my rearview mirror.
Because Zira didn’t need me by her side.
I pulled on a black stained work shirt, then headed to the Bloom Estate, parking my pickup right in front of the main building. The valet panicked, but I stowed my keys in my pocket and winked at him. I didn’t give a flying fuck if Daddy Bloom finally figured out who I was. Not Chris Cox. Not someone who belonged on the board. I was my name personified: a goddamned hazard.
The estate manager directed me to the nearly finished office. The new contractor had done a decent job. He must’ve finished up the gym, then. It was funny how things moved quickly when you had a worker who actually cared about the job. Bloom stood, his red cheeks puffy and hanging over his jaw. We shook hands.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” he said. “Please, sit down.”
Two men silently lined the back wall, clothed in black from head to toe, armed with rifles. I nodded toward them.
“Your regular group of guards today?” I joked.
“Hope you understand my caution, but Ernest has disappeared. That makes four recent board member deaths. Not to mention Marc, Simon, and Toben.” His double chin jiggled as he fixed his tie. “My daughter seems to think that you killed Ernest, actually. Care to explain that?”
This was my chance to throw Zira in the lion’s den, to let her take the fall for my actions. And if she thought she could play me, this was the way I could show her that I was one step ahead. Just like her.
But I hung my head low, unable to force the words out of my mouth. “Don’t know why she’d say that.”
“I figured,” he said. “She’s a bit desperate sometimes. But you see—that leaves an open spot on the board, and we need to fill it as soon as possible.”
My stomach twisted, but I couldn’t stop myself from saying it: “What about Zira?”
Bloom blinked at me, then he laughed loudly, holding his round belly. It was a stupid thing to say. If Bloom hadn’t put her in that position by now, he was never going to.
But I still had to try.
Damn it. I shouldn’t have cared what Zira wanted. I should have said ‘fuck it’ and killed Bloom right then, and let the gunmen take me with him. But instead, I was pleading for her position.
“You’re serious?” Bloom said, his posture stiffening.
“Why not?” I said. “She’s more dedicated to this board than anyone I’ve met in the Syndicate.”
“She’s dedicated to her own goals,” he said calmly, fixing his collar. “Zira has always been a bit of a problem. She’s very good for the Syndicate, but she does what she wants without any regard for tradition. I was honestly hoping that you would take care of her soon.”
I leaned forward. “Take care of her?”
He nodded. “She’s a nuisance. The only reason I kept her around was for a grandson. Can you do that for me? How stable are your sperm?”
I furrowed my brows. He really did want a grandchild.
