Page 160 of Kings & Corruption

There had been too much uncertainty in Dean Giordana’s voice, too much resignation in the other man’s attitude.

They’d been taking orders.

Once I slept and coughed all the black shit out of my lungs, I’d start thinking about who that might be.

For now, I just wanted to sleep, and I closed my eyes, letting sleep come for me.

I was drifting off when I heard a soft tap at the door.

I lifted my head as Neo opened the door. He stood in the doorway for a long moment, his expression unreadable in the dark room.

“Mind if I sit?” he asked.

I shook my head, and he entered the room and took the chair next to the bed, the one I’d found him in the night I’d fallen asleep on the couch in the living room.

He looked comically large in the chair, which had clearly been picked out with me in mind. I stifled a smile and laid back down on Oscar’s chest.

This time, sleep came fast. The last thing I saw was Neo, staring at me from across the room, his features distorted with the familiar anguish I didn’t understand.

Chapter74

Willa

“You really don’t have to do this,” I said to Reva as she gathered the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies on the counter.

Behind her, Rock put his hands together in a gesture of prayer and mouthed the wordplease.

“Don’t be silly, darlin!” Reva said. “You’ve been through so much. You need some homemade cookies and milk. The chef here,” she said, hooking a thumb at Rock, “should know that.”

I still didn’t understand her relationship with the Kings, but she seemed to know everything that had happened on the night of the fire. I would definitely be digging into that mystery at some point.

“Oh, wow,” Oscar said, entering the room and eyeing the ingredients lined up on the island, “are you making cookies?”

His voice squeaked a little on the last word, and I stifled a snort of laughter.

“I am!” Reva said happily. “And I’m happy to do it.”

“You’re… too good to us,” Oscar said weakly, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

“It’s the least I can do after what Willa went through last weekend,” Reva said, all business as she bustled around the kitchen.

The fire department had put out the fire with minimal damage to the forest, thanks to Rock’s call. An investigation was under way to determine the cause, and so far the police hadn’t released anything about a body being found inside.

It was only Tuesday. Dean Giordana hadn’t even been reported missing yet, or if he had, it was being kept quiet.

It wouldn’t last. The Kings had prepared me for shit to hit the fan.

And soon.

The fire department would find human remains, an investigation would be launched into the cause of death, and they would eventually discover his identity. After that, it would only be a matter of time before they discovered he hadn’t died from smoke inhalation or the fire but from several gunshot wounds.

The Kings had told me not to worry about it when I’d asked a bunch of questions about ballistics and evidence — not that I was an expert in forensics, but I’d followed enough true crime to get the gist of an investigation.

I’d let it go. For now, I was just happy to be alive.

That wouldn’t last either. There was still at least one person running around out there who’d intended to kill me, and I still didn’t know what had happened to Emma.

“Willa, can you go to the garage and get me a new bag of flour?” Reva asked.

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