Page 19 of Poisoned Pawn

“It’s Georgian slang. Dicked in the nob means silly, crazy. I mean crazy is a good description of your life right now.” She giggles again. “Did you know there’s a whole dictionary for it.The Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongueby Francis Grose and written in 1788. Can you imagine the ladies of the ton using sugar stick, or whipt syllabub.”

“I’m not sure I even want to know the meaning of those words.”

“Well, sugar—”

“Nope,” I cut her off, shaking my head with a laugh, but I’m grateful for the light relief from other things on my mind. “How did your dinner go with your dad?”

“Urgh, do not fucking ask. The guy is wanker!”

“Who, your dad?”

“No, he’s just an idiot sucked in by Lillian’s hot body and money. I’m talking about Lillian’s son.”

“I thought he was still in the states?”

“Apparently not. He’s decided to hop across the pond and live here for the rest of the year. Shame his plane didn’t drop out of the sky.”

“Oh dear, that bad, huh?” I ask with a deep chuckle.

“Worse. Knight Kingsman—who the fuck even calls their kidKnight—is a spoilt rich boy who needs to remove the silver fucking spoon from his mouth before I choke him with it.”

Movement at the doorway catches my eye, and I look up to see Zak there. His arms are folded across his chest and he’s wearing a look that says I’m about to be given the third degree. I don’t have to think too heavily to come up with an idea of what it’s about.

“Er, Toni, I need to go. There’s something I need to do. I’ll call you later,” I say interrupting her mid rant. I end the call before she can say anymore and place the phone down on the table. “Everything okay?” I ask Zak.

“That depends,” he wagers.

“On?” I press, my feet shuffling nervously under the table.

“On whether you can explain to me who the second guy is.” Zak drops his arms to his sides and steps into the room, pulling out the chair one down from me and sits.

My hand finds my phone and I slowly trace my finger over the screen, smearing it and attempting to give my brain time to come up with something that won’t sound like another lie.

As I look up at him, meeting his eyes, I say, “Would you believe me if I told you I don’t know?”

He immediately shakes his head. “Not even if you were the best liar in the world.

I frown, convinced there is more to his words. “I’m not lying. I don’t know his name.”

“But you doknowhim?”

This time it’s easy to translate the meaning of the inflection in Zak’s words. I hold his gaze for a moment, then I nod.

“I know him.”

CHAPTERSEVEN

CARTER

Less than twenty-four hours and I’m back where I was before and stationed outside Star’s house. Only this time I don’t have the luxury of being able to watch what’s happening inside, though I don’t need the security feed to know she has a house full.

From the outside the house looks like all the others down this street, but they don’t see what I see. The guy in the house next door watching between the slates of the pulled blind, then there’s the guy in the van parked across from the house no doubt monitoring the phones and CCTV. But all of that isn’t what stops me from entering the house. No, it’s the people inside who are my biggest threat.

The hours pass slowly, and nobody comes or goes from the property except the takeaway delivery guy. I try Lev again but he’s ignoring my calls, and they just go straight to voice mail.

I catch a small glimpse of Star as she pulls the blinds in her bedroom, and I think she’s spotted me when she looks right where I’m hiding for a moment before she tugs on the cord and the blind falls shut.

The next time I see any movement inside the house is the following morning when the suited guy who was with Star yesterday steps out, jumps into his car and drives off before returning twenty minutes later with a bag full of shopping.

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