There was no reason for anything.
I didn’t hear the knock at my door, just Dunbar’s approach from the living room. “Sir?”
I didn’t turn around. Even if he had a gun pointed at me, I still wouldn’t turn around. “I’m listening.”
“I just picked up the ring. What would you like me to do with it?”
If it hadn’t belonged to my mother, I would have told him to throw it away. “Leave it on the table. Tell the rest of the staff not to disturb me.”
Dunbar was smart to not ask any questions. “Yes, sir.” He shut the door and disappeared.
There were only two women I’d ever intended to marry, and both of them left me without a backward glance. Not only was I wealthy and smart, but I was handsome and gentle. I had a lot of good qualities when I allowed them to shine through.
But neither of them seemed to care.
I needed to have children to pass down my lineage. If not, I would have stopped giving a fuck.
But I couldn’t picture myself with anyone, letting alone being a husband. All I could think of was the woman I’d fallen madly in love with. She played me like a fool, not once, but twice.
Ariel had been right.
Why didn’t I listen to her?
I stared into the darkness and tightened my hand into a fist, the kind that pierced my skin and made my knuckles turn white. “Fuck her.”
Ariel walked into my office. “I just got off the phone with—”
“You can reach me by email today. I’m not taking any personal visits.” I didn’t look up from my laptop, not interested in seeing a human face other than my own for the foreseeable future.
Ariel lingered in the doorway. “Everything alright?”
“London left. But you already knew that.”
She didn’t deny it. “I’m sorry, Crewe.”
“No, you aren’t. You can say I told you so. Go ahead.” I finally looked up, unable to hide the pissed expression on my face. All I wanted to do was destroy everything in the castle. If everything weren’t a preservation of history, I would have set it on fire. I wanted to ruin anything that woman had ever touched.
“I have no interest in doing that.”
“Then get out. I have shit to do.”
Ariel didn’t hesitate before she walked out the door.
When she was gone, I turned back to my computer and dragged my hand down my face. I wanted to flip my desk over and shatter it. When London originally left, I didn’t feel anything. But now that I had a few hours of sleep, I was just pissed.
Fucking livid.
All I felt was hatred.
I wanted to grab her by the neck and strangle her.
I closed my eyes and willed the pain to go away. The rage was affecting my ability to work, and work was the only distraction I had right now. But I needed the anger. Once it was gone, there would only be depression.
And I hated being depressed.
Joseph was launching the attack tonight. I stayed on the line in my bedroom so I could overhear their communications. Joseph was in charge of intercepting the wire transfer, not the actual murder. I shouldn’t care if he was safe since he was London’s brother, but her happiness was always something that lingered in the back of my mind.
Pissed me off.
“How are things going?” I asked him over the phone.
“Everything is on schedule. We’re ready to intercept the second the line is open. Our men are staked at the house right now. The second the wife and kids are gone, we’ll loot the place. The third team is in place to take him out the moment he leaves the meeting and gets into the car.”
“You think he won’t run the second the money is intercepted?”
“He won’t know the funds have been misplaced for at least five minutes. He’s done this dozens of times, so he has no reason to think it won’t go through.”
“For argument’s sake, what if he doesn’t get in the car?” I didn’t care about all the money Joseph would steal from the asshole. I just wanted the asshole to be dead.
“I have a team in place if it comes to that. Don’t worry, Crewe. I know what I’m doing.”
“Surely, you must understand why I doubt that.”
Joseph didn’t strike with a comeback. “I’m gonna put you on speakerphone. Don’t talk until it’s over. I can’t afford a distraction right now.”
I expected him to mention London, but he never did. He probably expected me to mention her too, but now wasn’t the time. It wasn’t like Joseph had anything to say to make me feel better. He never wanted me to be with his sister anyway. “Okay.”
I sat on the line and listened. Joseph’s fingers hit the keyboard in the background, and I could hear our men radio in while they took their positions. We decided to split the men down the middle, fifty-fifty. It made us both equally involved and equally in charge, even though Joseph was running the operation.
“Family left,” Joseph reported. “They’re in and looting everything.”
I could hear the men speaking over the intercom, so I was aware of the situation.
Joseph conversed with his teammates as his fingers struck the keyboard. “Wiring in place…ulterior route is in action.”
I listened in silence.
“It went through,” Joseph said without emotion. It didn’t seem like he cared that he just received forty million dollars.
“What about him?” I asked.
Joseph conversed with his men over the line. “He just left the building. He’s getting into the car.”
This was the moment I’d been looking forward to. If I didn’t have such a reputation, I would have pulled the trigger myself. But this was how it had to be. I had to have a concrete alibi when all of this went down.
I interlocked my fingers, and it was the first time I didn’t think about London. The death of my greatest enemy was the only thing strong enough to distract me. I hardly breathed as I listened, not wanting to miss a word.
Gunshots went off in the background.
“What’s your status?” Joseph asked.
A guy spoke over the intercom. “Driver is knocked out. Target is dead. Two bullets in the skull.”
I leaned back in my chair and smiled, feeling the sense of revenge wash over me. If I were really cruel, I could have killed his entire family instead and allowed him to live with the heartache. If you asked me, my actions were merciful. I got the revenge I deserved, and that asshole got what was coming to him.
“Did you hear that, Crewe?” Joseph asked.
“Yes.” My smile dropped once the weight of the truth had sunk in. That asshole was really gone. My family was finally avenged.
“I’ll give you an update on the house—”
“Couldn’t care less.” The only thing I cared about had been taken care of. “Great job, Joseph. It was a pleasure working with you.”
“No problem. Thanks for the muscle.”
“Sure.” I hung up before he could say anything. I didn’t want there to be an opportunity for London to be mentioned.
She was the last thing I wanted to talk about.
“I heard the good news.” Ariel walked into my office before lunchtime.
I rubbed my temple and stared out the window. “What good news?” A cold glass of scotch was in my hand—the seventh one since this morning.