might’ve made a run for it,” Antony says. “And if a guy like Brentwood is on the run from Senator Marlowe, this concerns me.”
“Me too,” Noah mutters.
The place may be stuffed with antiques, but it’s immaculately clean. That’s why when I peer into a drawing-room, the first thing I notice two coffee cups on the table and rumpled cushions on a chair. One of the cups is empty, but the other is still half-filled with liquid, a dirty spoon resting on the side of the saucer. I point them out to Antony. He nods, but doesn’t venture a theory.
On the second floor, Antony instructs me to check the guest wing while he takes Noah with him to the master bedroom. I think he just wants a break from Gabe’s… Gabiness. This whole week, especially the last forty-eight hours, have been so weird to me. I’m used to things just being me and Antony. I forgot his macho douchebagometer ratchets up to ten whenever there’s too much testosterone in the room.
“Your cousin doesn’t like me,” Gabriel muses as we peer into a guest suite decorated in a gross shade of fuchsia.
“I’m sure he’ll come around.” I stick my head in to try to see inside the ensuite. As I do, I notice an ax resting on a block tied to a tripwire over the doorframe and quickly snap my head back. “Just do all that male bonding stuff. You know, go to a ball game, toss a pigskin around, BBQ some brisket together.”
Gabriel makes a face.
“I’m kidding. If you want to get into Antony’s good books, find Brentwood and put a knife through his head.”
“Your family is crazy, Claws.” Gabriel’s hand slides down my side to rest casually and possessively on my hip. “I approve.”
“Guys, we found him,” Noah calls from the other end of the house. He sounds… weird, but that might just be his voice echoing through the mansion.
Gabriel takes off in the direction of Noah’s voice. I yank his arm to stop him from running. “Stay behind me, remember?” I scan every surface for traps and tripwires as we make our way back along the hallway and down another.
“Where are you?” I call out as we face two branching hallways and rows of identical doors. This place is a maze.
“Master bedroom – the door at the end on the left,” Antony calls out. “Watch the wire on the bathroom door.”
Gabriel and I make our way across the gilded bedroom to where Antony and Noah are inside a palatial ensuite. I have to bend down in the doorway to see the invisible wire catching the light. I lift my foot over it and immediately slide in a puddle of blood.
“Fuck.”
Noah slams his body into mine, catching me before I go down on top of the wire. His warm hands wrap around my waist, and I don’t want to leave.
“That was close.” I breathe into his neck, inhaling his salt and jasmine scent as I let my heart rate return to normal.
“Mmmm. Watch your step.” Noah sets me on my feet again and extends a hand to help Gabriel. “This place is a biohazard.”
Massacre is the word I’d use.
My pulse races as I take in the scene. Brentwood lies in a tub of crimson bathwater I’m assuming isn’t the result of a Lush bath bomb. Blood splatters the walls and ceiling – great long slashes of the stuff, the marks of a killer who relished his task. Brentwood’s stomach is torn open, a mess of gore. But his face is what turns my stomach – his eyes bug out in an expression of pure terror. His tongue lolls to the side of his mouth, sticking out through swollen lips. His cheeks are puffed out, and as I step closer, I see why.
Someone has stuffed pills into his mouth and up his nose – so many they spill out on his tongue. A few bob about on the surface of the water. Several of the capsules have broken open or dissolved, leaving their contents speckling his clothing.
Someone shut Brentwood up good.
13
Claudia
“What the fuck?” Brentwood is supposed to be Dio’s most infamous assassin. How does someone manage to catch him off-guard and do this?
“My thoughts exactly.” Antony points to the spatter on the wall behind his head. “See how this blood has dried? I think this happened a few hours ago, maybe even last night. The floor’s still wet because of the amount of water splashed everywhere.”
“There’s no way he just… slipped