Tense from her conversation with Carys, Isla stayed busy. She checked in on Rosa. She planned to travel back to Sweden after Ellis’s memorial to honor Erik with her family. Understandable. Isla felt such guilt, but Rosa assured her that they knew what they were doing working for Ellis, and she regretted not a second.
“I hate to ask, but where did you find Ellis that day?”
Rosa dug through a pile of laundered pants, folding them neatly on her bed. “His bedroom near the balcony. Ellis enjoyed a cigar in the afternoon.”
“Was he shot?”
“Yes.”
“How would someone know where he’d be?” Isla crossed her arms over her chest. “Whoever killed him knew Ellis’s pattern.”
Isla went right to the technological flea she planted on Martin. Isla suspected he had his own resident hacker. Joe was the first on her list, but he was dead. Was the threat gone?
“What are you thinking?”
“I think I’m thinking too much and missing something.” Rosa’s brows slanted. “Ignore my rambling. Are you sure you’re okay staying with Jules during the memorial?”
“I am. She’s an enchanting child. She’s your light.”
“Yes, she is.”
Isla left Rosa to turn in for the night. She found Reed in the living room, tapping away on a laptop. They discussed Amaranthine business. What would be their next move, what they would do with Martin, as well as what to do with the other bosses?
“Do you think Joe would have been smart enough—”
“No.”
“I didn’t even finish.”
Reed closed the laptop. “Joe and smart never belonged in the same sentence. He didn’t have the brain power to orchestrate the ambush.”
“What if he hid behind his computer?”
“Even then I don’t think so. He was a slimy, pompous asshole who never thought for himself.”
“We’re back to Martin,” Isla said and rubbed her temples.
“Since you already have a headache, what did Carys say?”
Isla told Reed about the man Carys was going to meet. A part of her understood where Carys was coming from. With Ellis dead, would Gavin uphold the marital contract? Divorce wasn’t favored in the families. Most either stuck it out or separated but remained married. Isla hoped Gavin would let her go. Carys deserved happiness without strings tying her to a man who was a walking STD ad.
“She’s a grown woman,” Reed said.
“She’s your sister, and she’s making a huge mistake grave digging with a prehistoric penisneck.”
“Where do you come up with these words?”
Isla shoved him. “I’m serious. Aren’t you pissed at Gavin? Carys is only doing this because of what he’s dragging around West Palm Beach by the gnarly hair.”
“She’s ordered I stay out of it, but yes, I hate him for what he’s doing. I think we should rethink staying here.” Reed reached over the arm of the couch, laid papers down on the coffee table, and turned to her. “Restructuring both families, private and corporate, is going to take time. We have much ahead of us, and focusing on behaviors that have been going on for years . . .”
She hated when he switched subjects because his brain was set on another matter. Isla noticed out from the window a soft red glow coming from the steps of the stone patio. She rose to her feet and squinted to see a flutter of shadowy hair. Reed was skeptical at first, but Isla knew it wasn’t a trick. It was Carys. She only smoked when stressed. Isla asked Reed to run down to the wine cellar as she slipped on her ragged slippers. Moments later, he brought up a bottle and opened it for her.
“I’m keeping a close eye on you two,” Reed said.
“Go to bed. The guards are lurking about. We’ll be fine.”
He’d watch from the window until they were safe inside no matter how late. She knew that of her husband.
Isla brought out the bottle of vintage Chardonnay and descended into the dark. A stretch of dim light from the wall of windows guided her to the steps where Carys sat. She caught a whiff of sweet clove.
“I brought the good stuff.”
Carys looked up and wiped under her eye. “Good.”
Even from the house, Isla heard Carys’s heart breaking. She dragged the last bits from the cigarette and flicked it into the yard. Sparks bounced and tumbled. Isla sat down and took a swig from the bottle and passed it to Carys. Dry warmth spread across her chest.
“What happened?”
“I sat in my car for what seemed liked ages, outside the bar.” Carys drank from the bottle and handed it back to Isla. “Why doesn’t he want me? Why her? Why does he want to humiliate me?”
“This isn’t an excuse, but it’s the lifestyle. The amoral mentality was drilled into them since infancy. Ellis encouraged the behavior. In fact, he instructed Reed to step out on me since I was preoccupied. It’s not right, and it should never be.”
“But that’s the difference between a man and a coward. Reed would never do such a thing to you. Do you know Gavin asked me about children last night?”
“You and him?”
“He gave me the story of how he’s older, and we should carry on the name, blah-blah-blah.” Carys took the wine bottle from Isla’s hand and drank down a healthy swig from it. “Why would I want to have his children when he has her on the side? He’ll never change.”
“Maybe he will. Maybe he is.”
Carys shoved Isla with her shoulder. “God, you’re so gross now. What did my brother do to you?”
“I’ve seen Gavin with Jules. He adores her. Maybe this entire fucked-up situation has opened his eyes to what’s important.”
“I called Jack and told him to shove off. Talk about mixed signals.” Carys laughed and paused. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier—”
“You should be,” Isla teased. “Bitch.”
Both took a swig from the bottle, laughed, and leaned against each other. Their lives were far from happily-ever-after, but wasn’t that real life? Though Isla and Reed were a united front, the pair had a long way to go. He was captivated by her strength, and he didn’t see through the rose-colored haze. He didn’t see her insecurities, and her fear of intimacy didn’t faze him — for now. What would he feel in another year?
Reed’s patience would crack. Isla tasted the sourness of rejection. She took a drink of the wine, holding the liquid in her mouth to wash away her anxieties. There wasn’t time for doubt, not while so much was at stake.
Amaranthine would fall, and a new Pierce family would rise. That is, if they could all stay alive.