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“Love?” Stephanie cackles and shakes her head. “I don’t love him. If I did, do you think I’d have fucked my marks before killing them?”
Seb and Freddie exchange a glance that says this chick is fully batshit. She’s a Praying Mantis. I watched firsthand as she lulled men into a false sense of security and fucked them before slitting their throats. I thought she did it for fun or because of a raging sex addiction, but there must have been more to it.
Stephanie reads their shocked expressions, which makes her laugh harder. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re prudes.” She points at Seb. “I know you like fucking in the back of limos.”
Seb’s jaw tenses as he mumbles something incomprehensible under his breath.
“Alaric is a means to an end,” Stephanie explains. “He’s an obstacle in my way. He started the Killers Club, but I’m the one who grew the business and took it to the next level. I was responsible for agent recruitment, setting up teams, and liaising with our clients. Alaric’s the frontman who throws his weight around, but he has no substance. Without me, he’d be nothing.”
My head spins. “So you’ve been using him?”
She considers my question. “Maybe not at first,” she replies. “I thought I loved him at the start. He helped me get away from a bad situation, but then I wanted more. The years went by, and our relationship grew stale. I’ve been waiting, biding my time, and putting in the groundwork until now. We’re finally ready.”
“And that’s why you want our help?” Seb asks.
“Killing him isn’t a small task,” she says. “I don’t expect you to help for free. My earlier offer stands. I still want you all to work for the Killers Club under its new management.”
“I’ll never work for you,” I hiss. “You’re poison.”
“Maybe,” she says with a casual shrug. “But I’m a poison you want on your side.”
“You still didn’t answer my earlier question,” I say. “If you want to take over from Alaric, fine. But why did you have to keep us apart? We’re sisters!”
Daisy sighs, running her hand through her hair in exasperation. She must already know the answer.
“Ivy—younger Ivy—was a problem no one expected,” Stephanie explains. “But her birth had some benefits.”
“Benefits?” I ask incredulously.
Ivy was a fucking child, not a negotiation tool. Doesn’t she remember how Ivy was conceived and the hell Daisy went through?
“Alaric sees Ivy as a valuable asset,” Daisy says coldly.
My eyes widen in surprise.
“We couldn’t have you two reuniting and compromising our plans. Alaric thought it was best that you didn’t know about each other. It made you more malleable,” Stephanie says. “You have to admit, your thirst for revenge definitely helped with your missions.”
“So, you baited me?” My blood boils. “You lied to make us more ruthless?”
It’s sickening. They treated us like fighting dogs, breeding us for the slaughter. We were pawns in their twisted game.
“You make it sound so dramatic,” Stephanie dismisses. “But the lies were necessary.”
“Did the rest of the club know?” I ask, thinking about the others in my pod. “What about the Tweedle twins and Jonathon?”
“No,” Stephanie says. “Only me and Alaric. Keeping you apart was part of a bigger plan.”
My cheeks flush with fury as I struggle to contain myself.
“When Spencer found out about his slip-up, he was quick to want to keep Ivy’s birth a secret, which is why he bankrolled the club,” she says. “He gives us cash in exchange for us keeping his child and your murder a secret.”
“But he knows I’m not dead now,” I say.
“Great job there.” Stephanie scowls. “You almost blew everything I’ve been working so hard for over some silly revenge quest. I’ve kept Spencer quiet for now, but it won’t be long until it gets back to Alaric and he learns the truth.”
If Alaric finds out what she’s planning, that’d be an instant death sentence for Stephanie, no matter how much he claims to love her.
“So everything was always about the money?” I step forward. Bram follows, sensing my thirst for destruction. “Daisy and I could have pretended that we didn’t know each other. We could have worked together. There was no reason to lie!”
