Page 9 of Silk and Sirens

“What is it?”

“I need you to destroy someone.”

“You’re asking me to kill them?”

“Of course not, you’re not a barbarian. Honestly, Caden.” A tic twitched on Dad’s cheek, his eyes darting over my shoulder then around the room as if we had an entire audience listening into our conversation. “I want you to destroy a reputation. I want this man so entirely broken that he takes his own life.”

There he was—the man that raised me. He could act like he was too good to get his hands dirty, but he was just as bloodthirsty as Sebastian, Langdon, and me. Especially when it came to money.

“Why?” I asked.

Dad looked away, clenching his jaw. “It seems one of the partners has been stealing from the company. Three million to be exact.”

I’m pretty sure my expression matched his, my teeth grinding. “From whose account?”

“None that concern you, but I need this to be dealt with before he gets caught. We both know we can’t allow the company to be audited, or investigated in any way.”

No, not when my father was the mastermind behind Baron Financial Consultancy and Accountancy, which on paper meant he was a fancy financial manager. In reality, he cleaned dirty money. A necessity, considering most of our fortune came from controlling the entire cocaine line from production straight through to distribution.

“It seems he’s developed some darker tastes, funding them by syphoning money out of the company and into his personal accounts.”

“You want me to recover it?”

“Three million is insignificant in the grand scheme of things,” he said lightly, “but I won’t have him jeopardising what I’ve built. He knows too much, and if he turns up murdered, it’ll look suspicious. That would create … complications.”

“Text me the details, and I’ll deal with it.” I stood again, and, this time, Dad didn’t try to stop me.

“Don’t forget the mixer next week. I expect you to be there.”

I paused, one hand already on the back of the chair. “You expect a lot of things.”

His mouth tightened. “This isn’t optional.”

I let out a slow breath through my nose. “It’s a room full of people blowing hot air up potential clients’ arseholes. You’ve got half the board attending, your partners included.”

“They’re not you,” he said evenly. “We both know your presence there will help convince those that aren’t confident in our serv⁠—”

“I get it.” Turning back, I met his eyes. Competent money launderers were hard to come by for those dealing in serious money. Showing my face as a representation of the Beast gave Baron Financial Consultancy and Accountancy credibility.

“This is for your benefit too. Think of your inheritance,” Dad replied, as if I wasn’t wealthy enough and had zero interest in anything he’d built. “Just show up. Shake hands. Stay for an hour, and then you can disappear.”

An hour. He said it like it was nothing.

“Fine,” I said at last. “An hour.”

“Good.” His shoulders eased, just slightly. “Saturday. Seven sharp.”

I nodded once, already regretting it, and walked out before he could add anything else.

Chapter 5

Aeris

“I’ve already told you,” Mira sighed, rolling her eyes as she lounged back against her mountain of pillows, lazily scrolling through her phone. “Fletcher isn’t my boyfriend.”

“But he’s a boy … and he’s your friend,” I said, completely confused, sitting cross-legged at the end of her bed.

From her own cross-legged position on the floor, Brooke burst out laughing. “Ooh, Dad’s going to freak when he finds out,” she said before returning her focus to painting Darya’s toenails a glittery pink.