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“I know that the company they work for is a front,” Sydney says with a nod, tipping her head back to the ceiling. “I know that Atlee Enterprises is a front for something horrible. I don’t know the specifics. I’ve tried running from it my entire life. I didn’t want to know about it. Do you think they were still tied to the cult?”
Jerry shakes her head. “They may still have had ties to it. I know dad had a few business partners, but they left the cult a couple years after giving me up. Mom couldn’t take it anymore, and if there was one thing that dad loved more than the cult, more than all the money and power that came his way, it was mom. They wanted to make their own way.”
“How do you know this?” Sydney asks her sister.
Jerry shrugs. “I’ve followed them my whole life. Researched. They’re not exactly subtle people. They’re famous in the criminal underworld. Infamous, really, among criminals. No one liked them, yet they had all the respect in the world.”
Sydney considers this, nodding.
“And who are you guys? What do you do?”
Jerry looks at me, considering what she should tell her sister. If it were up to me, it would be everything, but I’m not sure why. Sydney doesn’t deserve it. Not more than anyone else we question. And yet, something about her seems so familiar. Well, I know whythatis. But I mean something… I don’t know. I don’t like the woman, but I think I’d have some serious problems telling her no if she asked really, really nicely. If she lost the attitude.
Maybe it really is just because of Jerry. I’ve been under her thumb for so long that I don’t remember what it feels like to be my own person. To make my own decisions.
That being said, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Well,” Jerry starts, standing up and placing her hands on her hips. Maverick looks up at her, annoyed at her movement. “I think this is where the other part of this comes in. We need your help to take down their criminal enterprise.”
Sydney looks suspicious, leaning back in her seat again as she watches her sister intently.
“I was hoping you’d know more than I do about how the company is run, who is in charge, and how to get it from him, but you don’t. Thankfully, I know enough to have come up with a plan.” She flicks her cigarette ash into the dish on the coffee table.
And now it’s my turn to be confused. She never told me that she had a plan, and I’m usually the first one she runs things by.
“And what is this plan?” I ask her.
Jerry gestures to Sydney. “You two are going to get married.”
EIGHT
SYDNEY
I couldn’t have heardthat right.
“What do you mean we have to getmarried?” Ronan asks, his hands curled into fists at his sides, his eyes shooting lasers at the woman in front of him. The other three on the couch look at one another. Although they don’t look surprised, they do look befuddled.
“I mean exactly what I said,” Jerry tells him. “You two need to get married. I already arranged for someone to come here to get the papers signed. The second that happens, we can start taking down the empire.”
“Why is that necessary?” I ask.
“Well, you know daddy dearest loved his old pal Jeffrey? They go way back. In fact, all the way back to the cult. But the thing is, Jeffrey never really changed his opinions on women. Neither did dad, really.”
I close my eyes. I know Jeffrey. I just don’t want to think about him. “What does that have to do with me? What does that have to do with getting married to—” I look him over, and he eyes me, his nose scrunching as if he smells something revolting. My eyes narrow in his direction. “—him.”
“Women weren’t allowed to run the company,” Jerry tells me, sitting back down and crossing one leg over the other. “At all. You’re the sole heir of the company, and yet it’s written into their will and all contracts that you are not to take it over unless you’re married. There has to be a man at the head of the company for it to be passed along.”
“Who’s at the head of it now?”
“Jeffrey Wright.”
I shiver, immediately feeling like I’m going to be sick. If there’s one thing I’ve never wanted, it’s to be involved in that company. If there’s one other thing, it’s to never be in the presence of Jeffrey Wright ever again.
“I’m not going to do it,” I tell her, my back straightening.
“I’m not doing it either,” Ronan tells her, and I get a small amount of pleasure knowing he seems just as thrown off as I do.
“I don’t think you two understand that neither of you have a choice. We’ve been working on taking this company down for the past three years. We didn’t know much about it until recently. Only a couple of months ago, really. This is what needs to be done.”
