“You have something against drugs, yet you see nothing wrong in killing people?” Brandy asked with a burst of humorless laughter, and Cassidy’s lips twitched slightly.
“This may come as a surprise to you, but I’ve never pulled a trigger my whole life. I’ve never had reason to.”
“Because you have people that do your dirty work! Murder is murder! What difference does it make whether you’re the one pulling the trigger or you ask someone else to do it on your behalf?” Brandy asked with disapproval.
“The difference is that my hands remain clean, whereas the person that pulled the trigger has blood on his hands. Do you know why? Pulling the trigger was their own decision regardless of my order,” Cassidy said with an indifferent shrug as he raised his wineglass to his lips and sipped from it.
“You can believe whatever makes you sleep better at night. So are you trying to say that Jero went to jail because you intentionally failed to clean up his mess?” Brandy asked, returning to the discussion.
“As you must know, I was away at the time. And I had only just found out about you giving your favor to other men the previous day. I was still very mad at Jero and the other lords that touched you. So I asked my men to leave clues that would reveal to the police that the kids were testers. And they left enough proof that would lead them to Jero.”
“You exposed the cartel because of something like that? What about the other lords? Didn’t they…”
“The bunch of old fucks. They have no idea that I was behind it. They assumed it happened because I wasn’t around to take care of it, so they kept trying to buy off every prosecutor that took up the case. They kept doing that until the stubborn lawyer girl took up the case. I convinced the lords to let Jero take the fall as that was the only way we could save ourselves and the cartel,” Cassidy said with a smile that told Brandy that he was pretty impressed with himself.
“Your sister made it easier for them to nail him by testifying against him. Can’t blame her though, can you?” Cassidy asked Jero who had returned inside to clean the floor even though he didn’t think there was any need for it.
“You didn’t earn your lady’s loyalty, so it’s what a piece of trash like you deserves after all,” Cassidy said, but Jero said nothing as he continued to clean.
“So why then did you let him out?” Brandy asked curiously as she glared at Jero’s back. She wished she could hit him or do something horrible to him for all he had done to her and her sister.
“Bill got into some sort of trouble with the kingpin, and they found out that he contacted the lawyer girl, wanting to expose the cartel. That was the first case I was handed once I returned to the country. I was supposed to kill him and make sure he doesn’t meet with the lawyer, so I hid him instead.”
“Why? Why didn’t you kill him?” Brandy asked curiously.
“Because I returned to the country for only two reasons. First, to get you. And secondly to put an end to everything. By everything I mean the cartel included. He will come in handy in my plans,” Cassidy explained.
Brandy ignored both reasons since she didn’t want to dwell on the first, “And Jero? What do you need him for now if you were angry enough to get him arrested?”
“The cartel tried to get rid of him in prison because they believe that he might testify against them if the lawyer girl offers to reduce his sentence.”
“So you couldn’t save his life without helping him escape? Why did you even bother saving his life? You should have let them kill him. Everyone would have been better off that way.”
“Let me put it this way; the lords wouldn’t hesitate to kill both you and your sister even after killing Jero. You wouldn’t have known that the cartel was out to get you had I not saved both Bill and Jero…”
“You are not making any sense!” Brandy said with a shake of her head.
“Jero’s first job the moment he got out was to intercept the private investigator before he revealed your whereabouts to the cartel. Only Jero could have helped me find you without the cartel’s knowledge of my involvement. And now he will be the one to expose the cartel. He knows that is the only way his son and your sister will be safe.”
“Find me? What for? And what happens to you when the cartel is exposed?” Brandy asked, wondering what was going on in his head.
“Are you worried that I might go to jail?” Cassidy asked with a grin, and Brandy rolled her eyes.
“You can rot there for all I care. Why should I be worried about you?” She asked incredulously.
“I will give you a reason to worry soon,” Cassidy promised as he picked up Brandy’s phone from where he had left it and dialed Matt’s line.
Matt turned to look at Jade when his phone started ringing, and he showed her the phone’s screen. Jade took the phone from him, “I suppose I’m the one you want to speak with?” Jade asked immediately after she received the call and placed it on speaker.
“You have some really good men working for you. Unfortunately, I’m way ahead of them, hence they couldn’t tail Jero or find Bill. I made sure of it,” Cassidy said smugly.
“You must be proud of yourself,” Jade said dryly, trying to conceal the fact that she found the criminal impressive.
“Yes, I am. This yacht is going to explode in a couple of minutes. The moment it does, I AM DEAD. You can tell Candace not to worry about Andy. She will contact her when I believe it is safe enough to do so.”
“You mean you want to take Andy hostage and fake your death…”
“I’m not taking her hostage. She is my woman. I already gave Bill all the evidence you will need to bring down the cartel. He will bring it to where you are once the yacht explodes, and then you can get an arrest warrant. Jero will lead you to the place where you can arrest all the lords at once,” Cassidy said.
“You must have thought this through,” Jade said, surprised at how organized his plan was.
“You wanted to bring down the cartel, I’m helping you achieve it. In return, help Jero see his son and Candace one last time before he returns to jail. I hope you don’t try to find me after now,” Cassidy said before disconnecting the call.
“It’s time to leave,” Cassidy said as he reached out a hand to Brandy.
After showing his visitors around the house, Benne led them up the stairs where he showed them their bedrooms and encouraged them to relax a bit before coming down for dinner.
As he returned downstairs to find Celsie and his mother, his steps faltered at the top of the stairs when he caught sight of Celsie standing by the foot of the stairs as though she was waiting for someone there, while also holding her phone to her ear like she was trying to make a phone call. She had her back to him but he didn’t need to see her face to know that she was the one. He smiled when he noticed that she had worn her hair down for him.
Benne’s heart skipped a beat when he finally noticed what she was wearing. His eyes moved from her feet which were covered in gold-colored high-heeled sandals, up to her calf, thigh, and her bare back which was mostly covered thanks to her long hair. The dress seemed to be covering just her ass, leaving her back exposed. He didn’t even want to imagine what the front of the dress must look like. How was he supposed to concentrate on anything tonight when she was dressed this way? His gaze shifted to his phone when it started vibrating with a phone call, and he ignored it when he saw that the call was from Celsie.
He noiselessly descended the stairs and stopped a foot behind her. Celsie spun around when she suddenly perceived the scent of his cologne before he could touch her.
“You’re not with your phone? I was just trying to reach you,” she said with a wide smile, happy to see him even though they had been together less than three hours ago.
Benne didn’t say a word to her as he let his eyes move over the front part of her dress. It had a deep V neckline that stopped at the top of her belly button, exposing parts of her midriff and boobs. It seemed like the only thing keeping the dress on her body was the halter neck.
Celsie’s face grew hot as she watched him assess her unhurriedly. Although she would have preferred he say something, she patiently waited to hear what he had to when his gaze finally returned to her face, “You really shouldn’t have worn this dress, babe,” he said with a shake of his head, and Celsie tried to blink back her disappointment.
“But since you wore this, I hope you’ll be ready to face my parents and yours tomorrow morning?” He asked with a suggestive smile as he reached out to touch her hair, and Celsie blushed when she recalled what his mother had said.
She cleared her throat, “I wouldn’t have worn this had I known that she was around. Why didn’t you tell me?” Celsie asked with a scowl, and Benne chuckled.
“First of all, I didn’t think that you would come here with your parents dressed to SEDUCE me. So there was no need to tell you that. Secondly, I see no reason why my mother should determine your wardrobe. As long as you’re comfortable in what you’re wearing, I’m good,” Benne said as he pulled her closer to himself and placed his arm around her shoulder, while still standing on the staircase and looking down at her.
“Your mom is pretty cool though,” Celsie informed Benne.
“Your parents are cool too. Although, I think I might have a problem with your dad,” Benne said, making her raise a brow.
“What sort of problem?”
“I noticed how he has been glaring at me all evening. Maybe it’s because I told him that I was your one true love,” Benne said, and Celsie laughed softly.
“I think Bryan is going to have an issue with him too. Sonia has a huge crush on my dad,” Celsie said, and Benne chuckled.
“So he told me. He really bragged about it. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about you having a crush on him,” Benne said with a grin and Celsie hit him playfully.
“You should know that he is my first love, and has been my only love for the past twenty-five years of my life,” Celsie pointed out.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.