A Matter Of Justice (Grey Justice #4)(21)

“Yes.”

“They’ve added a new assassin. Our sources say she’s been working for them for a few weeks now.”

An ominous dread filled him, and he knew the answer before he asked, “She?”

“Irelyn Raine is Hill House’s newest assassin.”

No one spoke for several seconds and Grey appreciated the silence. However, dropping a bombshell of this magnitude on him would require more than a few seconds of thought. That would have to come later. For now, he needed details.

“Tell me what you know.”

“The new proprietor of Hill House is Sebastian Dark. Not much is known about him before he began his training at Hill House. We do know that he was a teenager when he arrived and has been a contract killer for a dozen or more years,” Gallagher said.

“Hill Reed, the previous proprietor, died without naming his successor. Guess the asshole thought he’d live forever.”

Grey had often wondered about Reed’s shortsightedness of never designating his future replacement. Admittedly, the bastard hadn’t planned on dying that soon—he’d only been in his early sixties. He definitely hadn’t planned on being outsmarted and betrayed by one of the few people he still trusted. But having lived, eaten, and breathed death for so long, he should have been aware of his own mortality.

“After Reed’s death, his assassins scattered like cockroaches,” Gallagher went on. “The only ones left vied to take over Hill House. After several months and more than a few dead bodies floating in the Thames, Dark came out the victor.”

Much of what Gallagher had learned, Grey already knew. Hill Reed’s successor hadn’t yet attained the status his predecessor had achieved. And likely never would.

It was a testament to Nick Gallagher’s restraint that he could speak of Hill Reed in such a dispassionate tone. Mathias and Adam Slater had hired Reed to kill Thomas O’Connell, Gallagher’s best friend and Kennedy’s late husband.

Gallagher continued in the same even tone, “Rumor has it that Dark isn’t the leader that his predecessor was. Doesn’t inspire the following or have the training skills that Reed apparently possessed.”

That was no surprise either. Not only had Hill Reed been a ruthless killer, he had been a skilled manipulator, a real-life Svengali who was a master at reading people and exploiting any detected vulnerability to gain what he wanted.

Grey had never doubted the existence of God, nor did he doubt the existence of the devil. He had seen evidence of both. Unfortunately, in his line of work, he saw evil much more often than good. In his expert opinion, Hill Reed had been, at the very least, one of Satan’s most evil minions. He could not regret for one moment that the bastard was in hell where he belonged.

“How many assassins does Dark have in his employ?” Grey asked.

“Hard to say,” Charlie answered. “Rumor has it that it’s as many as twenty. Some say they’ve heard upwards of fifty, and one or two sources have said no more than five.”

And now he had one more.

“Where do we go from here?” Gallagher asked.

“We wait. Watch it play out.”

“Why would Irelyn associate herself with—”

Gallagher stopped when Grey held up his hand. Giving his tech analyst an apologetic smile, he said, “Charlie, while I trust you completely, I need to talk to Nick alone.”

Giving both men a concerned glance, she stood. “No problem. Let me know what else you want me—”

“Just keep digging. The more we know, the better off we are.”

“Will do.”

Grey waited until the door closed and turned to Gallagher. “There are things you don’t know. Things I don’t have the right to tell you. And, admittedly, things I don’t want you to know. But there’s one thing I do know and want you to understand. I know Irelyn Raine, inside and out. I trust her with my life. I don’t know why she’s doing this, but I do know she’s got a plan.”

“A plan for what?”

He had no clue. Her insistence that they end their relationship had taken on a whole new meaning. Why hadn’t he pressed her for more details? The excuse that she had hurt him was beyond ludicrous. His emotions were secondary to making sure Irelyn stayed safe. And now, for reasons known only to Irelyn herself, she was back in the devil’s den.

Hell, Irelyn, what are you thinking, baby?





Chapter Eight





Minneapolis, Minnesota





Irelyn paced the small confines of the hotel room. This was getting old and more than a little ridiculous. She had made her last handoff with the smoothness of a trained professional, but an amateur could have done the same thing with just as much success.

When Dark had told her she would be required to prove herself again, she’d expected anything from infiltrating corporations, to gaining top-secret information, to executing an actual termination contract. While she was pleased she hadn’t been asked to kill anyone, the banal assignments were wearing on her.

At first, the tasks had been entertaining and interesting. The clues uncovered had seemed like mysteries to solve, and evading her tails had been challenging. Those jobs were a thing of the past. Her latest assignments had been as boring as watching grass grow.

She knew better than to complain. Dark was testing her patience, playing a power game. He could just as easily say she wasn’t needed, and then all her work would amount to nothing. She had to get inside that house. To do that, she had to jump through every hoop, no matter how boring.