A Matter Of Justice (Grey Justice #4)(50)

Grey had no idea she was such a coward. If she had the courage he often attributed to her, she would have told him the truth and got it out there once and for all. Problem was, she knew he would confirm her deepest fear. So she had created this distance between them, and she saw no way out.

Pushing that pain aside, she asked, “So, what’s the plan?”

“There’s a meeting here at noon today.”

“All right.”

“Why don’t you stick around the apartment this morning?”

“I will if you will.”

The smile he gave her told her that had been his plan all along.

“Do you have a list of suspects you’ve been working with? I’d like to take a look at it, be prepared.”

“I’ll send it to you. But first, how about some breakfast? We both missed dinner last night.”

“Sounds good.”

Standing, he held out his hand. “Let’s make it together, like we used to.”

She accepted his hand and followed him into the kitchen. Nothing would ever be the way it used to be, but for now she would take what she could get.





Chapter Twenty-One





Hill House

England





Sebastian smiled as the news reports from last night’s event flashed across the screen. Just a scrolling ticker at the bottom, but that was to be expected. Grey Justice knew how to cover up his sins, even from the nosiest of media outlets.

It hadn’t turned out exactly as he’d planned, but he’d take it as a win. Despite the death of one of his best contractors, everything was still on track. While Kevin’s death was unfortunate, there were advantages. For one, it confirmed what he had known all along. Irelyn Raine had been on a fishing expedition when she had agreed to return to Hill House. She hadn’t been looking to become a premier assassin, as she had claimed. She had wanted information. He had expected that was the case, but was disappointed all the same. Predictability was so passé.

She hadn’t told him the truth. For that alone, he would cheerfully kill her. Yes, he told lies for a living, but that was part of the job. Being lied to was a different animal altogether. He punished liars, and Irelyn would receive her punishment in due time. She had so many sins to pay for, and he couldn’t wait to show her each and every one of them.

But exposing Irelyn for who she really was wouldn’t be the only benefit. She had gone to him. To Justice.

A day of reckoning was coming for them both. Then real justice would finally be attained. And he, Sebastian Dark, would be the one meting out his very own brand.

Blood for blood.



Dallas





Irelyn had attended many GJG op meetings. She’d even headed up several of them. This was the first one in her memory that she felt like an outsider. The hostility was muted, but the suspicion was overt. They no longer trusted her as one of their own.

She knew all six of them in varying degrees. She had worked one-on-one with both Kennedy and Charlie. She had become acquainted with Jonah Slater when he had worked with them to help bring down his father, Mathias. Later, when Jonah had been framed and imprisoned, she had helped to try to free him. The fact that she had killed the assassin who’d murdered his fiancée was a bone of contention between them. He had wanted to do the deed, to get his revenge. She took that opportunity away from him, and he likely still resented her interference. She had no regrets.

She didn’t know Gabriella, Jonah’s wife, nor had she worked with Kathleen, Eli’s wife, but Grey didn’t bring people into the group he couldn’t wholly trust. She trusted his judgment.

And then there was Nick Gallagher. While everyone else had offered her a greeting or, at the least, a polite smile, Nick had done nothing but stare at her with suspicious eyes. Since he was a former homicide detective, the distrust was likely second nature for him.

She told herself the pain in her chest wasn’t from hurt feelings. She didn’t have those typical kinds of emotions. Nevertheless, she would be working with all of these people until the person behind the contract could be identified and dealt with. They might never like her or even respect her again, but they did need to trust her in this matter.

She waited until everyone was seated at the conference table and then stood. “I’d like to address the group before we begin.”

Grey nodded his agreement. He’d recognized the tension, too. One of the many things she appreciated about Grey was his ability to stand back and let her defend herself, both physically or verbally.

“I know you’re wondering where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to the last couple of years. I’m sure you’ve heard rumors and speculation. Some are true, some aren’t. I won’t go into a lot of detail except to say that not once have I betrayed Grey or the Grey Justice Group. Some of you might not approve of what I’ve done, but know this—there is no one more important to me than Grey. And nothing more important than finding out who is behind the attempts on his life and stopping him or her from succeeding.”

This was the closest she’d ever come to sharing with anyone, other than Grey, how much he meant to her. She didn’t expect to have to expound on those words, but wasn’t really surprised at the next question, or who it came from.

“Stopping him or her how?” Nick asked.