Devil's Redemption (Devil's Pawn Duet 2)

The funds were wired from a charity. My guess is the money was tied up. The Bishop’s are cash poor, I know that, but it surprises me they’d take a chance on the money trail being discovered.

“Assholes,” he says then leans toward me. “He did have one specific request about your wife, though.”

My wife.

He must see how him saying the words gets under my skin because one corner of his mouth curves upward.

“And what was that?” I ask stonily.

“Make it bloody.”

I study him. My hands clench and unclench at my sides. I’m almost done here.

“One more question.”

“Shoot,” he says casually, balancing on the back legs of the chair. You’d think he’d know how dangerous that is.

“Did you put your dick inside her?”

That grin spreads across his face. “Just the tip.”

It's in that moment I decide I’ll get my thousand dollars’ worth.

25

Isabelle

The house is practically empty. Jericho was gone when I woke up. I guess it’s his business trip to Atlanta. Zeke took Leontine and Angelique to a movie after lunch. They invited me but I declined. There’s something I want to do while I have the opportunity and the new guards stationed around the house are not as observant as Dex, who mentioned needing to run an errand and that he’d be back within the hour. Whatever errand he was running seemed urgent.

Once they’re all gone, I tell Catherine I’m going to take a nap before Professor Larder arrives for my lesson and head out of the kitchen but before turning to go up the stairs, I make my way to Jericho’s study like it’s perfectly normal for me to be going there. The less suspicious I look the better.

When I get to the door, I realize it may be locked but am relieved to find it’s not. I wonder if he simply forgot to lock it or doesn’t bother to.

I walk into Jericho’s space, close the door, and lean back, my hands still on the doorknob behind me. It smells like him in here.

I feel a momentary twinge of guilt when, after taking a deep breath of his lingering aftershave, I make my way to his desk. The surface is clear of most things, a laptop sits closed on one corner, there are a few sheets of paper and several photos of Angelique. I am relieved there isn’t one of Kimberly. I know I shouldn’t feel jealous of her. She was Angelique’s mother. But I’m glad he doesn’t keep a photo of her on his desk.

Taking a seat in his chair, I open the top right-hand drawer. It’s where I saw him drop the key to the cellar door. It’s still there. I recognize it. My heart races as I reach in and take it out. I’ll be quick. Get it back here before he’s home. I just want to see what he was looking for. See what it was behind that picture he knocked askew.

I close the drawer and get to my feet, hurrying out of the office toward the cellar before I can chicken out.

It’s good there’s no one around because in my guilty haste I fumble with the key, dropping it once before I finally get it into the slot and unlock it. Once open, I take a deep breath, slip into the staircase, closing the door behind me, and switching on the light.

It’s instantly several degrees cooler and even the smell of it, the closed up underground space, is eerie. I hold onto the railing and move quickly. I don’t want to give myself time to think. At the bottom of the stairs, I glance right but turn left toward the room I found Jericho in the other night. I move more slowly here, having to feel my way as the light from the stairs fades. When I manage to flip on the light switch, nothing happens. I remember how the bulb had flickered on and off that first night too.

I don’t allow myself to look at the closed doors on either side of me. Instead, I hurry to the last door, which is still standing open. The one where I’d found Jericho that night. When I reach the door, it’s almost too dark to see so I reach my arm around the corner to feel for the light switch. I am relieved when it doesn’t take me long. A moment later, the bulb blinks on and I’m standing in this room that almost looks like a little girl’s room, complete with a doll house, except it’s not. No parent would put a child in here. It’s too eerie.

Something cool brushes the back of my neck and I shudder. I take two quick steps into the room, turning to look behind me, half expecting someone to be there. My heart races as I’m met by empty space, so I hug my arms to myself. It’s almost like the air in here is unsettled. Restless.