The Empire (Filthy Trilogy 3)

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” I say, draping my arm around her shoulder. “Now Blake gets to do his magic and find out.”

She twists in my arms. “Is there another sibling? Have you ever gotten the idea that’s possible?”

“Never,” I say, “but they tried to bury me. My mother didn’t let that happen. They could easily have succeeded with someone else.”

“What if—what if that sibling is the one coming after you or both of you?” she continues. “Or bribed Isaac? I could keep going. There are so many possibilities.”

“All of which I’ll be discussing with Isaac,” I assure her. “But there are other possibilities. Mob connections. Secrets Gigi might know that she didn’t feel safe sharing don’t have to be as direct as another sibling.”

“You really believe this is Gigi?” Blake says. “She’s sending the messages?”

“She told Harper that I inherited my mind from her. That’s what was throwing me off with the message. It wasn’t written by someone who thinks like everyone else. It was written by someone who thinks like me.”

Harper reaches for her purse and grabs her phone. “I have to reach Gigi.”

“Her phone is dead,” Blake says. “And it’s not pinging at all.”

“Damn it,” Harper grumbles, and I slide my arm around her again. “Let’s get to the hospital and let Blake work.”

“Yes,” Blake says. “Let me work. I’m damn eager to dig into this and figure out what the fuck this is we’re dealing with.”

We head toward the elevator and none of us speak once we’re on the elevator. A few minutes later, Harper and I are standing beside the SUV we’re going to travel in with Savage and Blake. “I can get the name that’s attached to that birth certificate quickly,” Blake says, “if it’s not sealed like Isaac’s. Assuming I do, I’ll text you the name in case it helps you with Isaac.” He eyes Savage. “Don’t let him kill Isaac.”

Savage glances at me. “I’ll do it for you. Just say the word. I can’t stand that little bitch.”

I don’t look at him. I don’t want to encourage him. If anyone gets to kill Isaac before this is over, it’s me. And I don’t think that’s what Blake or Harper wants to hear. “Get me the name,” I say, eyeing Blake and then opening the back door for Harper.

She moves in front of me, but when she would climb inside, she turns to face me, her hand planting on my chest, under my coat. Her hand is always on my chest and I like it that way. I want to end this and figure out life with this woman minus the damn Kingston family.

“What do you think this is?” she asks. “What, or who, do you think that birth certificate leads us to?”

“Who, I don’t know. What? A way to save Gigi or whoever is sending me those messages.”

“It could be your father,” she suggests. “You could have inherited the savant in you from him.”

“No. I’ve been around him enough to know that he’s no savant. Gigi and I have spent next to no time together. She stayed away. She knew I hated her. These messages are from her and self-serving. She wanted to save what’s important to her, which means my father, and herself. And it might be too late to do either of those things.”

“You think she’s dead?”

“The odds are not in her favor.” I brush her hair from her face. “Get in, baby. If I can get answers out of Isaac, I need to do it and get this over with.”

She doesn’t even sway, let alone move. “How bad is this going to get between you two?”

“I’ll punch his buttons. He’ll lose his shit. If I estimate correctly, there will be a detective or two around to witness it all. I don’t need to kill Isaac as Blake suggested. Isaac is really damn good at burying himself alive.”

“I know you think you know what to expect with him, Eric, but he came here for a purpose. It feels like some sort of set-up. Like there’s a play going on and we’re in the third act, but we’re the only ones who don’t know what comes next. We don’t have the script.”

“I’ll be careful. I’ll be cautious. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Yes. Can you say it again?”

I slide my hand under her hair and lean in close. “I will be careful. I will be cautious. I will not kill him unless he makes me, but if he does anything to even remotely attempt to hurt you again, there’s no saving him.”

She wets her lips and then kisses me. “Killing him gets way too complicated, and complicated might delay the goal I’ve set for myself.”

I inch back to look at her. “What goal?”

“Licking every tattoo on your body.”