Chapter 123: Drug bust op

MALACHI

The comforting smell of turpentine wrapped around me and filled my studio. I dragged my paintbrush over the canvas, grinning at the pair of amber eyes staring back at me.

To think that she had been right under my nose all along, the woman from the club. I should have known she was Ivy. I had suspected it, after all.

Usually I used oils, but I wouldn’t be selling these ones and I wanted to capture every soft, supple inch of her, so I had switched to watercolors.

The canvas was massive, taller than me, and Ivy stared back from it with amber eyes that seemed to follow me around the room. She was naked, her body arched in a perfect crescent of pleasure, her lips parted.

Her hair spread in a wild halo around her, her skin was flushed, and the golden glint in her eyes was caught mid climax.

"Fucking perfect," I rasped, tracing my fingers lightly over the birthmark on her hip that looked like a tiny star. I had painted the way her fingers curled when she came, her toes pointed, her back bowed, her tits pushed up like an offering.

Daylight from the tall window caught the wet paint and made her skin look warm enough to touch.

Fuck. She was beautiful. She was ours. And she was currently ignoring our calls.

I cursed and stepped back, tilting my head. Something was off with her left nipple. It was too pale. Ivy’s nipples were a dusky rose, not this washed out pink I had mixed. I reached for my palette to fix it when a siren wailed through the estate.

"Was that a police siren?"

A second one joined it, then a third. Blue and red lights strobed through the tall windows and painted the walls in garish colors while the dust in the air flickered like static.

"What the fuck?" I muttered, wiping my hands on a rag and striding to the window.

Four police cars sat in a semicircle at our front gates, their doors flung open, and a megaphone crackled to life. "Wisteria Police Department. We have a search warrant. Please cooperate."

I dashed out of the room, and by the time I reached the foyer Gideon was already there with his phone pressed to his ear. Roman was right behind me, his hair still damp from the shower and his expression murderous.

"Gee, who called the cops on us?" Roman sighed lazily, running a hand through his curls.

Gideon lowered his phone. "Our security says they have a tip. Someone reported that we’re running a drug operation out of the mansion."

"A drug operation?" I laughed, incredulous.

"We’re businessmen. We run a fucking insurance company."

"Drug parties, apparently," Gideon corrected, a muscle ticking in his jaw. "They want to search the premises."

Roman cracked his knuckles. "We have private things in here. They can’t just waltz in and take whatever they like."

"They’re free to," Gideon said, his voice allowing no argument. "Let them in. We have nothing to hide."

Yeah, famous last words.

The front doors swung open, and a flood of blue uniforms spilled into our home and crawled over every surface like ants, their boots squeaking on the marble. A detective approached and flashed his badge.

"Detective Miller. We have a warrant to search the premises. You’re the owners?"

"No, we’re ghosts haunting the house," I snapped, folding my arms.

"I’m Gideon Knight," G said, his voice clipped, a poker expression ironclad on his features. "These are my brothers, Roman and Malachi. What exactly are you looking for?"

"Er, drugs," Miller said, his eyes scanning the foyer as if he expected a pile of cocaine on the floor. "We received a credible tip that this residence is being used for recreational distribution."

"Recreational distribution," I repeated, a grin tugging at my lips despite the situation. "Sounds fancy. Can we use that on our tax returns?"

Miller didn’t laugh. "Please stay in the living room while we conduct our search."

We were herded into the living room like children sent to the corner. Irene had materialized from her room with big bad Duke behind her, her eyes wide with excitement. "Oh my god, are we being raided? This is so cool!"

"Irene, go home," Gideon said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Your father will be worried."

"But..."

"Home. Now." He turned to Duke, who stood silently by the door. "Duke, look after her."

"I always do."

Irene pouted but was eventually wrangled out of the house. The search took forty five minutes. They went through every room, every closet and every bathroom cabinet, opening drawers, peeking under beds and even checking the damn pantry.

And they found nothing.

"No drugs," Miller announced, looking almost disappointed. "You’re clean."

"And how will you compensate us for invading our privacy?" Roman drawled. His hazel eyes kept flicking to the hallway and then to the phone in his hand. Ivy still hadn’t called, and none of us had heard from her since she bolted that morning.

The officers began to pack up, their radios crackling. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when one of the junior officers, a nervous kid who couldn’t have been older than twenty two, drifted into the corner of the living room. His back was to us and his phone was pressed to his ear as he whispered.

"Yeah, boss. We searched everywhere. We can’t find anything," he muttered.

I elbowed Roman and nodded toward the kid. We both watched as he continued his hushed conversation.

"I don’t know what you want me to say, Mr. King—Maybe they moved it?"

Mr. Kingsley? Felix fucking Kingsley? Did that bastard set us up?

Roman’s eyes widened, and we moved. The kid had barely hung up when we cornered him, and he looked between the three of us like a trapped rabbit.

"Who’s your boss?" Gideon asked quietly.

"I... what?"

"On the phone," I said, leaning in close. "Who were you talking to, kiddo?"

The kid swallowed hard. "M... Mr. Felix Kingsley."

Bingo. It had been a setup. Felix must have sent someone to plant drugs in our home, so why hadn’t the police found anything?

We let the kid go, and the moment the last police car pulled out of our gates Gideon was on his phone. His voice was calm, but his sapphire eyes blazed with cold fury.

"Tatiana. I need you to do something for me. Get me a picture of Felix Kingsley’s daughter. By the end of the week."

I leaned against the wall, a slow, wicked grin spreading across my face. Felix wanted to play games, and so would we.We had just found our next target.

"The doctor," I mused, meeting Gideon’s eyes.

"He’s third on our list, isn’t he? The one who’s been working with Felix."

Gideon nodded. "He is, and now we have a reason to pay him a visit. The plan to tear Kingsley to shreds continues."