“And you said you wouldn’t be able to do this job,” he muttered. “You kid yourself, Brett. You are more than capable of being the head of this family.”
“No, I’m not. There’s a difference, you see. I would kill to protect. You kill to obtain.”
“I’m protecting my interests.” Brett huffed a laugh, but Malcolm’s next words cut it off. “So, you’re saying that if you had to choose between Felix and the Sutcliffes, you wouldn’t choose Felix?”
The idea sent denial right through him, but he bit his tongue. “There is no choosing, Malcolm. We don’t need to. I want to know what’s going on. Why did you take Felix?”
Malcolm poured some hot water into a mug, and the scent of coffee filtered through the air. He gestured to Brett, silently asking if he wanted one. Brett nodded and waited while he made it. Rounding the island, Malcolm placed the mug beside Brett and settled onto a stool next to him, much closer than he’d expected, and probably far too close for his guards’ liking.
“I didn’t.”
The truth. Brett tilted his head. “Then why were your men there?”
“Backup.”
“Why did they need to be backup?”
“They couldn’t have too many of their own men on the job.”
“Why?”
“Because it wouldn’t look good.”
“To whom?” Malcolm sipped his drink and stayed quiet. “Who are they?”
“The kidnappers.”
Brett breathed through his nose, expecting the play on words, but finding it irritating all the same. “What was the plan for Felix?”
Malcolm sucked on his teeth for a moment. “Merely a toy.”
“A toy?” Brett frowned. “Why?”
Malcolm shrugged and sighed. “I’m going to be honest with you, Brett. I don’t know everything. I have a small part to play in this script, and I’m pretty much done with it. It doesn’t benefit me other than what I got from it, and I don’t plan to dwell on it once I’m done.”
“What benefit did you get?” Malcolm sipped his drink again, staying silent. “When will you be done?” He said nothing. “Why are you being so forthcoming?” Though he wished he would be even more so.
“I made an agreement, and I’m planning to stick to it.”
Brett snorted. “What about Maddox? That wasn’t part of the agreement.”
A slight tightening around Malcolm’s eyes. “I didn’t know about that until after it was done.”
“Venus.” Malcolm inclined his head. “Are you saying she’s involved in this? That she brought Maddox in without your consent?”
“I’m not saying that.”
Brett waited. “But you’re not saying she’snotinvolved either.” He exhaled. “Why get Maddox to report back daily and weekly at Bernie’s?”
A small frown appeared between Malcolm’s eyes, and Brett realised he was out of the loop on some things, but he coveredwell by saying, “Quick daily check-ins for health and weekly one for more information.”
Brett didn’t believe him. “Who is Alastair Moore?”
Malcolm frowned and shook his head. “I’ve never heard of him. Why?”
“Venus offered to do something for me if I made sure an inquiry into him disappeared. I wondered if it had anything to do with you.”
“Never heard the name that I recall. Do you know anything else about him?”