The Gilded Cage by Lauren Smith Read Free Book Online

carrying case, he trotted across the rooftop to the door that would take him back down to the exit of the building he’d broken into. As he moved, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number on a secure line.
    “Yes?” A woman’s voice answered, the one word sounding tremulous.
    “It’s Andrews. Your ex-husband is no longer a problem,” he said.
    An exhale of relief, a stifled gasp. “Thank you! I’ll make sure the second half of your payment hits your account immediately.” Then his client hung up.
    A cool one-point-five million for this job—to take out a child molester who’d harmed his own children and threatened to kill his wife if she went to the police. Not bad at all. Greyson smiled. He did enjoy the money, as much as he enjoyed removing men like that from the world.
    He jogged down the nine flights of stairs, barely winded. When he reached the ground floor of the apartment building and exited onto the street, he hailed a cab and got in, giving the driver directions to his hotel. His cell phone vibrated and he took it out again. On its screen was a number he didn’t recognize. With a glance to the balding middle-aged cab driver, who seemed oblivious to his current fare, Greyson answered.
    “Who is this?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous. The streets of London were a blur of color and sound as he focused on the call.
    “A friend gave me your number in case he was unable to fulfill his contract.”
    Greyson leaned back in the cab seat. “I don’t have friends. Give me a name.”
    “Antonio D’Angelo.”
    Greyson’s body went cold and his muscles taut. His father? What did this man know of his father?
    “He didn’t complete his contract?” he asked the man on the other end of the phone.
    Not completing a job usually meant one thing: death. Surely Antonio wasn’t dead. The man had taught him everything of the trade they’d shared in the last ten years. He may not have been a sterling example of fatherhood, but that didn’t change the fact that he was Greyson’s father. While Greyson had never relied on parental figures, especially not after his mother passed away when he was sixteen, Antonio had given him some guidance, encouraged him to join MI-6, and eventually coached him into the line of private service.
    “No. He didn’t.” The man on the other end sounded bored and irritated.
    “What happened to him?” His fingers clenched his phone hard enough that the case began to crack.
    The other man sighed. “I hired him to do a job. He told me he’d done half of it. Apparently that was a lie. Now I’ve got two problems on my hands, both which need eliminating. One is unreachable right now, but the other—he’s out in the open and a thorn in my side. I need the job finished. D’Angelo swore he’d finish it and if he didn’t, to call you and have it done. Kill them and you kill the two men who took his life.”
    “He is dead? You’re sure?” Greyson asked. The targets had killed his father? He almost couldn’t believe it. His father was ruthless, a killer in his own right and no one would have gotten the drop on him easily.
    “Yes. I’m not going to say it again. Will you take the job or not?” The man’s accent was American, but definitely cultured. He was wealthy. The pay would have to be good. Revenge and money for it. It would have to suffice; not that it would bring his father back. He wasn’t delusional about that.
    “I’ll demand half payment up front if I agree. And you’ll have to give me more details.” He wouldn’t normally agree to jobs outside of the United Kingdom, but this definitely called for an exception to his normal practices.
    The American chuckled. “There’s plenty of time for that. I’m not on the most secure line. I will call you back in fifteen minutes.” Then he hung up.
    For several long seconds, Greyson stared straight ahead through the front window of the cab. D’Angelo was dead. Now that he’d settled the business end of the