Reckless Karma (Sinners & Saints #2) (7 page)

“Holy
shit. Really?” Cody asks.

“A
deal I made with his mistress, who also happens to be the mother of two of his
secret illegitimate children.” A harsh laugh comes next before continuing.
“Thirteen and ten, living in a two bedroom apartment in Queens, not far from my
old apartment. There will be an investigation pending soon.”

“What
about Chad?” Hugo asks.

“Isn’t
he a junkie? What more could I do to hurt him?”

“Well,
then I’ll just have to settle for kicking his ass.”

“What
about Scarlett?” I ask. “She’s probably the most soulless person I’ve ever met.
What can you really do to hurt her?”

“William
once told me Theodore Brayson was one of the kindest men you could ever know,
but there was always something off about him. He couldn’t understand it, but he
did feel as if it had something to do with the Black Card Club.”

           
“The
Black Card Club?” I’m confused.

           
“The
Black Card Club was basically this secret society that ruled the Upper East
Side,” Jordana says.

           
“Rule
meaning that only certain men could get in and the ones rejected were pissed
– my father included. I remember the day he propositioned them and got
rejected. Spewing off about how they were pompous asswhipes.”

           
“I
swear, no matter what age group, it’s all high school with you people,” Anika
says.

           
“Agreed,”
we all say.

           
“The
Black Card Club apparently had the greatest connects that no one could get and
together were filthy rich and invincible and very known for their generous
donations to children’s homes and homeless shelters. The club ended after
Scarlett’s dad died... or so they thought,” Karlie says.

           
“You
think Scarlett runs it.” I say.

           
“No
way,” Hugo quickly objects.

           
“What
makes you think not?” Karlie asks.

           
“I
would’ve known.”

           
“That’s
what I was trying to figure out,” Karlie says. “But I guess not, so we are
gonna have to do some investigating.”

           
“How?”

           
“The
only possibility of getting accepted into the Black Card Club that I have come
up with is to have a relation to the person who created it.” Karlie eyes Hugo
and so does everyone else, and I am at a complete lost.

           
“I
don’t get it,” I say to get some answers.

           
“You
didn’t tell her?” Cody asks.

           
“Tell
me what?”

           
“None
of you told her?” Hugo asks and I’m becoming annoyed now.

           
“Tell
me what?!”

           
“His
mother,” Jordana says and I look at Hugo.

           
“Who
was your mother?”

           
“You
didn’t Google me?” he asks annoyed.

           
“I
didn’t need to.” This reminds him again why he loves me. I can see it in his
crooked smirk.

           
“My
mother’s maiden name was Suzanna Jane Voncliff.”

           
I
still don’t get it until… fuck. I get it.

           
“Your
mother… a Voncliff? As in the…”

           
“Voncliffs.
Yes,” he says, not proud. Not ashamed. Just not bothered.

           
“That
means…”

           
“His
family is richer than Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Donald Trump combined,”
Jordana says and my mouth is still hanging.

           
“They
used to be,” Hugo says.

           
“Oh
please, everyone knows your grandmother is sitting on a vault full of gold and
diamonds and rubies,” Jordana protests. “Forbes may not know, but everyone else
does, including Oprah.

           
“Some
say she is gold,” Cody jokes.

           
“I
haven’t seen my grandmother since my mother’s funeral.”

           
“Why?”
I ask.

           
“Something
happened to strain their relationship more than it was before. They always
argued and feuded, but eventually my mother had enough. My mother cut ties with
her and my grandfather died before I was born, so I don’t know and I don’t
care. In retaliation for my mother turning her back, my grandmother took half
her trust away.”

           
“You
never tried to reach out to her?”

           
“She’s
a bitter old hag who lives alone in Scarsdale.”

           
“So
your grandfather started it?”

           
“No.
My uncle. My mother’s brother, who also is dead.”

           
“I
thought he was missing,” Cody says.

           
“He
is… for years now. It is obvious he is dead. Around the time my mother got
engaged, he fell off a balcony at their home in Scarsdale. Paralyzed from the
waist down. I think that’s also when he put Scarlett’s father in charge of the
club. It’s not like he could go running in the woods. My guess is he’s dead.”

           
“Dead
or not, approaching a member of the Black Card Club and reminding them that you
are also a Voncliff could get us in,” Karlie reminds him. “Once you’re in, you
can get answers about who’s running it now.”

           
“You
really think a group of businessmen are going to take in a college student who
could care less about their cause? Also if Scarlett is running it, don’t you
think word will get out to her?”

           
“But
Scarlett has proven that when threatened she becomes desperate. With her there
is no back door. You can’t even knock on the front door. You have to break it
down when it comes to Scarlett
—
you know that.”

           
Hugo
does, so he doesn’t object again.

           
“And
no, a college student couldn’t, but a very rich college student could. You
inherit your mother’s trust this year. Now if you go see your grandmother, you
might could get her to relinquish the rest.”

           
“No.”
The tone in his voice indicates there is no chance at a compromise.

           
“Hugo.”

           
“You
give me a member’s name, I will see what I can do, but I won’t go and try to
conjure up some fabricated connection with a woman I clearly have no care for.”

           
I
didn’t realize the grip on my hand was so tight. Clearly Hugo has an enormous
amount of resentment towards this mysterious long lost grandmother. Most likely
considers her the creator of all his mother’s problems.

           
Karlie
nods in agreement. “There were seven men. Three of them are dead. When
researching Scarlett, I had someone hack into her accounts. I didn’t think I
would see anything because she does nothing, but I was surprised when I saw
four separate accounts. Four men. Four accounts that have been deposited into
by those four men. Any more questions on if Scarlett is in charge of that club
now?”

           
She
passes four documents of Scarlett’s accounts to Hugo. I look at them with him
and I’m noticing the same amount of deposits of four million on the same exact
date every year.

           
“December
10
^th
?” I read off the date.

           
“That
was the day Scarlett’s father died,” Hugo says and it suddenly crosses me.

           
“Maybe
not in charge,” I say more to myself, but they all look at me waiting for more
of a reason. “I was just thinking what if… the reason why they only accepted
certain people was because of a common interest or something that couldn’t be
out in the open. What if Scarlett isn’t just in charge but blackmailing them?
What if she has information on everything they did in that club?”

           
“Do
you think it’s like
Hostel
?” Poppy
asks. “You know that film where rich people pay to kill people for fun?”

           
“God,
I hope not,” Cody says.

           
“I
wouldn’t be shocked,” Jordana says.

           
“No.”
Hugo shakes his head. “They definitely would’ve accepted more people.”

           
I
almost laugh at the alternative reason.

           
“So
what could it be?” Poppy asks.

           
“That’s
what we are gonna find out,” Karlie says.

           
 
“Ms. Spears,” Thomas interrupts, “You
have a guest.”

“I
do?” I look past Thomas and my jaw drops once I see who it is. “Jaz!”

I
don’t even realize I’ve run to my best mate until my arms are wrapped around him.
This place finally feels like home. Because of him, my friend, my rock. He’s
what I need right now, and me probably holding on to him too much is showing
it. I turn around and can see even through Hugo’s blank stare he is a bit
uneasy.

“What
are you doing here?” I finally ask after calming down my excitement.

“I
thought I’d surprise you. Just got back home from Bali a week ago and was
bored, so I figured I’d come to New York and see my best mate.”

           
“Guys,
this is Jaz. Jaz, this is… well everyone,” I introduce them.

           
“Hello
beautiful people!” He opens his arms and grins that lavish smile.

           
“Hi!”
Poppy is the only one who smiles and waves.

           
“We
should go meet with the lawyer,” Karlie tells Hugo.

           
“Now?”
He looks at her confused.

           
“Yes,
now. You have a meeting with Jane Townsend’s lawyers too.”

           
“Wait,
what? When did you set this up?”

           
“When
I found valuable information and a reason to set this up. I’ll be in the car.”

           
Karlie
stands up and before walking past Jaz and me, she flashes a quick smile and says
hello to him.

           
“She’s
hot,” Jaz whispers.

           
I
roll my eyes at his comment as Hugo comes up to me. He stretches out his hand
to Jaz.

           
“Hugo
Mandrake.”

           
“Oh!
Yeah! The handsome prick!” Jaz shakes his hand vigorously. “Good to know you
are as handsome as she says you are.”

           
Hugo
forces the corners of his mouth up. “I’m gonna go,” he tells me and walks past
me before I can respond. I follow him down the hallway, stopping him.

           
“Wait,
do you need me to go with you?” God, I sound like one of those needy girlfriends.

           
“No.”
He grabs my hands and kisses my knuckles. “Stay with your friend. I’ll be
back.”

           
“Yeah,”
I say and he stops again at the end of the hallway and looks back at me.

           
“I
love you.”

           
I
can’t help my massive grin. I don’t get to say it back before he’s out the
door.
 

           
“He’s
also as big of a prick you claimed he is too.” I jump at Jaz behind me.

           
“Shut
up. He’s not.”

           
“Well,
maybe now since he said he loved you and he meant it.”

           
“Yeah.”

           
“Who
is the girl he left with?”

           
“That’s…
well, that’s a very long story.”

           
“Well,
I’m starving, so let’s take this long story to the kitchen.”

           
So
we do. We take the long story to the kitchen where the maid makes Jaz two
sandwiches. I tell him everything with everyone else sitting with us, watching
the stunned look on Jaz’s face.