Thomas shrugs, looking much less fazed than Kai and his incredulous question. “Sergio is well known for his proclivities. She must have had an idea what might happen if she let him play with her daughter.”
I feel ill, and I can see that my other brothers do too. Cecelia wasn’t a nice person, but no one deservesthat. Declan stumbles back out of the house, looking pale, and hurries over to a bush before we hear him retching into it. Despite our special privileges, what with Thomas being our brother, he still wouldn’t have wanted to fuck up the crime scene by contaminating evidence.
“Fuck!” Kai whispers before going over to check on our big brother. We watch as he talks to him, too far away to make out what they’re saying. Declan’s wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, his face a little more alert, after a moment.
“I think there was a bottle of water in the car.” Oli goes back to it to have a look as the other two head back to us. I don’t ask what he saw. If he had that kind of reaction, I don't want to know.
Paramedics come out of the house, wheeling a stretcher with a sheet draped over it, the outline of a body underneath. Jake follows behind them, and when he sees us, he comes over.
“That whore just gave me some more information that you guys need to hear,” Jake says, the breathless words rushing out. Thomas’ body tightens in anticipation. When our brother turns back to us, there’s a steely, focused glint in his eyes. Gone is the anger from what he found inside the house. This is Thomas on the job, and seeing that gives me a burst of hope.
“The whore told us that Peter made some kind of deal with Sergio—for information. He was supposedly selling him some little black book that had details on all his suppliers, clients, and the properties he used forbusinessin it. We think the goal was to get into any other caches of guns and drugs before the authorities, or your family, found them. She said she overheard them saying they needed to get into the vault today.”
“Holy shit! Could that be the book that Dad was talking about? But if they’re going to the vault, they obviously don’t know that Dragos gave it to Dad. If that’s the right book, that is. Fuck! How do we know for sure?” Oli almost shouts the words, and I quickly shush him, but Jake and Thomas exchange a conspiratory glance.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Declan rushes back to our car, and we follow him as Thomas and Jake get in Jake’s.
Within moments, we’re heading back in the opposite direction, the car quiet while we all soak in the information about Cecelia and the fact that we finally know what all this is about.
It’s Oli that breaks the silence. He and I are sitting in the back, taking comfort from one another, when he gasps and sits bolt upright.
“What? What’s wrong, babe?” I ask, looking around for what might have upset him.
“I think I might know where that book is if there’s one in our house,” he announces excitedly. “When Harlow and I were looking around that first day, we found a safe in the panic room. The same safe we found the map in, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember you telling us about it. You said it has some other things in it, but you didn't go into detail,” Kai says, not taking his eyes off the road. A guilty look crosses Oli’s face, but he smooths it over. I make a note to ask him about it when this is all over, but I don't want to distract him from wherever he’s going with this now.
“One of the things we found was a little black book. I didn't actually open it at the time since I was more excited about the map, but what if that’s what they're looking for?”
“So Harlow knows where this is?” Declan asks, turning to look back at the two of us, and Oli nods.
“Yeah, she does. Is that a good thing?” Declan turns back around, shrugging his shoulders.
“Maybe? Maybe she can buy them some time by not telling them an exact location, but if they threaten Jaxon in any way, she won’t hesitate to tell them where it is.”
“So if the little black book is in the vault in the panic room, what do you think the book Dad has is?” I remind them. The silence in the car is heavy as we all think about that.
Kai breaks the silence with a theory that makes my blood run cold. “What if it’s like a two-part thing? What if one of them had the contacts, and the other person had the codes? Like a safe-keeping thing. If someone was so inclined to take the count’s empire by force, they would need both books to have all the information. When Dragos decided to make a run for it with Carmen, what if he gave his half to Dad for safe-keeping?”
“And when they find the book and realize they only have half the information, it won’t take them long to assume that Brad may have the other half. He’s the only person alive who might have it if it’s not at our place. It’s not like the count had a reputation for trustworthy allies, and with Dragos’ body missing, there’s no proof to say that he didn’t run off with information before he disappeared.” Declan sounds grim.
“That’s true… Dragos’ body is still missing. Hopefully, Harlow is smart enough to tell them that. Maybe they’ll assume he still has his half since neither Jaxon nor Harlow know Dad has it. Maybe that will keep them alive a little longer if they’re in a tailspin, trying to figure out where to look next.” Even I can hear the doubt in my own voice, but how am I supposed to feel? This is all too unpredictable to really let myself hope.
“But what if they do know? Remember, Julia knew Carmen, who probably was told or at least assumed that Dragos would use Dad as a safe place. That was probably why she and her crew did the home invasion! What if she spilled the beans, and Dad’s place is the next target?” Oli sounds frantic, and I dig out my phone at the same time Declan does.
“I’ll call Dad, and you call Jake,” I tell him, adrenaline making my hand shake as I try to find Dad’s number. “I just hope we’re not too late.”
ChapterFifteen
Harlow
Iflinch as Peter and Julia shout at one another. They’re tearing apart the vault while Jaxon and I stand off to the side. With the pallet of drugs and guns confiscated by the authorities, the front half is oddly empty, and their shrieking echoes around us.
“It’s got to be here. It wasn't at the funeral parlor when I searched the clothing that was with the remains.” Peter is growing more and more agitated with every minute that passes, which doesn’t bode well for us. When will he start taking that frustration out on us?Maybe I should just tell them what I know.My eyes slide to Jaxon, and I can see that he’s watching them, a thoughtful look on his face.
“What if Dragos found it and hid it somewhere?” His words silence the arguing couple.
Julia sneers at him. “And where would he have taken it? To heaven when I killed him?”
