Chapter Twenty-Three
In which Aria and Zed discuss The Lair.
Aria…
“How long haveyouknown about Dad’s secret room?”
Zed’s helping me go through the paperwork scattered on the floor as I try to assign some kind of order. “About a year, but I’ve never been in here,” I say. “He wanted me to know where all the most crucial documents are kept but he kept emphasizing how life and death this secret room is. How long have you known?”
“Since I turned eighteen and became aman,”he says bitterly. “Everything in here is fucking poison. An atomic bomb waiting to go off.”
“What do you mean?” I look up from my sorting to see him sitting on the little couch in the steel-lined room.
Zed puts his head in his hands. “You know how fond Dad was of saying that our real power was information?”
“Yes,” I said, “we’re one of the few organizations in the crime world that works with nearly everyone. We’re successful because we are trusted.”
“Did you read that off a brochure or something?” he snaps.
“What do you mean?”
Zed gives a humorless chuckle. “You regurgitating everything Dad always said, pontificating about our power.”
“Help me understand what’s going on here,” I sit next to him on the couch, balancing a stack of papers on my lap. “Why are you so angry?”
“Because you do not know what the hell is in here.” He waved his hand at the softly humming computer servers and steel file cabinets built into the wall, one of them forced open and papers scattered everywhere.
Looking down at the papers on my lap, I pull away like a spider is scuttling across them. Zed’s not just bitter. He’s terrified, sweat beading his upper lip as he leaps up, pacing the narrow room.
“Dad wasverygood about records, invoices, and documents,” he says, “a global flow chart of every crime family and organization and what they sent through our docks and trucks and trains. The thing is…” He paces to the end of the room and turns, leaning against the wall. “It wasn’t just criminal organizations. There arecountrieswho use our services. Governments moving classified material, weapons, drugs, biological agents… There’s information in here that could start a war.”
“You mean, between two of our clients?” I put the papers I’m holding on the floor, brushing off my skirt as if they infected me.
“No, Aria.” He’s clammy and getting even paler, if possible. “A real war. Between countries.”
“You mentioned biological agents?” I ask slowly.
“That’s one of them. There’s more. The world has always done this, one country fucking over another. But if those men knew how to get in here, someone must already know what we’re holding,” he says hoarsely. “I don’t- I can’t deal with this shit. Why do you think I fucked up so much in college? I was hoping Dad would get sick of me and put you in my place. No such luck.”
“Did Uncle William know about this? Oh, god. Who has he told? He could sell this information for millions, maybe billions, and-”
“He didn’t,” Zed cut me off. “He hounded me daily, insisting that Dad wanted him to know about some important documents. That there had to be another storage site. I guess my reputation as a fuckup kept him from torturing me or something. He must have decided Dad never told me.”
“This was a hell of a lot to carry, Z.” I pull on his hand, making him sit down. “I’m sorry that you’ve been dealing with this on your own. This is… so incredibly terrifying that I’m not even sure how to react, but we’ll figure it out together.”
“Who else knows about this?” Lachlan asks, making us both jump and screech. How can a man as large as he is move around so silently?
“No one knew, and that should have included you,” Zed snarls. “Is this why you’re here, MacTavish? Is this why you seduced my sister?”
Surprisingly, Lachlan laughs, folding his arms over his broad chest. “I seduced your sister because I’d never seen a woman as bonnie and brilliant as she is. I’m not here for your fecking secrets, though this shite keeps getting more complicated.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, “Did you get something out of the gunman?”
“No,” he says sourly, “your men and mine are too good at their jobs, not a soul left alive. But I think these were two separate attacks.”
“What?”
Seriously, can this day get worse?
