Noah nods.
Turning on my heel, I follow Coal to Church with Copper falling into step beside me.
I hesitate when we get inside because I’m unsure where to sit. The chairs next to Coal and Thea at the head of the table are empty.
Copper takes my hand and sits me next to Coal, then takes the one beside me.
Coal picks up the gavel and slams it on the table. “Church in session. Before we get to the business part, let’s welcome back our VP.”
The brothers hoot and holler, making me smile. Copper grins, happy to be back with his brothers.
“Right, settle down.” Coal orders, waiting for the brothers to quiet. “I’d like to thank Nickel for being a fucking fantastic interim VP while Copper was away. I couldn’t have done everything we’ve done in the last few months without you, brother. Thank you.”
Nickel smiles and nods. He looks like his brothers, but he’s much quieter. “You’re welcome. Damn glad to have you back, Cop.”
“Glad to be back, little brother.”
“I’d also like to welcome Bee, Copper’s Old Lady, to the table. Welcome, Bee. Thanks for bringing our brother back to us in one piece.”
Bee’s face flushes. “You’re welcome, and thanks for having me.”
Coal pushes a box towards Copper. “For you.”
“Thanks.” Copper pats the top but doesn’t open it, waiting for Coal to continue.
“Right, we’ve got a lot to cover. Cahir, the floor’s yours.”
Cahir gets right down to business. “Okay, so the organisation that took Bee wasn’t the major player we were after, but they’re not small fry either. This is Lloyd Eade.”
We’re silent as Ramzi pulls up his picture on the big screen.
“Thirty-five years old. Comes from a typical family, from what we’ve discovered. Went off the rails in his twenties and got involved in the drug scene. Parents got tired of him stealing from them and cut all ties. He was a male prostitute for a bit before cleaning himself up about six years ago. Not sure why. He rose out of nowhere and grew fast, which makes me think he has backing from another big player. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion it’s Miles Burres. However, we can’t find anything that ties the two of them together. I’m sure there’s a connection somewhere, and it may take time, but we’ll find it.”
Cahir pauses to make sure everyone has absorbed the information so far. “We know where Eades is, and as soon as Bee gives us the go-ahead, we’ll pick him up. As for Noah”—he looks at me, his expression grim—“his father worked for another accounting firm. He was given the Eade account by mistake. When he reported discrepancies to his company and nothing was done, he went to the authorities with enough proof to put Eade in prison for a long time. But as we all know, dead men can’t tell tales. Two weeks ago, he and his wife were killed in a house fire.”
“Does Noah have any other family?” I ask, my heart breaking for the little boy.
Cahir looks at Ramzi, who shakes his head. “His parents, Maggie and Sean Phillips, were both only children. Their parents died a few years ago. They have distant cousins but none they were close to. No guardianship was set up for Noah, and his parents never made a will.”
“I’ve fabricated a will and backdated it, making you and Copper Noah’s legal guardians, and started the paperwork to make him yours,” Ramzi explains. “His parents still need to be laid to rest. I’ve reached out to a funeral home to get the ball rolling. I’ll have dates for you if you want to take him.”
“I’ll pay for it,” I tell Ramzi. “Make sure the funeral home knows Noah’s parents deserve the best.”
Ramzi nods his agreement.
I turn back to Cahir. “Why have the authorities done nothing about this? Why aren’t they investigating their deaths or looking for Noah?”
“The neighbours raised concerns about Noah, but with a few backhanders here and there, the paperwork on Noah went missing. We all know how this works. And it’s impossible to stop.”
Cahir sighs and rubs his hands over his face. “Anyway, from the information we’ve found on the dark web, Noah was due to be auctioned off, which is where the nurse comes in. She was sent to retrieve him from the hospital and take him to a pre-arranged location. They didn’t think that you’d keep him with you.”
“This is the nurse. Meet Beatrice Morgan,” Ramzi states as her image appears on the screen. “She’s Eade’s lover, does whatever he asks of her. Our informant tells us that Eade is slowly unravelling since Beatrice hasn’t made contact about Noah and has gone missing.”
“And she won’t be,” Jeanie assures us with a gleeful grin. “Beatrice is enjoying O’Shea sensory deprivation right now. She’ll be ready for a conversation when you are.”
“There you go. Hospitality at its finest.” Cahir chuckles. “We need to move on Eade before he slips away again. You up for it, Bee?”
I internally assess the damage to my body before I nod. “Yeah, if I go in as backup, I’m good to go. I want to be there when you take him down. I want my time with him once he’s ours, but I’m happy for you to take the lead.”
