“Go on, Josette. I would agree with you. It would seem your past managed to collide with my business.”
“That means you know who I am.”
He rubbed his jaw. “Other than you didn’t exist before eight years ago, no. That’s why I need you to fill in the blanks.”
“For the record I didn’t purposely try and deceive you. I didn’t know who you were and I’ve worked for too long and lost too much to risk exposing myself to anyone I can’t trust. Sure, I’d heard the Prince name before we met, but I was just too busy to worry about crime syndicates interfering with my life. I had my own personal monsters lurking in the darkness.”
“Who are these monsters? You might be surprised how easy it will be to remove them from your life.”
I laughed bitterly. “If only that was possible. Have you heard of the Brotherhood?”
He snorted, studying me carefully. “There isn’t a crime syndicate who doesn’t call themselves a brotherhood.”
“TheBrotherhood. You can do some research on the internet and find a few articles about them if you dig long and hard enough. Although I have a feeling they managed to scrub the internet of their presence. That’s how powerful I believe them to be. I honestly think they’ve mostly stayed below the radar by blackmail and money changing hands. I don’t know how or when they started as I stopped doing research a few years ago, but if my instincts are correct, their membership is strong and possibly growing.”
“Now, I’m curious. Are you suggesting a cartel or a mafia family?”
“Not exactly. Maybe as powerful. Certainly as ruthless. While sons follow in their fathers’ footsteps, there are several prominent families within the United States as members. The fathers all went to Ivy League schools, their parents had money handed down through generations, doing the same with their children. Some would call them the First Families of the country.”
He seemed amused, but I could see a spark in his eyes. “Alright. I’ve heard of something like this. They band together in business, one being the silent partner of another. Money exchanges hands, blackmail and extortion often used, but they stay just above the law to the point they have yet to be labeled criminals.”
I felt a sense of relief he knew some about what I was walking about. “Yes. I have a feeling their control of various cities and towns is underrated. They are a powerful group of very wealthy, very influential men. They come up through the ranks of entitlement as young boys. Entitled boys who think they deserve everything. High school. College. They rule it all.”
Sinclair half smiled. “Typical for very wealthy families. We’ve encountered a half dozen of them, although I’ve never come across this brotherhood.”
“Maybe you have, but from what I can tell, they are well funded and highly organized. And there are chapters across the country. While I doubt they get their hands dirty, from what you’ve told me and I’ve seen of this biker gang, it sounds just like what they would do. Hire the right people to do their dirty work. If I’m correct, one of the prominent men handles land development.He was small potatoes at one point, localized. Then he made a fortune and kept growing.”
I’d had little else to think about since he’d walked out the door.
“Sounds personal.”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“You’re suggesting they could be the thorn in my side about the land purchase as well as some other issues my family is experiencing.”
“While you haven’t told me but so many details, the fact that man was in my shop just after you arrived and that he was determined to end your life should say something. As should the fact that the man who pulled me from the window in your car had also been in my shop before. I only realized that after you’d left.”
He took a deep breath. “Your theory is fascinating. Keep going as you’re not sharing with me your personal experience with this brotherhood. What I need to know is how does that interact with your life since Josette Samuels was born eight years ago?”
I shouldn’t be surprised he’d done his research. If I’d had continued access to my computer and the internet, I would have done the same. Although my guess was he certainly had better sources than I’d had. “You’re right. Josette is not my real name.” Suddenly, it felt damn good to be confiding in someone. Anyone. I’d felt so lonely for so long pretending to be someone I wasn’t that I’d begun to think I’d imagined my former life.
“Who are you, Josette, and why are you so frightened of the girl from before being found?”
“Remember I told you my father died?”
“Yes, a car accident. Or are you thinking it wasn’t accidental?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I do know in the weeks leading up to his death, he was different. Stressed. Secretive. He and my mother had several behind closed doors conversations. After he died, I was in shock. His death changed everything. You were right in that up until then my life with my family was mostly Hallmark material. Minus the money.”
He said nothing, remaining quiet so I could tell a story that had haunted me for far too long.
“My dad did work very hard to make ends meet, my mother indulging in her art career, even running a gallery where she could highlight some of her works. When he died, she fell into a deep depression. The kind where I had to come home from school and take care of her. I did the grocery shopping and the house cleaning. For a little while, it was horrible. There was some insurance, but that paid for the house and electricity. Other than that, we were broke. Flat broke yet my mother had to take a leave of absence. I worked two jobs along with going to high school. It was a dark time.”
“I’m sorry about what you went through. That was rough for a young girl to handle all alone. You had no other family?”
“An aunt and uncle somewhere, but I had no idea where they were and there was bad blood with my mother and her family. That was a subject off limits. My dad had been an orphan who aged out of the system. But I knew very little about their backgrounds. As a kid, I didn’t care. Now, I wish I’d asked more questions.”
He shook his head. “Go on. What happened with your mother?”
