I sink onto Kai’s lap again, facing my brother. “Thank fuck for that. Her and Trent are a match made in hell, and they so deserve one another.”
“He’s fucking ecstatic,” Drew admits, accepting a mug of coffee from Jackson.
“Morning, hot stuff,” Xavier says, eyeballing Sawyer as he saunters into the kitchen with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Don’t start with me,” Sawyer says, frowning. “I’m seriously pissed right now.”
“Over moi?” Xavier says, propping his elbows on the counter and leering at Sawyer.
“They all know because your mouth is too fucking loud!” Sawyer hisses.
“That’s not what you were saying about my mouth last night,” Xavier retorts, winking.
Sawyer audibly sighs, and his eyes close for a brief moment. Gathering up his things, he stands, clutching his tablet and paperwork to his chest. His gaze jumps between us. “Xavier and I hooked up. It was a onetime thing, and it’s no big deal.” He prods his finger in the air. “And if any of you gives me shit, I’ll fucking walk and you can find another lackey to do your donkey work for you.” Sending all of us a glare, he stomps out of the room.
“I thought getting laid would remove that giant stick up his ass,” Xavier says, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. “But I can see I still have my work cut out for me.” He waggles his brows before biting into the fleshy apple. “It’s just as well I always rise to the challenge,” he adds, and Jackson chuckles.
Kai rolls his eyes, while Drew looks at me. “I go away for two nights and miss all the drama.”
The next week is busy with school and figuring out the next stage of our plan. Chad and the gang have finished their investigative work, and we have all the intel we need on the board members and the elite members we targeted, so their role in this plan has come to an end.
Drew and I meet the three board members he’s been warming up the last few weeks, and it’s a hugely successful meeting. We took a calculated risk and informed them of what goes on in the basement dungeon of our house and how we believe it’s only a matter of time before the authorities swoop in and arrest Father. We impressed on them the urgency of separating the business from his actions and how there is little time to waste. They were particularly pleased to hear we have no plans to fulfill an active role in the business at this time and how we will allow the board and senior management team to continue to operate as they currently are. The only change will be the appointment of a new interim CEO until Drew has graduated college and is ready to take the mantle.
They agreed to work with us, behind the scenes, and they promised to secure their other colleagues’ agreement. As soon as they have spoken with every board member, and gotten the green light, we will hold a group meeting where they will be required to sign nondisclosure agreements and new contracts.
It’s like I thought.
They hate Father’s guts, and he hasn’t built any loyalty within his team.
Thankfully, because it makes our job easier.
The other progress we make is with the doctors on staff at the Parkhurst medical facility. There are only five on payroll, and Xavier was able to infiltrate the firewall and hack into their system undetected. He found two doctors noted as attending physicians on my file, so we have a manageable shortlist. Sawyer and I stayed up late over the weekend, researching both men, and we feel pretty sure we have our guy.
Dr. Tom Collingsworth has only been working at Parkhurst for four years. He took over from his late father after he passed. He has a wife and two young daughters, and they live in a sleepy town fifteen miles north of Parkhurst. As well as providing medical services to the elite, he owns his own doctor’s clinic, servicing several neighborhoods. He donates to several charities, most of them focused on women’s health or mental health charities, and he goes mountain biking every Tuesday and takes his family to church religiously every Sunday.
Maybe because he’s atoning for his sins.
Or maybe it means he has a conscience and he’s the doctor we are looking for.
We won’t know until we talk to him.
Which is currently the hot topic of conversation around the dinner table.
Xavier and I made a massive pot roast, and we are debating how to approach the good doctor as we tuck in.
“You returning to Wyoming is risky as fuck,” Drew says. “Because I’ll be at the annual Parkhurst meeting, and I won’t be able to protect you.”
Drew, Trent, Charlie, Christian, and Father are leaving on Monday for the week, which means it’s the only time we can do this. Our plan is to go to Wyoming, kidnap the doctor, and force him to talk to us
“I’ll be with her,” Kai says.
“We’llbe with her,” Jackson adds, stabbing Kai with a serious look.
“And I’m not getting left behind,” I say, spearing a carrot with my fork. “If Mom is still alive, I want to be right there in that room when he admits it.”
“I know,” he quietly says, nodding. “But the elite can’t know you are there. Father can’t know you are there.”
“Which is why we’re driving,” I say. It’s over a thirty-hour trip, which means it’ll take us three days to get there, but we can’t risk flying because that leaves too much of a trace.
