“This is what we have recorded on the night Amy Marshall escaped.”
He presses the play button, and the video starts.
The timestamp in the corner says 23:14, which aligns with the time people noticed her missing. A man approaches the door of the room she was being kept in, in the basement of the old base.
My brows narrow.
I can tell it’s a man, but who? Not a fucking clue. He’s tall, just like ninety percent of men that had access to the base. He’s wearing all black, a pair of sweats and a hoodie that conveniently covers his face. He’s definitely someone within the business, because he’s avoiding cameras like the plague. He knows where they are.
My jaw clenches when he pulls out the master key, and with ease, he unlocks the door, which sets Amy free. She looks at him, a bewildered look on her face, but no words are exchanged.
With that, he grabs her wrist and starts pulling her out of the basement.
Lucas shuts the laptop, then leans back in the chair.
“The rest is more or less the same,” he says. “He takes her out, and since he’s one of our own, he knows where all of the security is. They took the back door.”
“Alright. Who’s been trying to find her?”
“That would be me,” one of the newer ones lifts his hand, Keith. “I’m very good at pursuit. That was what I did for a living before joining.”
I nod. “Anything?”
“She hasn’t gone to any of the previous locations that are connected to Amy Marshall or the alias she uses. She’s lying low, but she will have to appear sooner or later. I’m keeping an eye out.”
“Good. If anything pops up, tell Aria, or find me.”
The man nods, and I turn my attention to Niko.
He looks like shit, which isn’t surprising. He’s listening but isn’t hearing a damned thing we’re talking about. For a moment, I debate whether or not to let him be, knowing just how much he’s grieving. He feels like he failed all of them — Mom, Aunt Jane, and Luna. But time is of essence, and I can’t let him get swallowed by the abyss that grief can be.
“Niko,” I call out, though not as roughly. “You visited Dad. How’s Simmons doing in prison?”
“He says you should stop being a pussy and visit him yourself.” Niko snorts, and for a brief moment, I see a flicker of the old Niko. It’s gone before I can feel any way about it.
I chuckle, shaking my head.
I’ve been postponing paying Dad a visit for many reasons, one of them being that I’d inevitably come face-to-face with Paul Simmons as well, and I don’t think I’d be able to keep my anger at bay. In fact, I’d likely slaughter him like the pig that he is, then regret it because it should be Blair to do it.
“But, as far as Simmons is concerned,” Niko continues, my eyes fully on him. “The media pressure is insane. His team is trying to get him transferred to a more secure prison, but since no harm has come his way yet, they have no leg to stand on. Hudson spread the word around that his daughter-in-law is one of Paul’s victims and that she’ll be the one to kill him. Evidently, Hudson’s word in prison is the law, because no one’s touched Simmons directly. They slapped him around a bit, but just to scare him off.”
“That’s good.” Aria breathes out. “It’ll keep him busy until his time comes. What about the other two?”
“A little birdie notified the media about their involvement with Paul’s human trafficking organization and all of the crimes they’ve committed. They’ve gone off-grid.”
“That won’t do anymore,” I interrupt, and Lucas clamps his mouth shut. “Find both of them.”
“Do we capture them?” Cove asks.
“No. I won’t risk it. Just find them, and we’ll go to them. While you’re at it, find me the location of all the jury members and the judge that worked Blair’s case and sent her to prison.”
“You’re going to kill them, too.”
The words come out of Cove’s mouth as a statement. He knows me well enough to understand I’d never leave those motherfuckers alive, and if I’m going to take everyone down, I’ll do it at the same time.
“Obviously.”
“What are you going to do about Arnault, though?”
