JAY
Rubbing my temples, I sat back. My vision was blurred from staring at rows of numbers for hours on end, but it had been worth it. I’d finished going through the accounts, and there was a definite pattern. It had begun two years ago, from what I could see, at first sporadically, then had ramped up in the last few months. Now, I needed to find out which account was siphoning money from the business. This went far beyond Operation Foxglove. This was someone cheating us out of money, slipping in between genuine transactions and hiding in plain sight.
The accountancy firm had to be complicit, so I needed to start there. There was no way on Earth I was going to Volkov again to ask him for help, not when we didn’t know who was involved. There were only two people I trusted with this information—or three, including Nova, but I didn’t want her anywhere near this. I needed to keep her safe. This was a problem affecting my family, not Thorpe or Hoyton business, and therefore my friends were out too. I was going to deal with it alone.
“You’re not dealing with this alone.”
My head shot up, my heart pounding as Dan appeared in front of me, his arms folded across his chest. Ryker came up next to him with the same hard expression on his face.
For fuck’s sake. “Did I say that aloud?”
“No, but your face telegraphed your thoughts. We’re a team, so fuck doing this on your own. King’s been helping you with the accounts, and I know I’m not so good at the numbers part, but I can help you with whatever you’re planning next.”
It took me a minute to realise how serious they were. When it sank in, I swallowed hard. These were my two best friends, and they really were here for me. “That’s the problem. I don’t know where to go next. I need to somehow get information from the accountant so I can trace the origin of these discrepancies, find out who owns this account, and I’m not asking Volkov for help again.”
“You really think he’s involved?” Dan stepped up to the kitchen island and began flipping through the pages of evidence I’d compiled. “You probably shouldn’t leave this shit lying around for anyone to see.”
“I’m not keeping it here. It’s safely locked in my room most of the time. I just find it easier to work down here, and I’ve been doing it when everyone else is in bed.”
“Okay.” He shrugged. “Back to Volksy. Do you think he’s involved, or do you just want him to be involved? Y’know, because of that thing.” He shot Ryker a shifty look, and Ryker rolled his eyes.
“I know Jay likes my sister, Dan.”
“Oh.Ohhh. Okay. Is this gonna be awkward? Do I need to play peacekeeper?”
“Fuck off.” Ryker knocked his shoulder against Dan’s. “Back to the issue at hand. I think it’s safest to keep theVolkovs in the dark for now. We can’t rule anything out yet, except for the fact that none of us are involved. Anyone else is fair game. Even your dad, Jay.”
I stared at him in shock. “What the fuck? My dad wouldn’t— You didn’t see how worried he was about Operation Foxglove investigating him.”
“Was he worried because of his sideline as Scalpel, or because he’s been skimming from the business and knew he’d be found out as soon as they dug deeper?”
“I—No. He wouldn’t.”
Ry drummed his fingers on the marble. “I don’t believe he would, but we can’t rule outanypossibilities. It’s down to the three of us for now. You said you wanted to get information from the accountant, so that’s where we’ll start.”
I groaned. “Yeah, I came to that conclusion. But they’re not just gonna hand over that information to me.”
“They don’t need to.” Ryker exchanged glances with Dan, who nodded. “We’ll go to their office tonight.”
“How are we gonna get in?”
Dan shot me a grin that could only be described as “smug evil villain.” “Did you forget your two best friends are criminals? Leave it to us.”
“I can’t see out of this fucking thing. How do people breathe in here? Did you have the same problem when you did that masked chase? I would’ve impaled myself on a tree root or something.”
“Fucking shut up.” Ryker shoved Dan’s head. “Breathe. You’ll get used to it.”
We were sitting inside Ryker’s car, wearing dark hoodiesand the same masks that had been used for the chase in the woods, without the lights. While Dan and Ry were confident that they could disable the security, and neither of them thought it would be particularly sophisticated, there was a chance of other cameras picking us up.
“This is the route we’re gonna take.” Ryker angled his phone screen so we could all see it. “We’ll cut through this alley and come up through the private parking area at the back of the buildings and get in through the back door. There’s a nail business on the ground floor in the same building as the accountant, and if my research is right, they don’t have any stringent security measures. That’s gonna be our way in.”
“You’re good at this,” I said, and Dan instantly nodded in agreement.
“Try telling my dad that,” Ryker muttered. “Once we’re inside, we’ll take the internal fire escape up to the first floor and get inside the accountant’s office. Arson, you’re on lookout duty while me and Jay hunt for the info.”
“Got it.” Dan palmed his knife. “I’m ready for whatever comes our way.”
With the plan sorted, we left the car parked down a side street and made our way to the row of Georgian terraces that housed a number of different small businesses. It didn’t take us long to find the correct entrance.
