“Consider it done. This is personal.”
“He’s working with someone. A woman,” I call out. He nods once and storms from the room.
My gut is churning. I so wanted the musketeers to be wrong. There’s still a chance that Harold’s – I can’t bear to think of it as The Order’s…mine – skin ring isn’t connected to their girl’s abduction but my intuition is screaming at me.
Fuck.
“We shut this down. I need all the intel. Harold must have files, information, records. If he’s been trading under The Order name or funds, there will be a trail, no matter how hard he’s tried to bury it. Onyx, I want you to oversee the manhunt. I know Baxter wants to take this on,” I say, making a mental note to find out why. “But I need everyone looking. Sawyer, I want you to oversee intel, Mackenzie can help, I suspect but she will need to be watched carefully. Find out what else Harold has been doing. I want to reassess our assets and clean up. I’m talking, a full audit of every account, favour and member. No more secrets, and I don’t give a shit about anyone’s privacy. Monty, I need access to Harold’s house or houses if he has more than one. I want you to go through them with a fine tooth comb and pass anything you find on to Sawyer, no matter how insignificant it may seem, but also send it to me too. I don’t want to be in theloop with this, I am the fucking epicentre of operations. Nothing gets passed without my direct say-so.”
They all nod, not even questioning my instructions. It feels like a turning point. This is it, I’m in charge anddoing something.Something worthwhile at that, too.
“What about me?” Kalen asks, serious.
“You’re overseeing the final initiation of the females.”
His face brightens and I quickly add, “Slate, you’re overseeing Kalen. Keep him in line and ensure they have a smooth beginning within our ranks.”
We’re interrupted by a knock at the door and Cap’s head appears a moment later.
“Are you ready, boss? The troops are getting restless.”
“We’re coming now, but they’ll wait all damn night if I tell them to.” I take a deep breath and steel myself. Right now, I don’t want some fancy ass pointless party. I want to get to work. I need to. My veins are on fire, burning with the need to find Harold and flush out his corruption once and for all. I feel like I won’t be able to rest until it’s done, likethisis my purpose now. “We start this shit at first light.”
Sawyer slips a calming hand into mine and squeezes gently. I look up at him.
“Breathe,” he tells me. “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
“No but it can be destroyed in less than one.”
“I’m not going to let that happen.”
“That’s not your job, it’s mine,” I reply.
“And you’re not alone. You did amazing back there.”
“Really?” I felt like I was panicking and firing off the first instructions that came into my head.
“You did exactly what I would have done. You’re ready for this.” He gives my hand another squeeze, and we come to a standstill outside the double doors that lead to the ballroomwhere tonight’s event is taking place. Inside the room, the MC for the evening calls everyone to order and introduces us.
Me.
Here goes nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Amelie
After the meeting, I really don’t think I’ll be in the mood to party, but the guys – Kalen specifically – are a great distraction.
We’re sitting at the top table, which is a little toowedding breakfastfor my liking, and Kalen on my right is regaling me with all the hilarious anecdotes and dirty little secrets of The Order’s members. Thetwomusketeers are nowhere to be seen, so they obviously took my advice to leave early.
“See that guy there? He’s an absolute demon with a chainsaw. He can slice flesh so thin it makes tissue paper look thick,” Kalen tells me with awe, pointing to a short, bald, glasses-wearing geek in his sixties. “But on weekends he likes to wear women’s clothes and call himself Candace.”
I laugh. “Is he married?”
“Oh yes, has grown up children, too. They don’t know, of course. But you’ll soon learn that being in The Order isn’t the dirtiest secret anyone in this room is keeping.”
“What’s your dirty secret then Kalen?” I tease.
