Page 174 of Unmasked

Ringing cut through the room, pulling me from suffocating possibilities. Theodore answered his phone, walking a good amount away as he began to pace. I barely noticed as I plugged in addresses and watched them populate on the map. White pins to begin. I’d turn them red when the address was cleared.

Work.

Work.

I had to work.

Otherwise… I’d start burning the city down. I wanted to. I wanted to go house by house until I found her. She was somewhere. And she was with him…

Footsteps sounded, and I looked up watching Theodore approach.

“This could be nothing⁠—”

I was already standing.

“What is it, Theo?”

He paused, watching as Bram and Elec stepped in closer. Even the guards shifted deeper in the room as they listened in.

“I have a few informants I work with. Most are harmless, but there’s one. Luan. He tells me a man came to him. He needed guns, uniforms. All unmarked. And he needed them fast. He had money. He was willing to pay. I sent him pictures of one of the dead guards and the gun he had. Plus, a picture of the man who led them. He just confirmed that’s what they sold… to George.”

“George? He said that?”

“He did. I never said that name to him.”

“Fucking… shit.”

I turned to Bram, barely able to stop the shaking. “Is it enough yet? How much more does The Council want? Lawrence is behind this. There’s no decision left for them to make. He’s guilty, and I am king.”

Bram turned to Theodore.

“Is there any way Luan would confirm this to The Council? They’ll want to hear it for themselves.”

Theo’s brow drew in. “They can hear. There’s a lot more he said, and I have it. I’m a barrister. I record every conversation. I can send it to whatever number you want me to.”

“Perfect.”

“Theodore, did George mention the king to him at all? Do you know if he got the impression that the guns or weapons might be for Lawrence?”

Theodore hit button’s putting his phone on speaker. Their voices immediately echoed through the room.

“I showed my brothers the pictures you sent, and yeah, that’s the uniforms and guns we sold George. That was him too, you know. In that picture.”

“George?”

“That’s the name he calls himself. Generic fucking name, if you ask me, but maybe he was telling the truth.”

“And that was him amongst the other guards? You’re sure of it?

“Right in the middle. I’d know that face anywhere. Babyface. Dead eyes.”

Theodore paused. “Did anything else stand out to you or your brothers about this man? Did he happen to say what he needed the uniforms or guns for?”

“Nah. We didn’t ask. We don’t care. The king does what he wants. So long as he doesn’t fuck with us, it’s not our problem.”

“The king? You’re positive?”

“Do you think we’d sell to George if we weren’t? This isn’t his first time here.”