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Kai inspected me closely, surely catching the recognition on my face. “Do you know this Alphonse person and their organization?”
With shame weighing my shoulders down, I sighed and nodded. “We used to be associates when I first broke out onto the scene. I worked for them, then I found myself in the fold and did what I had to do to keep things moving. But when the business started going in a different direction, and I didn’t agree with their practices anymore, I left.
“Because I up and fled the city, they’ve been hunting me down to keep me from squealing about what they were doing behind the scenes. I never stopped to communicate with them out of fear of being killed to shut me up. That was partially why I returned here in the first place. I needed somewhere to lie low until they eventually gave up. “
Kai took everything in with particular interest, nodding along as I spoke. “That would make sense as to why the perpetrator was in town to begin with. But how did they locate you?”
Piecing two and two together then, the reality of it was more sinister than I first assumed. I tried to conceal just how affected by it I really was.
“Cora was angry with me and wanted to uncover what I got up to in the city, and she must’ve found the company I worked for. She was being investigative, and she dug where she shouldn’t have,” I admitted, embarrassed even to mention it.
“And her prying led them right to you.”
Scrubbing a hand down my face, I nodded. “It seems to be that way. I thought the hit had been random, but I’m beginning to think she wasn’t entirely truthful with me.”
Kai’s expression seemed more strained then, and he could likely sense it was territory he didn’t want to tread. “Are there any other names I should know about?”
“They’re called The Triplets in the city. Alphonse, Ricardo, and Zain Gleason. They own one of the biggest construction companies in the city, but what they do in the shadows is what brings in their money,” I said, hoping it wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
I wasn’t entirely comfortable about dishing out the information to him, but I figured that Kai would have not only my best interest in mind but that of the town as well. He had people to protect, and the more he knew, the better.
At the very least, he didn’t seem too overly interested in my involvement. He just wanted to understand how everything was connected and how it came back to me.
“Thank you for sharing those details,” Kai said, face hidden behind an ambiguous mask that didn’t offer me much to work with. “We’re going to keep questioning the suspect for any additional information and decide how to move forward with this.”
As he spoke, I found myself zoning out and instead focusing on the anger that gathered beneath my skin.
Things had been going well between me and Cora, and I assumed that meant there wasn’t anything else I needed to worry about. I thought everything was behind us for the most part.
I never stopped to consider that Cora had been out in the woods for a reason that could potentially be detrimental to me.
After leaving the city, I thought I was in the clear. I didn’t hear a word about The Triplets or anyone else. As far as I knew, I got away scot-free and could finally live the life I wanted.
I knew Cora had scraped up some information about me, but she never disclosed it to me. I didn’t think there’d be any way for her to get anything of substance on me since I did my best to erase every connection with the Gleason brothers that existed.
Even if I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, I couldn’t ignore what was incredibly clear at that moment. Cora had contacted the Gleasons in search of a ground-breaking expose, and while she went out to meet with them, they sent a scab worker out to capture her. They likely hoped to use her as ransom to lure me out.
Whether she knew it or not, she led them right to me.
The thought was hard to stomach, and I felt sick even thinking about it.
Not only was I angry at her for doing the opposite of what I warned her not to do, but I was afraid for both of us. She had already put herself in harm’s way, but with them knowing exactly where to find us, there was no way of telling what they’d do next.
Even if it wasn’t the conversation I wanted to have, I needed to talk to her. She needed to know exactly what she had caused.
“I don’t have any interest in how you once conducted work, so don’t think I’m turning my back on you. We’re going to get to the bottom of this and ensure that nobody else gets hurt by these people,” Kai began, snapping me out of my stupor. “In the meantime, if you see or hear anything about these people, tell me right away. So long as you’re one of us, we will look after you.”
While the storm of endless thoughts rattled around in my head, Kai’s reassurance helped bring me back down to earth again. With a careful breath, I nodded.
“I appreciate that more than you know.”
Kai clapped a hand against my shoulder and nodded. “You’re a good man, Liam. Stay safe.”
We said our departing words in a blur, and I hardly registered as I got back in my truck and drove in the direction of Cora’s house.
My body was ringing with not only the dread and subsequent relief of knowing Kai had my back but with anger, too.
Right when I thought we were in a better place, I felt betrayed all over again.
