Kaden exhaled slowly. “But if he’s telling the truth… If Blake is dirty—”
“It’s not your job to prove it like this,” Danny cut in. “There are legal channels. Warrants. Oversight. That they’re not using those channels should tell you everything.”
Kaden swallowed. His gut twisted, but beneath the fear there was something else, a sense of inevitability.
“Joe,” he said quietly. “He means a lot to me.”
Danny didn’t respond.
“If I say no, Joe will be made to leave the country.” His voice faltered slightly. “And it will be done fast.”
“You don’t know that for sure. There are legal channels.”
Kaden huffed. “You think that will matter? He’ll be snatched up and I’ll never see him again.”
“Kaden—”
“I’m not asking what’s right,” Kaden interrupted, his voice steadier now. “I’m asking what happens if I do it. Practically.”
Danny sighed again. “Then you minimise risk. You don’t keep anything on you longer than necessary. You don’t tell anyone. Assume you’re being watched at all times. And you understand that if this goes wrong, I might not be able to get you out of it.”
Kaden nodded, even though Danny couldn’t see him. “Okay.”
“And Kaden?”
“Yeah.”
“Whatever you think this man is offering you? It won’t be clean. People who operate like this don’t do clean deals. Joe could still be made to disappear. You could be asked to do the same again.”
“I know.”
“Then don’t pretend this is anything other than what it is.”
Kaden looked up at the sky full of stars, never a black sky in London but it felt black now.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “I won’t.”
He ended the call and stood there for a moment, the silence rushing back in around him. Everything Danny had said made sense. Every warning, every consequence—it all lined up. And still…the decision had already settled in his chest.
Joe.
That was all it came down to. But he wanted more information from Alistair. Kaden slipped his phone into his pocket and turned back.
The following morning, Kaden had a call from Danny as he was getting dressed. Joe was in the bathroom.
“Hi,” Kaden said.
“I’ve had to be careful. I didn’t want to raise anyone’s suspicions but I looked where I shouldn’t and there are rumours about E’s habits. A looks clean. Foreign office all his life. I still think you should say no.”
“Thanks, Danny.”
Kaden wasn’t sure whether to be happier about that or not. It still meant taking a risk.
He and Joe went downstairs to the kitchen to find a camera and carrying case sitting on the table. The breath caught in Kaden’s throat. It all seemed suddenly real.
“Morning,” Alistair said brightly and Kaden’s gorge rose.
“This is a Canon EOS R5 Mark II. Easy to use and looks right for the job. Don’t drop it. It’s an expensive piece of kit and the guy who owns it wants it back. The memory cards—two of them—have been loaded with relevant photos you might have taken. Learn how to use it. Look online to see the way photographers operate.”
