Page 36 of Wounded Hearts

Chapter 18

Zack heldDrew’s attention as he stood at the head of the conference table, his arms leaning on the chair in front of him as he directed his gaze to Dane and Smithy. “Where are we with Wells?”

“Brayden Wells’ home is like a fortress and we’re still trying to figure out if it’s to keep something in or out. There hasn’t been any comings or goings. Except for yesterday, when his driver took him to a local hotel, and he met with the architect on one of his building projects.”

Zack nodded. “Do we know how he made his money or any more about his background?” This was asked of Will who was eating red liquorice as he typed. An image of Wells appeared on the screen and Drew had to forcibly stop his lip from curling.

“Brayden Wells is something of a mystery in terms of background. He seems to have come from nowhere back in the nineties. He got in on the housing crash and bought up several large properties in London then flipped them when the market boomed. After that he diversified into corporate takeovers and became a raider, going after viable but failing businesses. There are a lot of rumours about his ethics and his moral compass regarding the way he goes about getting said businesses to sell but nothing ever sticks. He’s ruthless but what is interesting is that he’s tight with Steadman Gold.”

Daniel abruptly dropped his feet from the desk where he’d had them and leaned forward. “The Deputy Secretary of State?”

Will nodded. “Yeah, he’s even Gold’s son’s godfather. What’s puzzling is that I can’t find any prior history, but I have a hunch, which Aubrey and I are going to investigate later today. It may also answer how he’s linked to Winslow if it pans out.”

Will turned to Lucy. “Can you carry on searching while I’m gone?”

Lucy tipped her head and raised her eyebrows. “Are you leaving the key to your sweet stash draw?”

Will chuckled. “I suppose.”

“Then yes, I’ll continue the searches.”

Zack turned to him and Jace. “Any leads from Preedy’s stuff?”

Drew hadn’t shared what he’d found with anyone yet but now was the time. “We found a Japanese Puzzle box that belonged to my mother. Mara and I opened it last night and it contained a key and a letter. In the letter it says the key is for a safe in my old home and that the safe has her diary in it.” Drew shrugged. “It may shed some light on Marcus’ dealings.”

“Do we have access to the property?” Zack asked.

“Yes, it was part of Marcus’s estate, so I guess technically it belongs to me now.”

“You and Jace see to that today then. Ava and I are driving to Oxford to meet with the professor to see if we can learn more about this text. Daniel, you’re in charge while I’m gone. Make sure the recruits are far away from this. Keep them busy.” Zack turned to Roz and Nate. “Do we have everyone covered at all times?”

Nate nodded. “Yes, except Mara, but Drew is handling that.”

“How is Mara doing?” Dane asked directing his gaze at Drew.

“Good, she’s handling this much better than I expected. She worked with Doc yesterday and I think that helped.”

“Megan wants to meet with her too, see if she has any insight with her PTSD management that might help the soldiers we saved from the Watchers. The majority still suffer pretty badly,” Daniel added.

“I think she’ll be glad to help. But I’ll speak to her first and check.”

Daniel lifted his chin in assent.

“Zin, any news on Winslow?”

Zin shook his head. “The woman is a fucking ghost. I was going to see if we could pick her up on Facial Rec.”

“Good. Lucy can help you with that.” Zack shuffled some papers on his desk. “Jack has a lead on some soldiers that have gone missing. The only problem this time is they’re not just British. His contact suggests small groups of Australian and French Special Forces, and even two from the Vatican Guard have gone missing and that’s what he’s found so far.”

Zin looked at Zack. “Why hasn’t this hit the news, or at least our radar?”

Zack shrugged. “My guess is that these countries don’t want it getting out that they’ve had men disappear, so it’s being kept very hush-hush but now we have that lead, we know what to look for. Roz, perhaps have your girls look into those rumours too.”

Roz had her arms crossed on the table as she sat next to Kanan. “Will do. I’ve also reached out to Rykov Anatolievich, head of the Russian Bratva. We have an understanding and while I don’t consider him a friend, he’s not an enemy either and he hates the Divine Watchers for the shit they stirred up in Russia a few years ago with Denisovich.”

Drew saw Kanan clench his jaw at the mention of Roz’s evil ex-husband, the hand Roz laid on his arm showed she knew his feelings on it too.

“It would be good to have him as an ally of sorts.”