AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I suck in my bottom lip as the words form meaning in my brain. “So, you opened the mail? And what does it say?”
“If it’s what we think, it’s pretty ugly.” Mom’s voice is soft and she looks deflated.
“Fuck.” I feel rage bubbling to the surface as I spit, “If this is about Charlie, let’s just go and take the fucker out. Where the hell is our security when we need them? Where are Harry and Samuel and—” I slam my fist against the table, coffee splashing over the rims of the cups and onto the table. “Where thehellis Big?” I stand, fury now fully taking over. The filthy motherfucker. “The one who did thiswillbe held responsible. We will bring them down, shred them into pieces and show everyone out there that they can’t mess with us. If they think they can play us, sending us threats…”
“Logan.” Mom’s voice stops me in my tracks. She eyes me warily. “What the hell is wrong with you? Ella, make sure he gets enough sleep.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Mom, I’m not a kid.”
“Then stop behaving like one, we need your brains now. We have enough muscle as it is on the team.”
I huff, hesitate, then slip back onto my chair. I even manage to mumble an apology as Maria comes out to clean the table. Once she leaves again, Mom speaks up.
“The one or the ones responsible for thiswillbe taken out, okay? Even if it’s just because they are threatening myfamily, mylife. But we first need to know who’s targeting us and why.”
“We know who’s targeting us. We just don’t know why,” Dad counters.
“All right, Jayden, your cue. Our son’s going crazy as it is.” I try to ignore her pointed look. “Please show us the email.”
Jayden, our fraud analyst who wears the same dark suit and nervous cough every freaking day, eyes me from over the rim of his glasses. Then he glances back at the mini laptop that he has opened in front of him, before turning it around for us to see.
The subject line’s indeed something about a new collection of red wine, which somehow makes this threat feel very personal.Is it personal?Jayden clicks the email open.
PUT THINGS RIGHT OR WE WILL REVEAL ALL
DROP $100K IN A BAG
LEAVE IT IN THE TRASH CAN OUTSIDE NYU ON THE CORNER OF WEST 4TH ST AND SCHWARTZ PLAZA
YOU HAVE UNTIL 10 P.M.
Below the bold, black letters we see a vague screenshot. I lean forward and check the image with narrowed eyes. “What the actual fuck? $100K? Are they serious? And what’s this image I’m looking at?”
Mom takes a deep breath. “You’re looking at the image of an execution that took place a few days ago. Fair enough, we didn’t win any beauty pageants on that night.”
“But it had to be done,” Dad grumbles, his face still folded in a big scowl.
Jayden coughs. “The email came from an unidentified IP address. I’m still trying to trace its origins. This will take some time. However—”
“How long?” I bark.
“Give me a few hours.”
I want to say something, but once more Mom takes the lead. “All right, thank you Jayden. Maria!” The housekeeper strides almost immediately through the kitchen doors. “Please give this young man some more coffee and pastries. He’ll be working here today.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Then I receive the message I’ve been waiting for.
Connor: Don’t worry about me big brother, everything’s ok. It was just a prank, I was at a party. I'm gonna crawl into bed now, but set the alarm for two hours so I can catch up with you all. Love you.
I exhale slowly, relief washing through me like water. Thank fuck.
“Are we seriously considering paying these assholes? I say fuck them. They’ve got nothing on us. A stupid photo, I say we do nothing.” I scoff.
“Okay, let’s not react to this.” Mom looks defiant and I see how her fingers curl into Dad’s.
