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She eyes my suspiciously with a small smile.
“What’s your plan this time?” She giggles.
“I’m just going to go for a walk, I’m not leaving the Club but if anyone asks, I went to the toilet, OK?”
“Sure, just don’t be too long. They’ll notice,” she tells me as she eyes the men around the outskirts of the building.
I nod in her direction before heading off into the hallway towards the meeting rooms. The hallway is empty, so I take the opportunity and walk quickly to the room I know sits adjacent to the meeting room. There’s a kitchen just off the meeting room that has access through one of the bathrooms, so I follow through until I’m at the door to the kitchen.
It must be my lucky day. The kitchen door is ajar slightly, meaning that I can see and hear straight into the meeting room.
My dad is sat at the head of the table with Tin and Dove to his right, Crow to his left, and John beside Crow. The rest of the men are sat sporadically alongside the rectangular table.
“It’s a million pounds, Matt. We’ve already stopped two men from getting in the Club and one at your place. It won’t be long before they stop coming in ones and twos and bring a whole fucking gang of the fuckers,” Dove tells my dad.
“So what are you thinking? How do we get the mark down?” he asks him, though I have no doubt he’s asking anyone that has an answer.
They’re talking about me. My mark. A million pounds. Is that to get me? Who would be paying that much money to get their hands on me? When and who did the Cobras stop? I hadn’t seen or heard of anyone coming anywhere near me that weren’t supposed to, though I suppose that was with thanks to my dad and the men he had around me. I suspected that he had more people following me than he told me, but this practically confirmed it.
“I don’t know, that’s the problem. We have too many enemies to know who’s behind it, though I suspect The Dealers have something to do with it,” Dove tells my dad as some of the other men nod their head at his words.
“I’ve asked the O’Banians to help us. I’ve been trying to merge with them for years and they’ve finally got back to me. I just need them to help us sooner rather than later.” My dad sighs, rubbing his forehead before taking a sip of the whiskey in front of him.
I recognised the name that they were talking about. The O’Banians, but I had no idea why or where I had heard the name before.
“They’ll be able to take the mark down, won’t they? Nothing’s happening to that little lady under my watch, I’ll tell you that much. Shit, they might even know a way for us to get some evidence of Gray’s disappearance too.” It’s Tin that’s speaking now, hopeful in the mysterious O’Banians reach.
“I really hope so. I don’t know where to start with even half of the shit we have going on, if I’m honest with you men.” I don’t think I have ever seen my dad looking so defeated and worried. So vulnerable.
He has already lost one child, the disappearance of another would be the end of him.
“Liam’s back tomorrow, he might have a better idea of how we can face this, yeah? That little lady is the best protected little shit there is, I promise you that much, Matt. And with the Laidens joining us, no one will get near.” I smile up at Tins words, knowing that he’s as close to family as what my real family are, that he would do anything he could to help both me and my dad, even if it means handing me over to the Laidens in order to keep me safe.
“There’s one more thing. Elio’s got something on Gray, but I wanted him to wait until we were all together. What is it?” my dad asks, his eyes on Elio at the opposite end of the table to my dad.
Shit.
As I look up to see what else is happening, it's at that exact moment that Tin looks towards the kitchen door that I’m perched behind. His eyes catch mine before I get chance to leave. My eyes shoot wide with panic as he whispers something to my dad who nods in his direction, not looking towards me. Tin stands and heads straight towards the kitchen and as he does, I look to Crow, who I find is looking straight at me as well.
Fuck, fuck, fuck
I mentally curse myself for being the world’s worst spy and begin to scamper off before Tin gets to me, but he’s too fast and I’m apparently way too slow. I reach the hallway through the bathroom at the exact moment he enters the hallway from the meeting rooms entrance.
He looks from me to the doorway I’ve just come out of.
“What are you doing?” he asks sternly.
“Going to the toilet?” I tell him hesitantly, more a question than a fact, knowing that there’s no way out of this unless a miracle comes to save me.
“What did you hear?” Oh shit.
“Nothing, I swear! I just heard voices and was curious but I didn’t hear anything!” I tell him in a rushed whisper-shout so as not to gain any attention from anyone else. If Tin tells Dad I’m going to be in so much trouble.
Tin grins at me and shakes his head as he breaks out a rough guffaw of laughter.
“You’re such a liar, you little sod.” He laughs.
I smile up at him, knowing that if anything, I’m lucky it was him that caught me rather than any of the others. Although Crow saw me, too, that’s not so great.
