AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Vincent, I want you to look into Dylan. I want concrete evidence,” I ordered. I didn’t want to have any doubts that it was him. The last thing we needed was to get it wrong and be blindsided by the real traitor.
“Stefan already has Aiden’s security firm investigating everyone. I don’t think I’ll find anything they haven’t,” Vincent said.
“With a large investigation like this, they look at call history, GPS in the car, emails, web searches, bank accounts,” Asher said.
“Which means they aren’t being creative in their searches. Your searches are,” I said to Vincent.
Vincent nodded and pulled his laptop from his computer bag he carried everywhere.
I looked to Dean, Asher, and Finn. “I need you three to go retrieve Dylan.”
Dean stood from the couch and the three of them left.
* * *
It had been over an hour since I’d sent my goons to go retrieve Dylan and I hadn’t heard from them. Family meeting was due to start in thirty minutes.
“Want me to call them?” Brenna asked from where she stood, leaning against the doorframe watching me get ready in front of the bathroom vanity. We were back at the guest house.
I paused in the middle of covering up any lingering bruises on my face. “Yes. Find out what the holdup is.”
Through the mirror, I watched as Brenna took her phone out of the back pocket of her jean shorts and began dialing. She went into my bedroom as she brought the phone up to her ear. Someone must have answered, because I could hear her talking.
A few minutes later she returned with the phone still held to her ear. “Dean’s saying Dylan isn’t home. My mother, who’s using again, is claiming she hasn’t seen him. I guess she’s so strung out she has no idea when she last saw him or even what day it is.” The anger in Brenna’s voice when she spoke of her mother was hard to ignore. I’d make sure to listen to her vent about it later.
“Why hasn’t grounds security at your house reported Dylan missing?” I asked.
“There wasn’t any security at the house when they got there,” she answered. “They want to do more digging around and question the house staff.”
I looked at my phone’s clock. Dean and Asher wouldn’t be here in time for the meeting. I glanced at Brenna and came to a decision. “Tell them to do what they need to. You’ll accompany me to the meeting.”
Brenna appeared stunned for a second, then quickly recovered and passed on what I said to Dean.
After she hung up, she stared at me, a little panicked. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Raid my closet. If I don’t have anything here, you’ll have to check my bedroom in the main house.”
“Stefan and the leaders won’t be thrilled with me attending the meeting. They’ll view me as a liability,” she said.
“Act like you’re supposed to be there, and I will handle the rest.”
She nodded and dashed out of the room. I gripped the edge of the bathroom counter with both hands, closed my eyes, and just breathed.
Up until now, I’d been naive, reckless, and arrogant. All three were sure ways to get anyone killed in a world of crime and blood money, where the most dangerous beings thrived or died trying. I’d understood that. I’d grown up learning it and yet I’d still fucked up. I couldn’t make those mistakes again.
* * *
What Brenna ended up wearing was one of my more modest suits. It was midnight blue and formfitting. Her heels were black satin Louboutins and also mine.
“I can’t wear a holster with this,” she complained, staring down at her outfit.
I turned around and lifted up the back of my suit jacket, revealing the pistol I had tucked in the back of my pants.
“But I can only carry one gun that way,” she grumbled.
I snorted. “We’re going to a meeting, not a shootout, Brenna.”
“You never know,” she said as she placed her gun in the back of her pants. “Oh, before I forget.” She reached in her jacket pocket and pulled out a joint and a lighter. “Dean told me to give this to you. He said it’s if you can’t decide if you need to have sex or smoke a cigarette, whatever that means.”
