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Blakely
I hear my phone ring somewhere beside me. Checking the caller and the time, I groan. “Cailean?” I answer in a sleepy tone. “This better be good, it’s 3 a.m.” I hear him chuckle on the other side of the line.
“Sorry, boss, but I have something you may want to see. It’s already sent.”
Checking my email, I see the video he sent me. I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about it.
“Tell me it’s not what I think it is?” I ask, my voice full of emotions as I watch the video.
“I’m afraid it is.” I can feel the anger coming out of him. “We were looking into the Snakes business when this video popped up,” he says.
“Popped up? What do you mean, popped up?” The sound of his sighs reaches my ears.
“Someone sent it to us. We tried to trace the sender, but nothing so far. We’re still working on it.”
The video shows several young women chained to a pole, half naked, and some covered in blood. It has completely woken me up. Mother fucker.
“I want names and locations. We need to find them and learn what they plan to do with them.” My tone is harsher than I intended, but if we wait too long, I don’t want to think about what will happen to them. “Cailean, if they plan to sell them, I want to know who the buyers are and how many girls there are.” My throat becomes tied as my last words come out of my mouth, “And if there’re bairns with them.” Closing my eyes to the possibility is not an option, but it’s not something I want to dwell on.
“Got it, boss.” As I end the call, I inhale deeply and exhale slowly, trying to calm my racing heart. I knew they were up to no good, but human trafficking? That’s another level of fucked up, even for them.
Aisla’s bright smile pops into my head, and I can’t help but feel a sense of warmth. She would have been happy with the work we’re doing to help women when she had nobody to do it for her. Thinking of her always brings me back to the reason why I chose to do this, even when it’s not easy.
I let out a deep sigh, feeling the tension release from my body, and run my fingers through my curls.
Quietly, I slip out of bed and pad my way to the kitchen, hoping not to wake Bai and Em as I brew myself a cup of coffee. There’s no way I can go back to sleep after that. Black coffee would be welcome, but I can’t bring myself to drink it like that. Mine needs to be with a splash of milk and a ton of syrup. Sweet is my thing. I didn’t get my curvy thighs eating salad and drinking water.
As the aroma of brewing coffee fills the air, my mind begins to race with thoughts. I’m missing something. I know I am. But what? Once my coffee is done, I add oat milk and syrup and go on the balcony. The air is chilly and humid. Spring is here, but it feels like winter in Scotland. I inhale deeply and scroll through my phone until I find the contact I am looking for. He answers after the first ring.
“Blakely, it’s past three in the morning. What’s happening?” The line crackles with Preston’s husky voice when he picks up.
“Something happened.” That’s all I say. He knows I won’t take any risk over the phone. Our phones may be locked down tight, but if I could breach Aidan and Scott’s encrypted video surveillance, who’s to say our phones are safe?
“My office. Two hours’ time.” I silently nod, even though he cannot see me, and end the conversation without any further words.
As I walk through Preston’s mansion, my footsteps echo off the tiled floor. I don’t understand why people need that much space. Especially since he divorced his wife a few years back. I pass the security guard with a quick nod. This place is guarded like a palace. You wouldn’t notice them at first, except for the first guard at the main entrance. They fill the room in various outfits. While some of them look like they are ready to tend to plants, others look like they are ready to whip up a gourmet meal. If one were to inspect closely, they would notice the gun holster hidden under their clothing and the black silicone earpiece they were wearing. The house is surrounded by them.
It’s five in the morning, but the house is already full of people. My heels become louder to my ears, my black dress lifting with each step. I’m preparing myself mentally, as I know I might see him at any point. The charade a few days ago left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to see him again. Caleb’s clean-up team might need to be called in to handle the aftermath of what I could do to his son.
Breathing in deeply, I push open Caleb’s office door without bothering to knock. He knows I’m here. It’s not for no reason that he has twenty people from his team up and about by 5 a.m.
“Blakely,” he greets me. “What was so important that couldn’t wait until 7 a.m.?” I smirk because I know he’s usually up early in the morning.
“I think it’s better if I show you.” Before leaving this morning, I made sure to transfer the video and encrypt it. I know, I’m resourceful. You don’t become the youngest criminal defence attorney with the highest cases won without learning a thing or two.
I can see the shock on Caleb’s face as he watches the video from the corner of my eye.
“Who?” he asks, his gaze hardening. He stands from his seat and goes straight to his mini bar, serving himself a glass of whisky.
“Isn’t it a bit early for that?” I ask. He waves me off with a hand gesture.
“Early here. Late somewhere. Want one?” I sigh because it’s way too early for alcohol, but with what we have in front of us, that’s not something I’ll deny.
“Neat, please,” I answer him. He nods and pours me a glass with a splash of water in it. Answering his previous question, I add, “We don’t know for sure yet, but Cailean called me in the middle of the night with this video.” I nod my thanks as he hands me the glass. “We suspect the Snakes are behind it,” I say, feeling the coolness of the drink as it slides down my throat. He sinks deeply into his chair, his eyes fixed on the glowing screen. He’s probably scouring for anything that might reveal the location of the missing girls.
“Cailean tried to localise who sent the video, but they are pretty good at covering their tracks. What I don’t understand is why they would send my team this video. Something is bothering me, and I can’t put my finger on it,” I add, listening to the gentle sloshing of the whisky in the glass as I swirl it.
“Do you think it’s all related? Aidan’s arrest, the drugs, the trafficking?” he asks, his brow furrowing in concentration, trying to comprehend like me.
