Charming But Reckless (NightShade Security #5)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

ORION

I was losing my fucking mind.

Despite knowing his name, there was nothing else popping up about Sol. No birth information or missing person’s reports.

While I wasn’t nearly as skilled as Memphis in the tech area, I knew enough to navigate through the databases. Still, I had zilch to go off of even after over a week of constant searching.

Beau was sending me regular updates about Sol and the ranch. I even got pictures of him with the animals or playing with Dakota.

He never smiled. Not in a single one of the photos. I wondered how long it would take for him to do so.

Hopefully, reuniting him with his father would help speed that along.

If only I could find the asshole.

At fourteen, I’d had the same bad luck when I was tracking him. You’d think two decades, and a lot of technological advancements, would make it easier. Not in the slightest.

“Where are you, Arick?” I muttered under my breath as I sat on my bed staring at my phone.

I’d barely slept all night. Today would be a battle to get through. I already knew as much.

Plus, if rumor was to be believed, then Takeshi was bringing Archie in with him too. I still couldn’t believe they’d gotten married.

Not because there was anything wrong with it. I was truly surprised to see my friend marry someone for a business arrangement.

Then again, he’d been different since the shooting.

Takeshi has never been the type to talk a lot or be overly friendly. Cohen held that title in our ragtag group of friends.

What he provided instead was a solid, reliable source of wisdom. I knew he’d have my back at all times, and that a few of his thoughtful words would pull all of our heads out of our asses when we needed them most.

Thanks to Brad’s single shot to his neck, Takeshi no longer had the ability to speak at all. Archie was working to teach him sign language, but with his need to stay in the US a time issue as well, the pair got married.

The entire idea stunk of Tank’s meddling ways.

Our boss had been trying to find ways to get past Takeshi’s high walls since he’d been released from the hospital. Nothing had worked so far.

Maybe Archie would be the thing to change him. To bring some life back into his eyes.

When I got to the office, I saw the rumors were indeed true. Takeshi and his new husband were there waiting for the meeting to start. I took my normal spot, then waited for everyone else to sit down.

Memphis started to pull up the information we planned to review, but he stopped when Ronan called out, “Heads up, Archie. This might get a bit graphic. You good?”

The newcomer to our group lifted a shoulder. “It should be fine. My roommate loves a good true crime show and those investigative stories. I’ve seen enough that I can keep up.”

I grinned at the notion. The world had seen a surge in true crime lovers in the last decade or so. Some blamed it on technology and how much was shared. Others called it a Freudian effect, since most killers didn’t look like the gnarly, evil monsters we’d been warned about as children.

Most bad people wore bespoke suits or dressed in elegant gowns. I knew better than anyone how well they could hide in broad daylight.

Memphis went back to work, pulling up the six images of the Gilded Ones. There were large red x’s in front of the ones we had confirmed kills on. The others were living on borrowed time.

“We’ve eliminated three of the six Gilded Ones leaders so far. We have three to go. While Tank assures me he has a contact set to take one of them down, that still leaves us with two.” Ronan’s voice held a finality to it that proved why he was such a great leader. With that kind of confidence, I’d follow him into any battle zone

I tapped my fingers on the table as I asked, “What do we know about the three left?”

Ronan motioned to Memphis. “Tell them what you’ve got.”

“It’s not much. I only have enough that I’ve pieced a bit together,” Memphis started. “The big guy with the beard is Ajax Lancaster. He’s into gun running. There’s nothing on him other than arrests and a number of addresses that are all either falsified or empty.”

Cohen huffed. “Of course they are.”

As usual, Memphis ignored his outburst. “Beside him to the right is Mordecai. Yes, I know it’s fucking weird, but I can’t find anything else on him. He’s who we have to thank for that shipment of women and children we just found. Currently he’s gone underground, but I have feelers out everywhere looking for him if he shows up again.”

“He wasn’t at the warehouse we raided and emptied?” Godric’s brow dipped as he spoke. Was he as skeptical about all this as I was?

“Nope. There is no footage to place him there. Stabler also mentioned he got a hit on Mordecai being in Paris during the raid, so he wouldn’t have been in the group. I’m guessing he had a second-in-command there to handle it all.”

I mumbled, “Probably the asshole who peacocked through the place.”

The guy had really pissed me off. I could tell he was one of the ones torturing the people backstage. It was clear to see in the way he held himself — as if he were more important than anyone else.

“You’re one to talk about peacocking, pretty boy.”

I sent my worst glare to Cohen for comparing me to that asshole. He had no clue just how different we were.

The guys all thought I was this charming personality that could calm a situation down at a moment’s notice. They had no clue how much of a survival technique it was.

At least, some of them didn’t. I have a feeling more than one had been privy to my past even though I hadn’t openly shared it.

“Back to what I was saying,” Memphis shouted to draw everyone’s attention. “The last jerk up there is Diestro Lune. If you guessed he’s just as bad as the other assholes, then you’d be correct. Everyone calls him ‘Looney’ — which is soooo original. They say he likes to shoot first and ask questions later.”

Archie bit out a laugh, which he tried to cover quickly with a cough. Takeshi grinned over at him, a look on his face I hadn’t seen in months.

Time stilled as I watched the pair interact. They were clearly good for one another. In just a short time, I could see my old friend peeking through the pain.

“Do we know who Tank’s guy is taking out?” Godric asked when no one else spoke up.

Cohen jumped in to add, “And does anyone know who this ‘guy’ is? Doesn’t seem fair he’s got a separate squad of killers on his roster.”

“Tank has lots of contacts, Cohen. We all know this. I have no clue who this person is, but he did tell me they’d likely take down Ajax since he was the one supplying the others with weapons. He's also the only one without a second-in-command. If he falls, we’re hoping there won’t be anyone left to pick up the mantle for a while.”

“How does he not have anyone to back him?” I questioned. It didn’t make sense.

Memphis answered with new-to-me intel. “Ajax is extremely paranoid, if the rumors about him are true. He kills for sport and only trusts a select few people. Most of them only last a couple of years before he offs them and starts over.”

“Why would anyone work for someone like that?” Archie said in a curious tone.

I leaned back and smiled. “Because they’re desperate.”

It wasn’t a real smile. It was meant to hide the realization that started once Memphis mentioned Ajax’s paranoia.

I’ve known of men like him, men who watched their backs so obsessively they could only see people out to get them.

“And they want the money,” Ronan added in. “A lot of these men have families who need what they can bring in. Even if it’s just a couple of years, it means getting out of poverty or moving to a better neighborhood.”

“Or sometimes they’re forced into it.” Godric had a good point there.

“Forced?” Archie repeated.

Godric nodded slowly. “Yeah. Forced. They get blackmailed or threatened into submission. Whatever it takes for guys like Ajax to get what they want in the end.”

The conversation from there went into a breakdown of what had to come next. Memphis suggested we make the plan to take Mordecai out now since we’d need to move fast after Tank’s guy did his part.

I half listened, my mind already knee deep in the muck of memories that had unwrapped themselves during our meeting. It was dangerous to sink into them, but I didn’t really have a choice.

Part of me already knew what had to be done. I just really didn’t want to fucking suggest it given my history with the whole thing.

Honestly, I never thought I’d be this close to a trafficking ring again. We’d done a good job of just being a private security firm for so long. NightShade was for celebrities and dignitaries, not people warring with the mafia or cartel.

I figured I’d never be around this type of stuff ever again.

But of course, I was wrong.

My attention came back to the conversation when Archie said my name. “He said Orion has an idea he doesn’t like but he thinks it will work for this Mordecai guy.”

I groaned. “Goddammit, Takeshi. You’re not supposed to call me out. Ignore him. I’m good.”

Ronan shook his head, his lips turning down as he demanded, “Fess up, Orion. If it helps us get him faster, then you have to tell us. I’m ready to be done with these fuckers.”

Should I tell them what I really thought? Give them the truth behind why I was feeling nauseous at this whole thing?

No, I couldn’t. It wasn’t time to unload my trauma on them.

Instead, I played a game of cat and mouse with them. I explained how these men would be wanting children they could traffic to other places. They wanted bodies to sell.

I suggested we do a bait and switch technique like we had on the other Gilded Ones member we took out. If we gave them the belief that it was enticing enough, then they’d come to whatever trap we set.

“And how do we do that?” Ronan asked me. “It’s not like we’re going to actually sell him children. Besides, why would he want to come see them in person? Photos do someone justice.”

“There are some things a photo can’t show. Some things these men want enough to travel for.” I paused, fighting back the bile that had risen. Memories assaulted me one after the other, stealing the calm I’d felt earlier.

Archie lunged forward in his seat. “No,” he whispered.

I should have realized he’d put the pieces together quicker than the others. He wasn’t used to the mask I usually wore. It gave him an unbiased view of the real me.

Turning to stare at the wall, I gave him a nod to confirm what he thought. “If we make him think he can be the first, that there’s a virgin or two up for auction, then he’ll come. Twins would be best, though triplets would be more than enough to entice him. The unique. The never before seen. That’s what he wants.”

My suggestion left the others strangely quiet for several minutes. It was like they were trying to piece together everything I hadn’t said. They wanted to know why I was getting emotional when I so rarely strayed from the playboy image I’d mastered.

Every minute that passed felt like a knife in my side. Each one slowly tore at me, bleeding me out though I had no open wounds to show for it.

Still, I was ravaged with pain. The pain of a past version of me. The one who never thought he’d make it to this point.

Much later, Memphis addressed us all while typing away on his computer. “I can create realistic enough imaging by mixing different facial patterns to entice him. I won’t use anyone real though. I understand the limit here, guys.”

Though I knew I needed to stick around, I couldn’t. I was too raw, too exposed.

As I stood, I gave them another piece of my puzzle. It was more truthful than anything else I’d ever shared.

“And if that doesn’t work, then we’ll go for the ace in the hole.”

“Ace?” Archie asked softly.

I turned to face him, letting all the emotion I felt inside show then. His eyes filled with tears instantly, as if his empathy could literally sense how bad it all was.

“Yeah. If he doesn’t want something new, then maybe he’ll want the one that got away.”

With that, I took off down the hall. I had no destination in mind. I only knew I had to get out of there. Had to get away from the eyes of pity that were assessing my every move.

If they couldn’t figure it out on their own, Takeshi would likely tell them. Or maybe Archie would, since I knew he caught on to my meaning as well.

The idea of going back to the hellhole that was found in human trafficking rings wasn’t one I entertained lightly. But I’d do it in a second if I could save others.

There hadn’t been anyone to save me all those years ago. There was no one to fight for me the way I can fight for these kids and these women.

I would go up against every nightmare I’ve ever faced if it would get even just one of them out of their clutches.

And once they were free, we’d tear down the entire system until there was nothing left but the bodies of those too greedy and evil to deserve to keep going.