Seeking Salvation: A Shadow Elite Novel

Chapter 7

Bás had decidedto hold the meeting, to discuss the plan for Maya, in the small conference room at the Mountain Rescue building above the compound. While he trusted Maya, Titan understood why Bás was being cautious. Walking into the building, he couldn’t help but glance at the spot where Maya had left Tyrique just yesterday. Maya saw where his gaze had gone and her shoulders tensed. He placed a hand on her back to try and ease the tension.

He didn’t blame her for what she’d done, not after spending twenty-four hours living her life. Having a baby was fucking hard. Harder than he’d ever really known and it made him think of his own mother. She’d been very far from perfect, letting him and Devon fend for themselves a lot, even more so after Devon died, but she was probably doing the best she could.

Explosive nappies, colic, sleepless nights, and a constant stream of feeding and changing had left him exhausted but his heart felt so full. Full of love and gratitude for someone he hadn’t known existed until yesterday. That Tyrique was his son was in no doubt now, after the DNA results had landed in his email this morning.

He wasn’t sure how he’d feel but relief and a sense of being part of something special filled him. The circumstances would always haunt him but one thing he’d learned through his fuck ups and his friendships, was that holding on to the past would destroy any hope of a future.

“Morning, Titan. Don’t you look like a perky ray of fucking sunshine.”

Reaper clapped him on the shoulder as he walked in and clearly, his exhaustion was showing on his face. “Get fucked, Reaper.”

“Ti, watch your language.”

Titan looked at Maya and then Tyrique. “Shit. Sorry.”

Maya narrowed her eyes, and he tried not to grin at her attempt to be intimidating.

“Maya, you want coffee or tea?” Reaper called from where he was pouring water into his own mug.

“Coffee would be perfect, thank you.”

“Milk? Sugar?”

“A little milk and two sugars, please.”

Titan placed the car seat with his sleeping son in the middle of the conference table and glared at Reaper as he handed Maya her mug and proceeded to sip from his own.

“Where’s mine?”

“You told me to get fudged,” he whispered, earning him an approving smile from Maya for his use of fudge and not fuck. “So, get your own.”

“A-hole.”

Titan made himself a tea, adding milk and sugar and grabbed a packet of custard creams from the cupboard. He offered the pack to Maya, who took two before he took the pack and sat beside his son on the couch.

Leaning back, he tossed his ankle over his knee. “Where is everyone?”

Bás was usually the first to arrive at a meeting, but so far it was just him and Reaper.

“Something came up but he should be here in a few minutes.”

Titan read the tension in his friend’s face and decided not to ask for details in front of Maya.

The door opened and Charlie walked in with Bishop, the pair bickering like the old married couple they were. Behind them were Snow, Hurricane, and Bein. Duchess and Lotus were thankfully working on something else and wouldn’t be joining them. He loved them like sisters but they were a lot. In fact, all the women here were way more terrifying than the men could ever dream of being and he didn’t want to scare Maya off. Not that she couldn’t hold her own, the woman had proved, in the last twenty-four hours, that she was a force to be reckoned with.

“Hey, Titan.”

“Morning, Charlie.”

“You look like crap.”

“Love you, too.”

Tyrique stirred and Titan placed his palm on his belly, and he settled again. It was amazing how his touch could soothe his son. His son. God, would he ever get used to that?

“Maya, the woman with the silver tongue is Charlie, Bishop’s better half. Charlie, this is Maya, Tyrique’s aunt.”

“I’ve heard so much about you, Maya.” Charlie went straight in for a hug and Maya patted her back somewhat awkwardly, making Charlie laugh.

“It’s fine. I was like you, not a fan of hugs but when you’re around this lot enough, you learn to love them.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Charlie.”

“I’m Bein.” The tattooed Scot stepped forward and offered his hand, as Maya took it with a warm smile.

“Another nickname?”

“Yeah, but you can call me Bram if you want.”

“Bein is fine.”

Maya’s eyes skimmed over to Hurricane who was hovering by the cupboard with the biscuits.

“That’s Hurricane. The big guy is always hungry, so excuse him if he goes for food before manners.”

“Hi, Hurricane.”

Hurricane turned to her with a wide grin. “Nice to meet you, Maya. You want anything?”

She shook her head. “I’m good with the custard creams, thanks.”

Bás barrelled in next with Val and a pissed-off-looking Watchdog behind him. Titan eyed him but Bás shook his head, saying to leave it.

“Okay, everyone, let’s get started.”

The team seated themselves with Watchdog taking up position in the corner of the conference room away from the rest of them but near the door. Titan pulled out the chair beside himself for Maya and she took it, giving him a slightly nervous smile.

The conference room was smaller than the war room they’d usually use to plan something like this but it was good enough. It had plain magnolia-coloured walls, a grey tile carpet, and a long wooden table with metal legs and matching chairs. It was functional, which was exactly the purpose. The equipment around the outside of the room included monitors and the latest tracking equipment, although he wasn’t sure any tracker would be better than Monty and Scout, Valentina’s search and rescue dogs.

He hadn’t considered himself a dog person until he’d met those furry beasts and they’d stolen his heart, along with his bacon sandwich.

“Maya, last night Watchdog and I went over all the information you gave us, and it seems that the men who own the club are indeed forcing the girls into sex with paid clients. Whether Rose found out or not we might never know but the men also own the nail salon where she was working.”

Titan glanced at Maya for her reaction and she was nodding as if it made sense, but he could see she was still shaken, if not shocked by this news.

“We also found out Rose wasn’t the only person to die who had links to the club.”

Bás nodded at Watchdog and the screens flickered to life and the images of three young women and two young men came on the screen.

“Over the last two years, these five people have died, either due to apparent suicide or under suspicious circumstances. All of them except this one had recent surgical incisions on their bodies at the time of death.”

“What did the autopsies say?” Titan asked, sitting forward as he rested his arms on the table.

“Nothing. For some unexplained reason, none were carried out.”

Titan nodded not surprised by that, but Maya gasped. “How is that possible? These were young, healthy people like Rose.”

“Rose didn’t have one either.”

Maya frowned. “She must have. The Police told me she had one and her death was ruled as a suicide with death from exsanguination.”

“Well, they lied. Most likely someone was paid off.”

“Bastards.”

Titan felt his eyes go wide as she swore. “Maya, please, the baby.”

He could resist fucking with her after she’d given him a hard time, but also to lighten the shadows in her eyes.

Cocking her head she glared at him but her lips twitched with a smile. “Oh, bite me.”

He wished he could, but he didn’t say so, instead turning back to Bás. “Any knowledge of these kids?”

“All five are under twenty years old, all runaways or had very troubled home lives.”

“So easy targets for these assholes,” Bishop growled.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“What are we going to do about it?” Charlie hissed, her face going hard with anger and revealing the deadly operator under the calm exterior. “I could go undercover.”

“No,” Bishop said forcefully and she scowled.

“Do you need me to shoot you again?”

“Don’t talk dirty to me in front of the kids, baby,” Bishop replied with a wink at his wife.

The fact they could laugh over the fact that Charlie had shot Bishop and left him for dead and could now joke about it blew Titan’s mind, but there was no doubt these two were soulmates.

Maya’s eyes bugged out of her head. “I’m sorry, what?”

Charlie grinned at her and waved a hand. “It’s fine. I was undercover and it was to save his ass, but he just had to be dramatic and nearly die.”

“Undercover? What the hell do you do for a living?”

“I was a spy, but now I’m mostly a stay-at-home mum with our daughter and sometimes I help Watchdog out.”

“I have the distinct feeling that none of you are who you say you are, and this mountain rescue isn’t what it seems. Do you even do mountain rescue?”

“Oh, yeah, we do a few a month, but we have a side hustle doing other stuff, like helping people like you.”

“So, you’re vigilantes?”

Charlie frowned, pursing her lips. “Kinda, but also not.”

Maya swung her gaze to his and he waited for her to speak or react for a long minute, but she didn’t, at least not outwardly. But he could see the wheels turning in her brain and knew he’d have to give her something after Charlie outed them.

“We’ll talk later and I’ll explain.”

“OK.”

“Charlie isn’t going undercover,” Bishop stated again.

“Agreed. They’re very picky about who they take on, and each one is under twenty-two, including the boys.”

“I’m not and they took me on,” Maya announced in confusion.

Bás looked at Watchdog and then Titan as if deciding how much he wanted to reveal.

“Tell us,” he demanded, knowing Maya needed to know the truth.

“You were taken on to work off a debt Rose incurred but we don’t think the debt was from drugs. We believe Rose was going to be the target for a high-profile client but when she got pregnant, it made her unsuitable and therefore useless to them, but they lost money on her and you’re working it off. We can’t know for sure, of course.”

“We need to put someone under at the club and we know they’re looking for bouncers regularly. Then have someone pose as a potential client.”

“I’ll do it. I can be the muscle if you can get someone else under with me.” Titan found himself volunteering before he could think twice but it felt like the right thing to do.

“Good, we can get you under and have you snoop around a little.”

“What about me? Surely it makes more sense. If I go back, I can look around with much less suspicion.”

Titan’s skin bristled at the thought of Maya going back to that hell and putting herself in danger. “It’s too dangerous and Tyrique needs you.”

“No, Tyrique needs his father, his only living parent.”

“I’m trained.”

Maya stood slamming her hands down on the desk beside him. “And I don’t care. She was my sister. I need to do this and I’m not asking.”

“God, I think I love her.” Charlie nudged Snow on the shoulder with this declaration.

“Told you she’s badass.”

Titan raised one brow at his friends as if to say shut the fuck up and they only grinned wider.

“Maya, if you go back in, you do as we tell you. These people are no fucking joke.”

Titan stood abruptly leaning in towards Bás. “Are we really fucking considering this? She could get herself killed by those fuckers.”

“Titan, nobody knows the set-up as well as she does.”

Titan resisted the urge to throw his fist through his boss’s face, but barely. “Then send Duchess under. She can handle it and Watchdog could set up a legend and have her age work for what we need. Fuck, any of the girls could go under with a legend in place and you know it.”

His boss levelled him with a cool look as his jaw ticked. “I can’t. We need Duchess on something else and the other girls are out too.”

“Something more important than taking down the sex trafficking ring that murdered my son’s mother?” Titan grit his teeth, fury turning the room around him a cloudy blood red. “This is bullshit.”

Hurricane pushed between him and Bás. “Take a walk, Titan.”

Titan knew if he didn’t get out of there and calm his irrational anger into submission he was going to do or say something he’d regret.

Storming for the door, he pushed through, almost taking it off the hinges as he headed for his car, leaving everything else behind.