Chapter Three
Knox
“Hey, Prez, do you have a minute?” I ask from my desk. Ghost is sitting at his desk on the other side of the room, looking over some papers. “We might have a problem.”
“I don’t much care for problems, Knox,” he sighs.
“Yeah, well, this is a problem you might want to care about. I’ll toss it on the TV screen.”
With a few clicks, I have my screen projecting onto the TV.
“What am I looking at?” he asks.
“Currently, it’s the security feed I have set up inside of the mayor’s private home,” I explain.
“And you are watching his house because?”
“Because he asked me to, of course,” I say. “But that’s not what I wanted to show you.”
I minimize the mayor’s feed and pull up the Obsidian’s front gate feed.
“Watch.”
“I’m not seeing anything, Knox,” he says.
“Just wait.”
Several seconds pass before it happens.
“It’s glitching,” he tells me. “I can’t see the footage clearly.”
“Now, watch this.”
I shove the gate feed into the corner of the screen and pull up every camera angle I have in and around the Obsidian clubhouse. Now, you can see well over a dozen different screens simultaneously. Our entire property.
“Is there something wrong with the connection?” he asks when he notices the glitches are all over the place. “We’ve never had this issue before.”
“Pay close attention and tell me what you see on the screen as a whole. Not just the individual feeds.”
I remain silent while Ghost works through what he’s seeing.
“It’s a pattern. They’re all patterns,” he whispers. “What the hell is going on?”
“It’s more than a pattern, Ghost,” I say. “It’s a signal. And a warning.”
“What type of signal?” he asks, turning wide eyes toward me. “A warning for what?”
“You might want to get the Dark Sentinels here as soon as possible,” I warn. “I’ve made contact with Emily Taylor.”
I’ve spent the past two weeks working on finding Emily. No one can just vanish without leaving some sort of trace.
Three days ago, I got a hit off of the facial recognition software I’ve been running on the last image of her that I could find. She was located at a mom-and-pop shop in Binghamton, New York. The same place her husband has been living since her disappearance.
“They’re on their way,” he says, pocketing his cell.
“One more thing,” I say, unsure how he will handle this second part. “You might want to get the girls and kids to a safe house. And tell Taylor that if he has vulnerable people attached to his club, he needs to do the same.”
“What the fuck, Knox?” he shouts.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard Ghost raise his voice since I met him. And I don’t think I ever want to hear it again.
“It’s just a precaution,” I add quickly. “As of right now, everyone here is safe. But, as soon as I connect with Emily again, I’ll be compromising our location. And, according to one of her warnings,” I gesture to the flickering images on the screen. “The people involved are deadly. So, just to be safe, have King take them somewhere we don’t know about.”
“Again? You’ve already been talking to her? Damnit, Knox,” he mutters, pulling his phone back out and making the call to keep Maddy, Sophie, and the kids safe.
***
The Obsidians, minus King and the girls, and most of the Sentinels are all gathered around the meeting table in the office.
Not Ben, though. Interesting.
My nerves don’t seem as bad as they were the last time they were here. But it might have something to do with the man currently watching my every move. My Little side might not want to come out anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m dead.
Taylor’s very presence is demanding.
So many times, I’ve wanted to dig further into his past and find everything I could about him, but my heart wasn’t in it.
I do want to know everything about this man, but I want to hear it from him.
Not that it will ever happen. He’s a Daddy Dom and will want to settle down with a Little of his own one day. Most likely a female. They always seem to be the favorite among us Littles.
I mean, among those Littles.
Not to mention how messed up I am.
Who would ever want me and my messed-up head?
“You okay, boy?”
I glance up at Steel, who is standing next to my desk.
“Yeah,” I answer honestly. “I actually feel really calm considering the meeting we’re about to have.”
“Do you need me to stand here with you?”
I glance over at where Taylor is sitting, and I feel my whole body blush when I realize he’s looking right back at me.
“No, thank you,” I say. “I think I’m fine, actually.”
Steel looks back at the table where the men are sitting and sighs.
“Are you alright?” I ask.
“Never thought I’d approve of the man that would one day come for you,” he says. “But he’s a good and protective Dom. A great man.”
“It’s not like that,” I whisper. “I’m not a Little anymore, remember? Besides, I need to focus on my mental health and getting better.”
“If only that’s something you would actually do on your own, little one,” Blaze says, placing a bottle of water next to my keyboard. “You need someone to take care of you, and you sure as hell won’t let us do it. I wish we would have knocked your ass out and made you move in with us months ago. I hate you being here alone so much.”
“Yeah, right,” I laugh. “As if any of you would ever let me stay here alone. I know someone is always here. Even if I don’t see them.”
“If he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”
“I told you, Steel, it’s not like that. Now, can you two go and sit down before you cause a scene?”
“You wouldn’t like our types of scenes, boy,” Steel grins.
I’m sure my face is as red as an apple as they take their seats at the table. Seeing that everyone is either smiling or laughing, I know they heard him.
“I’m going to put a virus in every single electronic device you own,” I tell my evil friend. “All the way down to your watch.”
“Alright, let’s get this meeting started,” Ghost says. “Knox has something to show you.”
Alright. Spotlight, meet Knox.
Too many eyes are on me, so I turn and focus my attention on my computers.
“Two nights ago,” I start, pulling up the same feed I was showing Ghost. “I started getting interference on my security feeds right after I got the ping that facial recognition found something.”
Turning slightly, I look at Taylor.
“Your sister is alive,” I say softly.
“Thank fuck,” he sighs, lowering his head.
The rest of the Sentinels have the same reaction as Taylor. Emily must mean something to this whole club.
“She’s in Binghamton, New York,” I continue. “The same location that Edward is currently living.”
“She’s probably at his house,” Venom says. “We could just get his address and pay a little visit.”
The approvals echo around the room.
“It’s not that simple,” I continue. “Like I said, my security feed started glitching right after facial recognition found her. This isn’t something I should probably mention, but I work for many different high-security agencies worldwide. None of which I have to remove myself from this very seat to do. I’m only telling you that so that you can understand something. Computer coding is wired into my brain. I need you to believe me when I tell you what that message is saying.”
I point to the TV screen, where I have the entirety of Emily’s warning flashing on repeat.
“It just looks like your connection isn’t very strong,” Reynolds says.
“My connection is perfect,” I respond.
“They’re flashing S.O.S,” Taylor explains.
“Holy fuck, you’re right, boss.”
“Which is what caught my attention a few days ago,” I admit. “I was so distracted by my search for Emily that I almost missed it. I was about to have someone come in to rewire the entire building. Then, when I pulled up every feed I have on this location at once, it clicked. Every three screens show one letter of SOS in Morse code.”
“It stops after the ninth screen,” Taylor remarks.
“Exactly,” I nod. “They were very careful not to get caught by sending that message. Spreading it out for each feed was a genius move. Especially knowing that there was a high probability that it wouldn’t have been noticed at all.”
“The last seven screens are still glitching, though,” Jax says. “Is it a different message in Morse code?”
“No,” I answer. Minimizing the nine screens flashing the SOS and leaving the last seven on the screen. Each one appears as if the camera feed is blurry. “At first, I thought someone was reaching out for help by hacking into our security network. And I’ll admit that it took me several long hours to finally figure out what was happening.”
“Is it Emily?” Taylor asks. “Is she asking for help?”
“It is Emily,” I nod. “But she isn’t asking for help.”
With the press of a few buttons, the blurry images that overlay my feed enlarge and enhance until everything is as clear as day.
“What the hell is that?” Parker asks.
“That is computer coding,” I answer. “And it’s a warning. She wasn’t asking for help with that SOS. She was telling me to stop.”
Ignoring the outbursts at the table, I decode the message for all to hear.
The millions of ones and zeros on the screen are slowly replaced with the face of a determined and exhausted-looking woman with black hair, green eyes, and a pale face.
“Emily,” Taylor whispers. “My beautiful baby sister.”
“Knox Mercer,” she says quietly. “As I’m sure you have figured out, my name is Emily Taylor. I know my brother and his club are behind you searching for me, but you have to stop. You must stop. Where you’re headed is very dangerous. There are coders here that watch my every move and ones that are only tasked with keeping anyone from finding me. They already know you’re looking. I did everything I could on my end to keep them from finding out who you are, but your name is big in the programming world. They found out yesterday and have already told the ones in charge.
They’re watching you like a hawk, Knox. They have eyes on your apartment and your clubhouse, as well as your online activity. Right now, you’re safe, but the second you try and reach out to me, they have orders to kill you and anyone else in their way.
Do not respond to this message. Not in Morse code, not in encrypted emails or coding language. Just forget I exist. Tell Anthony that I’m fine. I’m alive, and I’m not being hurt. Well, as long as I listen and do as I’m told. Which I have been. Sort of. You know what to do, Knox.”
With those final words, the screen goes blank.
I’ve watched this video several times, so I’m not surprised by anything she’s said. The men, however, are.
“Get the fuck off that computer,” Blaze orders.
“No way in hell are you continuing,” Steel adds.
“I agree,” Taylor says. “I’m grateful for what you’ve done, but there is absolutely no way you are going to continue. I will not have you harmed.”
The rest of the men all nod their agreement, and I can’t help but giggle.
“What’s so funny, little boy?” Taylor says, standing and taking a few steps forward.
“You Doms are always so dramatic,” I answer.
“You think wanting to keep you safe and happy is dramatic?” he asks, moving to stand directly in front of my desk.
“There’s more to the message,” I say, looking down at my hands. Maintaining eye contact is impossible.
“Take a look at the last screen.”
I enlarge the coded message on the TV and wait.
“Yk tgenmzp, Qpimdp Ftaybeaz ue wupzmbbuzs kagzs sudxe mzp dqzfuzs ftqy agf. Tq’e iadwuzs iuft ftq sdagb uz Zqi Kadw omxxqp ftq Oqxfuo Omdfqxe. U tmhq bqabxq imfotuzs yk nmow mzp U iaz’f nq tqdq ygot xazsqd. U’xx qjbxmuz qhqdkftuzs xmfqd. Bxqmeq, fqxx yk ndaftqd fa nmow arr mzp imuf. Kag pa ftq emyq, Wzaj. Ftqeq bqabxq mdq ufotuzs fa sqf fa kag. Paz’f suhq ftqy m dqmeaz fa.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Ghost asks.
“It’s widely known as the Ceasar Cypher,” I answer. “It’s an encryption technique where you take each letter in your message and shift it forward or backward a specific number of spaces. In this case, it’s encoded with a forward shift of sixty-four. So, the first word is yk, and if we shift that forward sixty-four times, the word changes to My. The second word is tgenmzp. With the forward shift of sixty-four, it changes to husband. So on and so forth.”
“That is really fuckin’ brilliant,” Taylor says, looking at the screen.
“Yeah, your sister is incredibly smart.”
“Say’s the brilliant mind who figured it out.”
I smile even though my face is on fire.
Again.
“Have you decoded the whole message?” Jax asks.
I pull up the message and show them.
My husband, Edward Thompson, is kidnapping young girls and renting them out. He’s working with the group in New York called the Celtic Cartels. I have people watching my back, and I won’t be here much longer. I’ll explain everything later. Please, tell my brother to back off and wait. You do the same, Knox. These people are itching to get to you. Don’t give them a reason to.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not stepping down on this one,” I inform the room. “Emily sent some files that I’m running through missing persons. Guys, these kids are as young as eleven years old. I know this isn’t something we typically deal with and maybe sending the information to the Phantoms would be our best bet, but something in my gut is telling me that I need to help.
I’m stuck within these walls day in and day out, and it makes me feel useless. I need to do what I can to help. None of you even need to be involved. I just wanted Taylor and his men to know that Emily was safe.”
“Is she, though?” Parker asks.
I look from Parker to Taylor and choose my words carefully. There was more to Emily’s message than what I shared.
“No lying, Pup,” Taylor warns. “It’s okay if there is something you don’t want to tell me, but don’t lie.”
Pup? I used to dream that my Daddy Dom would one day call me that. It’s always been my favorite name for submissives like myself.
I don’t want this stranger calling me Pup. That’s being saved for someone special.
But, when he said it, why did I feel my entire being relax?
“She can handle herself,” I answer. “As long as she does what they tell her to do, they leave her alone.”
“What are they having her do, Pup?” Taylor asks.
Fudge.
“Your sister looks far younger than her twenty-three years,” I answer.
“She has a baby face,” Parker smiles.
“She’s our baby sister,” Hayes says. “Blood or not, she belongs to all of us. We just want her to come home.”
I’m afraid that if Anthony and the guys find out what they’re forcing me to do, they will hate me. I already hate myself.
I internally read that message from Emily over in my head. I don’t think these men will hate her. But, then again, I don’t really know them all that well.
Taylor opens my still-sealed bottle of water and hands it to me.
“Drink,” he orders quietly.
“I hate water,” I mutter before taking a sip.
Feeling a little overwhelmed, I stand and move to the hallway. I’m still in view of everyone in the room, but I just need to remind myself that I can escape. There’s no one between me and the front door.
I’m safe.
“You’re safe, Pup,” Taylor echoes my thoughts, looking concerned.
Double fudge.
“She’s afraid that you’re going to hate her,” I admit.
“Nothing could ever make me hate her,” Taylor frowns.
Let’s hope.
“Emily is being used as a pawn to lure in lonely children she finds online into the hands of the Celtic Cartel,” I say. “She’s being forced to play the part of a runaway teenager wanting to help others like her. After she gains their trust, she has them meet someone at an undisclosed location. Someone working for this Irish Cartel then kidnaps them and trains them before putting them on the market.”
Silence.
Every pair of unbelieving eyes is on me as they process what I’ve said.
“What the actual fuck?” Reynolds yells, breaking the silence. “Why the fuck would she agree to do something so horrible?”
“She doesn’t have a choice,” I say. “She refused to do as they asked at first. As punishment, they raped a ten-year-old boy right in front of her with the threat to do so again every time she didn’t do as she was told. The second time she refused, they raped another young child. What would you have her do, Reynolds? She can’t walk away; they’ll kill her and all of you.”
“How long have you been in communication with her?” Taylor asks calmly.
What would it feel like to be that in control of my emotions? I can see it in his eyes that he’s worried and angry, but his voice and face don’t show it.
“A few days,” I admit. “We’re communicating using the Ceasar Cypher. She only sent the video as a distraction if someone found out and came looking. Our emails have multiple layers of encryption piled on top of the Ceasar method that it’s near impossible to decipher it. But we don’t want to take any chances, so I told her I would reach out again in a few days.”
“What she said in the video, is it true? Do they already know who you are and that you’re trying to find Emily?” Ghost asks.
“Yep,” I say. “And they know exactly where I am.”
I sure hope my face isn’t showing how absolutely terrified I am at the thought of some man just waiting for me to leave this building so they can snatch me away. I mean, it’s not like there aren’t people out there who keep their eyes on my online activity. But knowing someone is watching me in person is freaking me the heck out.
Why can’t I breathe?