Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
Barrett
We’ve stumbled on a bigger treasure trove of information than we thought. Morrison’s computer has more names and contacts that lead back to Campbell than we can count. The code Corvin wrote put us into his files, his emails, his calendar, and from there into his phone.
For the past few hours, the three of us have been pouring through every route of communication in Rafe’s home office.
Fain sifts through emails, reading some aloud.
I’m watching a live show of his text messages.
And Rafe is sorting through files and connecting names, making a list of potential problem people.
The only thing we don’t have is a video feed of any conversations occurring in his office.
We considered it, but thought it best not to leave anything they might find, no matter how slim that would be.
Messages from Sage appear on the screen, and my lungs constrict. It was a mistake to leave her last night.
“We should lure him out and just kill him. Let the mayor pick up the pieces and deal with whoever tries to take his place.” Fain rolls his neck with a groan.
A text stream between Campbell and Morrison populates in front of me. There’s nothing sinister about it, but it’s a conversation regarding Sage taking on some properties for Campbell. Morrison says she can be stubborn. My jaw clenches and I’m inclined to agree with Fain.
“No.” Rafe doesn’t look up. “I want to burn his organization.”
I share a look with Fain. “That isn’t the job.” As much as I wish it was. This could be over quickly.
“It is now,” Rafe says through his teeth.
“Says the mayor?” asks Fain.
“Says me.”
“Why?” I flash my gaze between the ongoing text messages and Rafe.
“He tried to take Hannah once. Not him specifically, but it’s the system he’s set up.
I wanted to burn down every single shelter in the city then, but some people get genuine help from them.
More than go missing.” Hannah is Rafe’s ward.
Has been since she showed up on his doorstep fifteen and pregnant, years ago.
Although an adult now and no longer living under the same roof as Rafe, he doesn’t let her stray far without him knowing.
“The mayor didn’t say to expose him.”
“Too bad.” Rafe has his focus tightly restrained on the files he’s searching.
This is going to end with an explosion and my promise to Sage that she would walk away from this unharmed and unaffected is no longer possible.
Her boss is in this deep. Now that Rafe wants to dismantle the organization and expose it all, Morrison is going down too.
Which means so is Morrison and Harper Real Estate.
Fuck. I groan.
Fain frowns my way and I realize I cursed aloud. Shaking my head, I tell him to ignore it. Rafe isn’t paying attention to either of us.
“Then we need a plan.” I’m not going to go against Rafe.
I need to jump on board fast and figure out my own shit regarding Sage.
She’s small in the company and has no association with Campbell.
The worst that will happen to her is she’ll lose her job simply because the entire firm will no longer exist. She’ll be okay.
“We don’t need to dismantle everything, just open enough doors, crack enough windows, that authorities are forced to look deeper.” Fain suggests while stretching again, his eyes still scanning the screen in front of him.
“A neatly tied up confession package sitting next to his dead body should do the trick.” It’s a simple way to get the job done sooner rather than later.
“That’s a start. I want to break a piece inside every branch he’s created. Big enough that it all unravels at the same time.” Pure menace flares in his narrowed eyes.
“Fuck, Rafe. You didn’t have this determination when we started this job. What the hell happened?” I’m still scanning the messages coming and going in front of me as I ask. I don’t want to miss anything important.
“Fuck, I don’t know.” Rafe throws his head back, running his hands over his face to spear into his hair. “The more about him I find, the amount of things he’s done and is doing, the more it puts me in a fucking rage.”
With Hannah at the front of it. Fain and I see how he looks at her. All I have to do it is place an image of Sage in Campbell’s clutches and a similar rage builds inside me. “I get it.”
“Yup.” Fain agrees, no doubt imagining Paisley, who he currently has tucked away in his home. Their home now.
“It’s unrealistic, I know.” Rafe sighs.
“Yes, it is. But we can cause significant damage.” I nod, agreeing to a plan we don’t yet have.
“The top pin in each branch, each arm of income he has, every leader inside the shelters—that’s the target list.” Fain grins. “We got rid of one already,” he says referring to Dr. Bradbury.
“But we need to take them out close together or we’ll spook Campbell. He’s still top priority.” And his closest connection seems to be Morrison based on the communications we’re currently going through.
A calm settles over Rafe. We silently go back to work with our new goal in mind. We’re going to break the city.
Rafe’s calm doesn’t infect me. This will break the city, but it will also upend Sage’s life. It was foolish to think I could end my arrangement with her. She’s directly in the centre of it all.