Chapter 2
“With all the unrest, why would Horatio allow one of his top dogs to take a vacation?” I asked, mystified.
It was the next morning, and Kurt, Pops, Greg, Paul, a few representatives from the other communities, my guys, and I were all in the conference room.
Ethan, Vance, Arianna, and a couple of his friends filled us in further with the details we needed to successfully pull off these missions.
We were trying to figure out when and where we would extract all of Horatio’s men.
We had a small window to get them out before Horatio realized they weren’t checking in.
With Horatio’s arrogance and too many pans in the fire, he believed that occasional check-ins were sufficient to keep his fingers on the pulse of his operations.
Ethan had been working tirelessly for months to extricate himself, hoping he had bought himself, and now us, some time to finally take Horatio down.
“For two reasons,” Ethan explained. “The first is because Casey has two wives. They have no clue about the type of work he does for Horatio, and if they did, they would leave him. If he doesn’t put effort into their relationship, they would voice their displeasure.
He can’t lose the connection and power they bring to him, so he attempts to combine his work trips with his vacations.
“The second reason is that this resort is on the outskirts of a very destitute community. They made sure that their interests align with his personal life as well. They saw this area as a perfect opportunity to fill the areas you guys have been giving them hits on. In short, they need more test subjects and recruits.”
“This location provides the perfect opportunity to lay low for his operations, especially since all the communities in the US are on high alert. Plus, this area is prime hunting ground. When young men and women disappear, their families are too poor for local officials to care, and most of those officials are so corrupt they will look the other way for the right incentive. Horatio has been vetting these people for months. They are willing to turn a blind eye as Casey and his team of degenerates smuggle out nearly thirty people, ranging from sixteen to twenty-five.”
“Casey’s wives can’t be that na?ve,” Troy scoffed, leaning back in his seat as he perused the files Ethan had ready for us.
“Are we sure they aren’t in on it? It says here their gifts are gravity control and blood manipulation.
What do they think he does for Horatio? Why hasn’t Horatio tried to recruit them? ”
My eyes widened slightly when I realized what Troy had just relayed to us.
I had learned a lot about the gifted community in the months since I was introduced to it, but I was still shocked and discovered new things every day.
Gravity control seemed like a pretty cool gift to have, but blood manipulation felt a bit creepy, if you asked me.
I could see how it worked in her profession, but in reality, it didn’t sound like the most appealing gift.
“Casey’s wives are actually two very intelligent women,” Vance stated fervently, adjusting his glasses.
“He’s just one of the greatest con artists to ever live.
Plus, his wives are very successful and busy with their careers as a doctor and a lawyer.
They think he is a day trader. Horatio has a lot of legitimate businesses.
When Casey isn’t doing shady dealings for Horatio, he does day trading. ”
I looked around the table and noticed I wasn’t the only one who had noticed how defensive Vance had become.
It was probably the most I had heard him speak since I met him.
Part of me wondered if he held a torch for one or both of his brother’s connections.
I studied him further, my brows slightly knitted.
Vance was a tall, skeletal-looking man. I swear my arms and thighs were twice as large as his, and some people had told me I should still gain more weight.
I figured they must think he had something medically wrong.
He was almost sickly pale and jumped at nearly every noise.
In short, at first, the man kind of freaked me out.
If we hadn’t already thoroughly vetted him, I would have thought he had something to hide.
Luckily, I had learned not to judge a book by its cover and discovered that his older brother, a loyal lap dog of Horatio’s, was the lowest of the low.
He had the ability to, well, siphon off people, and yes, it was just as horrible as it sounds.
He could drain one person to “fill” up another.
The two people didn’t even need to have the same gift.
If used correctly, he could take a little from one person, and they would never notice.
Unfortunately, he took great delight in draining his brother so often that it left him physically weak.
The stronger the person he siphoned from, the stronger he could make the person he was filling. We discovered he was the reason Alison had remained as strong as she had all these years without Pops in her life. Casey was the prime example that a gift in the wrong hands could be a terrible thing.
The fact that he could drain a person and store it for later use was a dangerous ability to have.
His stamina was remarkable, since he could hold it for hours.
It was a testament to how long and how often he had used his gift.
I could admire him if he were using it for good, but instead, he used it to drain people of their gifts so they could be abducted.
Ethan cleared his throat. “And there is no way Sylvie and Annika would ever be persuaded to join Horatio. Sylvie is a pediatric surgeon, and Annika is a family court attorney who does a lot of pro bono work on the side. Working for Horatio would go against everything they stand for.”
“Horatio would love to have their talents, but their families, their support systems, would notice immediately if he ever tried to use any other gifts against them. Annika’s dad and Sylvie’s moms are also very powerful people. They’re just too big for him to even think about going against.
“Casey can’t, or won’t, cause waves with them because he knows that without them, he wouldn’t be as strong as he is. Plus, he has an ego the size of Texas, so he loves being seen with two highly successful and beautiful women whenever he goes out.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier if we just told his wives what he was up to?” Jaxson asked, speaking at the same time as Greg.
“How does he explain his absences from his wives on these so-called vacations?”
Ethan smirked, reminding me of the man I had first met.
His expression was cocky, and it made me all too aware of his Ken-doll looks.
“Oh, we have every intention of letting Silvie and Annika know exactly what their husband has been up to for the last ten years. He doesn’t have to explain his whereabouts because he sends them out shopping or books them for spa appointments whenever he needs to neutralize the victims. If he ever runs late to meet them for a meal or a planned excursion, he always has a feasible excuse.
He was running late on the golf course. He stopped to get them their favorite flowers or jewelry.
On the outside, he’s the perfect husband. ”
“And they’re just going to believe us and take the news easily?” Jace inquired.
Ethan shifted in his seat, and I could see discomfort crossing his features. He opened and closed his mouth as if hesitant to say something.
Arianna seemed to notice his unease and spoke up. “As smart as they are, they won’t believe us without hard evidence. We were wondering if Jaxson could help us out there.”
Arianna and I had run into each other at breakfast. My first impressions of her were favorable.
She was the exact opposite of Bridgette in every way, and I could see how much she loved Ethan.
There was no denying their connection, and not just their gift connection.
Honestly, even if Bridgette weren’t such a harpy and was a typical female, I could understand how any woman could feel intimidated if she were in a relationship with the same man.
Arianna was sweet, caring, and very intelligent.
She could have easily been a doctor herself.
She had a full academic and softball scholarship to an Ivy League school.
She could have gone further in her career, both in softball and in the hospital, if she had wanted to, but she chose not to.
She fell in love with the babies in the NICU, and when a spot opened up at a training hospital, she jumped on it.
She chose not to go to graduate school to pursue her doctorate and turned down an opportunity to join the USA women’s softball team. In short, she was successful and kind.
“In what way?” Jaxson asked with zero hesitation.
If anything, he looked eager. He was always up for any type of reindeer games. The more mischievous it was, the more likely he would jump on it. He always welcomed the chance to create chaos.
“So, this might be crossing the line.” Ethan cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Vance frowned deeply, clearly not on board with their plan. “It is. They shouldn’t have to be traumatized in order to give them proof.”
“Tell us what your plan is,” Kurt commanded curtly.
Ethan hesitantly began. “Tomorrow afternoon, Casey has booked the women for a spa treatment. At that time, he will go to the bar and have a drink, while buying a few rounds for others, just in case his wives look at the account and notice he only had one drink, which isn’t like him.
His team will be neutralizing the victims while he is drinking.
While Casey heads down to the bar, Cordova and Seager will intercept Sylvie and Annika.
They will safely incapacitate and silence the women.