Chapter Twenty-Seven
Amelie
“Is this some sort of joke?” I frown when I enter the conference room and see two young men sitting before me. They can’t be much older than I am, and I was expecting there to be three of them.
“Sorry, boss?” One of them questions. He has unruly brown curly hair, which he’s attempted to tame back into a ponytail or bun but it isn’t really working.
Curls are already springing free, and I know from experience that by the end of the night, it’ll be a mess.
His beard is neatly trimmed though and he looks smart in his tux. Respectful.
“I was expecting three of you. You are the three musketeers, no?”
The second guy snorts derisively and my eyes cut to him.
Compared to his friend, he looks like he’s made less than zero effort.
Yes, he’s wearing a tux, but his short dark locks are messy, there’s oil or grease or something under his nails, his shirt buttons are open to reveal a white tee underneath and he’s wearing black biker boots, which he currently has up on the table.
“People have died for less,” I snap, glaring at him until he removes his feet.
“Where’s the third?”
“We had a personal situation,” the first answers. “Sorry, we weren’t all able to make it.”
“That is not my problem. When I arrange a meeting with you, I expect all three of you to be in attendance. You’ve wasted my time.”
I go to walk from the room, but I’m stopped by the scruffy guy calling out angrily, “Are you telling me you wouldn’t skip some stuck up party if one of your family was in trouble?”
“Is the third in trouble?” I ask. It’ll be a real fucking inconvenience for me if he is.
“Let’s make proper introductions,” the first guy says, smiling warmly. He has a nice smile. “I’m East, this is Devon.”
“Amelie. And the absent guy?”
“Is Tex. We are sorry he couldn’t be here but it was a family emergency.”
“Tell me about this emergency,” I say, taking my seat. Devon does a double take.
“You want to use our meeting time to chat? I thought you wanted to be debriefed on—”
“That can wait. I’ve been told that you three are the best at what you do. Considering who my best friend is, that’s very impressive. So if you have a family problem, it means I have a problem, and other business can wait.”
“It’s our girl—” East begins but is cut off by Devon kicking him under the table. Thankfully he ignores the warning and keeps talking. “She got into some trouble and it left her…vulnerable. She can’t be left alone for long periods of time and obviously we couldn’t bring her here tonight.”
“I see.” I sigh. It must be so hard keeping secrets from someone you love. I hated being kept in the dark, and that was for such a short time frame. “You know we’re looking to recruit women into The Order now.”
East smiles tightly at me, a gentle refusal but Devon explodes.
“Absolutely not!”
I raise a brow at him.
“What Callie went through…it changed her. She doesn’t have what it takes.”
I have no idea what she went through, but my gut tells me to fight for this girl.
Not to have her in the organisation, but to back her and believe her.
No one believed I had what it takes, and to be honest, most of the people out there in the room are probably hoping I’ll fail. But I’m determined to prove them wrong.
“What happened to her?”
“She was groomed, kidnapped, trafficked and sold. Tortured and abused,” Devon informs me matter of factly. My stomach drops.
“How did she survive?”
“We called in every favour we had to get her location, and we’re able to intercept her en route to her newest buyer,” East mutters bitterly.
“And the ones responsible?” I ask sharply.
“We’re working on it,” Devon mutters darkly.
“Let us help you.”
“We asked The Order for help, and were told that unless we could pay for the resources, we were on our own. We were tapped out just from getting her location. Twice. We missed her the first time by hours.”
Anger bubbles in my gut and I know, just know that The Order’s refusal to get involved came from Harold.
“Well, that was before,” I tell them calmly, though I’m feeling anything but. “You may have noticed that we’re under new management now, and things are being done differently. You have our entire resources at your disposal to bring down the monsters who did this to your girl.”
Devon scoffs.
“What?” I challenge.
“And what if it turns out that she was taken by our skin rings?” I freeze. What? “You didn’t know? What kind of leader doesn’t even know what filthy fucking pies she’s got her pretty little fingers in?”
“Devon, that’s enough,” East warns, but I’m reeling. I once asked the guys about the more criminal aspects of The Order, and they swore to me that the organisation didn’t deal in sex slaves or children. Were they lying to me?
There’s a knock at the door, and someone clears their throat. I blink and call out for whoever it is to enter.
Slate pops his head around the door and frowns when he sees my face.
“Everything okay here?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Just to say we have to start in a few minutes.”
“Give us ten.”
He nods and closes the door once more. I turn back to the table.
“I meant it when I said things are different now. You have the tools at your disposal and I want regular updates. Whatever you need to get this task done, do it. There’s no charge or expectation of favours.
” Devon looks incredulous – he doesn’t believe me but I don’t have the time to convince him I mean what I say.
He’ll learn soon enough. “However, I still need to know about your other assignment, so fill me in. The abridged version please.”
“Thank you,” East replies quickly. I hold up a dismissive hand.
It’s the right thing to do, and if they’re not mistaken and The Order really is dealing in skin, I owe them big time.
Because my priority is now shutting that shit down.
“We extracted the information from Sebastian. It wasn’t much to go on.
He was working exclusively with Harold but doesn’t know his location or his plans. ”
Disappointment lances through me.
“But, he was able to give us one thing we didn’t expect,” Devon interjects.
“Which was?”
“He was working with someone. Sebastian never met her, but he heard them talking on the phone together. Often.”
“Her? Are you sure it was a woman?” Harold is such a misogynist I can’t really believe he would willingly have a female partner for his plans.
“He said she had an accent. Australian. A bit like yours, actually.”
My disbelief grows as I’m overwhelmed by questions: What the actual fuck was Harold up to? Who was he working with? Where the fuck is he? Worst of all, what is he planning next?
“Thank you for the intel,” I say stiffly, getting to my feet. “Please don’t feel obliged to stay for the event. Go home to your girl, you’re excused.”
I exit the room and Slate immediately jumps on me.
“Amelie! What’s wrong? You’re white as a sheet!”
“What the hell happened in there?” Onyx storms down the corridor with a face like thunder. “Who do I have to kill?”
“No one,” I reply, taking a shaky breath. “But I have to ask you something, all of you, and I need total honesty. Can you round up Sawyer, Kalen, your dad…oh and Baxter, Frost and Jasper too.”
“The waiters are wanting to bring the starters out, can it wait?” Onyx asks gently, but I still snap at him.
“Does it seem like it can wait?”
“Alright, consider it done. But let’s move somewhere else to talk,” he replies, nodding at the door I’ve just come from to remind me that people could be listening in.
I allow Slate to guide me to a different room that looks identical to the one I was just in, and he helps me into my seat. I drum my fingers impatiently on the table, but I don’t have to wait long. Onyx returns with everyone, Baxter lazily bringing up the rear looking put out at being summoned.
“Amelie, what’s wrong?” Monty asks.
“I have to ask you all something, and I need a hundred percent honesty from you all, no matter what. You can’t lie to me about this.
” My boyfriends all exchange nervous glances and suddenly Baxter looks less annoyed at being dragged in here, and more intrigued.
“Did you know that The Order deals in skin?”
That falls upon the room like a bomb. There’s a second of calm as my question settles and registers – too much calm – and then all hell explodes.
“What?”
“No way!”
“Absolutely not!”
“Not a fucking chance.”
“No, boss.”
“Negative, ma’am.”
I believe them. Their shock is too horrified to be anything but genuine.
The only ones who don’t speak are Baxter and Monty. I turn to Monty first.
“Well?”
“I did not know that, Amelie, no…” he hesitates.
“But you suspected.”
“My father—” I cut him off.
“Is dead. You think we were throwing our resources into the search to find him before now? I want everyone on this at first light.”
“I’ll do it,” Baxter offers in the lowest, most dangerous tone I’ve ever heard from him. He’s shaking – actually shaking – with barely contained rage.
“Baxter?”
“Consider it done. This is personal.”
“He’s working with someone. A woman,” I call out. He nods once and storms from the room.
My gut is churning. I so wanted the musketeers to be wrong. There’s still a chance that Harold’s – I can’t bear to think of it as The Order’s…mine – skin ring isn’t connected to their girl’s abduction but my intuition is screaming at me.
Fuck.
“We shut this down. I need all the intel. Harold must have files, information, records. If he’s been trading under The Order name or funds, there will be a trail, no matter how hard he’s tried to bury it.
Onyx, I want you to oversee the manhunt.
I know Baxter wants to take this on,” I say, making a mental note to find out why.
“But I need everyone looking. Sawyer, I want you to oversee intel, Mackenzie can help, I suspect but she will need to be watched carefully. Find out what else Harold has been doing. I want to reassess our assets and clean up. I’m talking, a full audit of every account, favour and member.
No more secrets, and I don’t give a shit about anyone’s privacy.
Monty, I need access to Harold’s house or houses if he has more than one.
I want you to go through them with a fine tooth comb and pass anything you find on to Sawyer, no matter how insignificant it may seem, but also send it to me too.
I don’t want to be in the loop with this, I am the fucking epicentre of operations.
Nothing gets passed without my direct say-so. ”
They all nod, not even questioning my instructions. It feels like a turning point. This is it, I’m in charge and doing something. Something worthwhile at that, too.
“What about me?” Kalen asks, serious.
“You’re overseeing the final initiation of the females.”
His face brightens and I quickly add, “Slate, you’re overseeing Kalen. Keep him in line and ensure they have a smooth beginning within our ranks.”
We’re interrupted by a knock at the door and Cap’s head appears a moment later.
“Are you ready, boss? The troops are getting restless.”
“We’re coming now, but they’ll wait all damn night if I tell them to.
” I take a deep breath and steel myself.
Right now, I don’t want some fancy ass pointless party.
I want to get to work. I need to. My veins are on fire, burning with the need to find Harold and flush out his corruption once and for all.
I feel like I won’t be able to rest until it’s done, like this is my purpose now. “We start this shit at first light.”
Sawyer slips a calming hand into mine and squeezes gently. I look up at him.
“Breathe,” he tells me. “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
“No but it can be destroyed in less than one.”
“I’m not going to let that happen.”
“That’s not your job, it’s mine,” I reply.
“And you’re not alone. You did amazing back there.”
“Really?” I felt like I was panicking and firing off the first instructions that came into my head.
“You did exactly what I would have done. You’re ready for this.” He gives my hand another squeeze, and we come to a standstill outside the double doors that lead to the ballroom where tonight’s event is taking place. Inside the room, the MC for the evening calls everyone to order and introduces us.
Me.
Here goes nothing.