Chapter 50 #2
“That night, they came for me. I was getting ready for bed, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in one of Elias’s bedrooms.” She pauses to take a calming breath. There is a slight sheen of sweat collecting along her brow, and her eyes are constricted. She is getting ready to run.
“I think that is good for now,” I tell her gently. Relief washes over her face, and Ava smiles at me gratefully. “What we need to figure out is where the McDonoughs disappeared to and who the hell sent those men to my club.”
“Timbres are known for guarding the Dollhouse,” Kenzi speaks up from the corner. “So we know that those impetus fucks must have sent them.”
“That can’t be their actual name.” Vas shakes his head. “That’s more like a subtitle and not a moniker for a secret society.”
“If that’s the case, then we’re fucked,” Seamus grunts.
“They aren’t so secret if you know about them, are they?” Kiernan shoots him a look.
“Fuck you, Kiernan,” Seamus sneers. “I’m just saying that if all we have is their tag line, it’s going to make it a lot harder.”
“Not necessarily,” Bridget cuts in. “We know that most upper echelon members of the society carry a cane with a silver cross, which means all we have to do is create a program that monitors CCTV footage to look for that specific variable.”
“That could take forever,” Mark complains. “Not to mention that they picked a cane that is highly popular. There could be hundreds, if not thousands, of people walking around the world with that same exact cane.”
The kid has a point.
“Except,” Bridget narrows her eyes at him, “if we have the program dig into each individual’s background looking for more specific variables, we can weed out anyone who doesn’t fit a specific criterion.”
“And how are you going to do that?” Andrei asks. “How would you know what variables to look for in their background?”
“Because everyone with a society cane is a fake,” Ava murmurs.
We all turn to look at her. “Matthias told me what he and Bridget discovered. The society is made up of men and women with fabricated backgrounds. Missing children of high society members. Women abducted for sex auction. Babies born the wrong gender or in the wrong order. These are all known variables that would make it easier to find them. Sheila had a squeaky-clean background tailored to fit exactly what my great-grandparents were looking for when it came to a bride for their son.”
“The Dollhouse trains women and men to blend in,” Kenzi speaks up. “You’re trained to seduce by being the exact fantasy of the target. A chameleon. Once an operation is complete, that identity disappears.”
“Except.” Mark snaps his fingers. “You can’t make an identity disappear. Not like how you make one appear. Once a social security number hits the system, it can’t be removed. Some of the best hackers have tried.”
“But it can be reassigned.” Bridget lets out a breathy laugh. “They would be able to reuse a social security number multiple times by reframing everything attached to it.”
“It’s genius and nearly foolproof.”
“Get started on that, then.” I look to Liam, who nods. “Take Bridget with you.” Mark makes a face but doesn’t argue. Smart kid.
“We’ll keep looking for the McDonoughs in the meantime,” Vas says. “I have everyone on high alert. They aren’t getting out of the state without us knowing.” I nod.
“Kenzi was right about the men at the club,” Dante confirms, proudly looking at his daughter, who is all but ignoring him.
“They didn’t have any tongues, but they did have this.
” He pulls out his phone, sharing it to the projector screen.
“My men sent this to me about an hour ago. Wouldn’t have known it was there if your black light behind the bar had been shattered. ”
I take a closer look. It is the same symbol carved into the canes. What had Ivan called them? The Seal of Solomon and the Eye of Providence.
“Those are two very powerful symbols,” my father points out. “From two very different cultures, but both are considered religious symbols.”
“I thought the hexagram was pagan,” Seamus says.
Andrei shakes his head. “The hexagram was actually said to have first appeared in a synagogue in Israel in the third to fourth century. It was purely a motif. It wasn’t until the eighteenth century that it began to take on a more mystical undertone.”
“Well, the tagline makes more sense now,” Kiernan mutters. “Power over all. God’s all-seeing power. All knowing. Always watching. That is what many people believe the Eye of Providence means.”
“Just what we need,” Liam sighs.
“Let’s stick with what we have,” I sigh. “We know the men link back to the society. Now what we need to figure out is why they suddenly attacked.”
“They were testing you.” Kenzi shrugs. “If they wanted to get rid of you, why not just send an assassin?”
Andrei snorts. “Maybe because the last one didn’t go according to plan?”
Kenzi rolls her eyes. “I’ve been thinking about that too, actually.” She licks her bottom lip nervously. “You said that the woman on the phone sounded exasperated with Kirill. What was her name?”
“Caesar,” I recall. Kenzi’s eyebrows shoot up at the name. “You know that name.”
The brunette nods. “Anonymity is key with the society. No one knows who anyone is except one person.”
“I’ll give you one guess as to who,” Andrei deadpans. Kenzi smirks.
“Everyone knows what she sounds like, but no one knows who she is,” Kenzi explains.
“I remember rumors flying around the Dollhouse about the great and mighty Caesar. In training, they teach you to worship her. That everything is because of her. That our lives were in her hands. But no one, including Madam Therese, has ever seen her.”
“Your lives have become a soap opera,” Andrei chuckles. “Complete with people coming back from the dead. At this point, I might never return to Russia. This is much more fun.”
“Speak for yourself,” Liam mutters. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”
“Speaking of too old.” Dante yawns. “Let’s take what we have for now and reconvene when we have more information. I’ll have my guys keep a lookout, but right now, I’ve got my sights set on Augustu. He’s up to something, and I don’t think we’re going to like what’s coming down the pipeline.”
I incline my head at him and shake his hand when he stands to leave.
He glances back at Kenzi with a look of fatherly longing in his eyes, but she is steadfastly ignoring it.
It will take time for that bond to heal, if it ever does.
Kendra is a large obstacle in their way of truly mending, but there is nothing either of them can do about that.
“Come on, baby.” Taking Ava’s hand, I help her up from her chair, smirking when she winces slightly at the movement. I have fucked her hard enough that she will feel me for days.
“Do you think this will ever be over?” Ava yawns as we enter our room. Sighing, I close the door gently behind me.
“I don’t know, baby,” I answer her honestly as I follow her into the bedroom.
We both go through our nightly routine in a comfortable silence.
Ava snuggles down into the light feathered comforter with her back to my front.
Snaking an arm around her waist, I pull her until she is flush against me.
“But know I will never leave your side again.”
“Good,” she grumbles. “Because you still have so many more orgasms to give me before you’re forgiven.”
I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. How had I ever thought that loving Ava was a weakness when all I feel every day is lighter and stronger?
What a damn fool I have been.