Chapter 8
Rahat
Velour smelt the same after hours as it always did.
Of stale spirits, leather, and that lemon cleaning fluid that they used to wash the carpets.
It always seemed strange under the light of day.
Not that any daylight ventured in. There weren't any windows to allow that.
Clubs were designed to blur edges and make everything feel more eclectic and exciting than it was.
But under the normal fluorescent lights, Velour just looked big and cold.
The dance floor was empty, the bars were closed, and the chairs were up on the few tables the club allowed.
Only one member of staff was around, and they were mopping behind the bar in slow arcs that seemed more likely to push dirt around than clean it up.
I'd felt kind of numb since Priya's call. Not the blank kind of numb. The kind where you kept walking and talking, and acting like you were a functioning human being, while underneath you’d gone kind of quiet and cold.
This whole situation seemed unreal.
Rex had called Gabriel immediately, and he'd sent someone out to collect my family.
They were being moved to a safehouse whether Auntie Deepa liked it or not.
I was not looking forward to the lecture I'd receive as soon as she saw me.
I could practically hear every syllable of it now, delivered at volume in a mix of two different languages and with that flair of disappointment only matriarchs seem able to produce.
It was a price I was more than willing to pay to see them safe.
Gabriel's private office sat at the end of a long grey corridor that the club's regular clientele never saw or even knew existed.
There was no signage on the door, not even a handle on the outside.
You had to know where to push to enter the hall.
Inside, there were two leather chairs and a sofa around a small circular table at one end of the room, and Gabriel's desk at the other.
He stood as soon as we entered and crossed the room to meet us, pulling me in for a hug in the process.
"How you holding up?" he asked as soon as he pulled back.
I flashed him a smile. "You know me, this is just a blip to deal with."
He pulled me in for an even tighter hug. "I do know you," he said. "Which means I also know exactly how stubborn and proud you are."
I had a little chuckle at that. I was no more stubborn and proud than either him or Carina. The Rizzos weren't exactly famous for their humility.
After greeting Rex with a handshake, he motioned for us to sit around the table and offered us a drink.
Despite the early hour, I accepted a whiskey.
A single shot wouldn't hurt and I could do with some Dutch courage.
"I spoke to Carina," he said after handing me my drink and taking one of the leather chairs opposite us. "She and Jameson are on their way."
I sighed and shook my head. "There's honestly no need for all the fuss.
This is more embarrassing than anything else.
" As I said the words I realised how true they were.
This whole situation was mortifying. I'd been such an idiot to get involved with Adam in the first place, and now it was coming back to bite me on the arse, and make me look foolish in front of Rex.
Gabriel only nodded in return, while Rex clasped onto my hand and pulled it onto his lap.
"Adam Dexter. Twenty-nine. Dual British-German citizenship.
He was originally identified by both UK financial crimes units and Europol for a series of digital manipulation offenses across three corporate targets over eighteen months.
" Gabriel sat back in his chair and looked me directly in the eye.
"Six years ago, I arranged for some irrefutable evidence to land in their hands.
He was arrested two days later, which happened to be three days after your encounter with him. "
I swallowed back the strange emotions building inside, while also trying to make sense of what I was hearing.
I'd always assumed Adam had disappeared from my life because Gabriel had said a few choice words to him, maybe even threatened him.
I was a nineteen year old kid. I didn't ask questions. I was just glad he was gone.
"And now he's back," I said quietly.
"Now he's back," Gabriel agreed. "The photograph, the threat to your family. He wants you to understand the depth of his reach before he tells you what he wants."
Rex sat forward in his seat. "And what does the fucker want?"
Gabriel looked at Rex and then at me. "We'll find out soon enough."
"What about my family?" I asked, worried that even at Carina's they wouldn't be safe.
"They're safe. I have a man in the house with them and another patrolling the street outside at regular intervals," he said before smiling.
"You should call your aunt. She kicked up quite a fuss about being moved and clipped one of my men around the ear when he insisted.
If it wasn't for your cousin, I think she'd still be fighting. "
I instantly stood and picked up my phone. Rex and Gabriel kept talking while I moved to the other side of the room.
Auntie Deepa answered on the second ring, already mid-sentence, asking me in not so savoury terms, 'What the hell was going on?'
I'd never told her about Adam all those years ago.
She had enough on her plate. Mum and Dad had died in a car accident eighteen months earlier, and even though I had just started uni at the time, I was still living at home, and Auntie had insisted that I move in with her and the rest of the family.
I was already such a burden to them, and hadn't wanted to cause any more fuss.
Besides, Gabriel dealt with it, so there wasn't much to tell.
"It's just a precaution," I said. "Think of it like a mini vacation."
"A mini vacation! We're ten minutes from home. I have things to do. Ashraf should be in college. He has a test next week."
"I know. I know. It won't be for long," I said. "It's just a precaution until we find out what that photograph meant this morning."
She asked a few more questions and accepted the answers, but I could tell she wasn't happy about them, and this wouldn't be the last I'd hear of this. When I ended the call, Rex was watching me from across the room. Though the two of them were still talking.
"What did I miss?" I asked.
"Nothing that needs repeating," Gabriel said, which pissed me off no end.
But I kept my face passive. "Great."
Gabriel slid a card across the desk. "These are Aldo's details. You remember him. Tall guy. Scar through his right eyebrow. He's with your family now. He’ll call if he sees anything. But just in case. That's his number."
I nodded and took the card, while Gabriel apologised for my family being brought into this.
He had no reason to apologise, though I knew what he was saying, especially since learning he and Carina were mafia.
I still couldn't believe she'd hidden it from me for so long.
He was apologising for not dealing with Adam in a more final way six years ago.
"It's his fault," I said. "Not yours."
But the expression that crossed Gabriel's face told me he felt otherwise.
I was about to say more when my phone buzzed in my hand. It was from an unknown number, and all it said was, 'Hello.' But my blood ran cold, even as the afternoon sun shone through the window and warmed my skin.