Chapter 9 Zahra
ZAHRA
“Declan is being incredibly persistent.” Azula’s eyes flicker between her planner, which contains my weekly schedule, and my irritated expression.
“Just because he’s throwing a tantrum doesn’t mean he’s worth my time.” I roll my eyes.
“Well, in fairness, I wouldn’t say Declan is throwing a tantrum as much as his assistant is. Seems like Declan is adamant he wants to meet with you soon. Not sure about what.”
“Probably so he can take another shot at poisoning me.”
“He’d be stupid to try that again, less than two weeks after the whole lunch debacle. If he’s smart, he’ll have someone kill you. Either running you off the road or a sniper so that he can maintain his innocence.” Azula nods to herself as if either plan would be foolproof.
“Well, it's a good thing you’re on my side and not his. Or else I’d already be six feet under.” I bring my attention back to the series of spreadsheets open on my computer.
I’d spent the past two hours backtracking our shipments for the past six months and one thing was glaringly clear: my numbers weren’t adding up.
At first, I thought it had to be my own error.
A formula being miscalculated or numbers being misentered.
But I hadn’t made any mistakes. As I meticulously combed through the spreadsheet over a dozen times, one thing was evident.
We were in the red. Even though we had no reason to be.
None of our staff had reported any damage to the shipments, which means we had either miscounted how many computer chips and guns we’d had to send off and sell to make a profit or one of our own soldiers had stolen from us.
The first option is unlikely given the amount of times myself and Declan’s staff crunched all the numbers and projected estimates to be sure everything was in line, which left me with option two.
Dammit. As if there isn’t enough on my plate, I now have to track down a rat who was stupid enough to cross me.
My eyes shut in defeat and I pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers. “Tell Declan I’ll meet with him tomorrow at noon. And to not be late.”
“Wow, I didn't expect you to cave so easily. I guess I’m more intimidating than I thought.” A prideful look covers Azula’s face.
“You’re absolutely terrifying, but my decision to meet with Declan comes out of necessity.” I turn my monitor around so she can see it.
Azula cocks her head to the side for a moment, taking in the various columns, numbers, and totals. “Shit…is this saying what I think it is?”
“Someone’s stealing from us. Likely someone from the inside, since they were smart enough only to take small enough amounts that it would have gone unnoticed in the moment.
But over the course of six months, the stolen supplies have cost us tens of thousands of dollars.
If not more. I need to tell Declan about this.
” The universe trying to bring us together when I’m doing my best to avoid him is incredibly ironic.
I suppose that’s why the saying goes, ‘We make plans and God laughs’.
Except this time, it seems like Declan has gotten the last laugh.
“Any chance that this could also be him? Maybe the supplies haven't been stolen, and instead he’s just taking a bigger cut of the pie?”
“Unlikely. I received a call from Damon, the Scottish boss, who’s been one of our best customers for the past five years.
He called me directly, asking when the remaining shipments would arrive since they’ve been getting some threats from the local street gangs near them.
I asked him how many he received in the most recent package we delivered a few days ago and they were clearly ten guns short of what we’d originally sent.
I’m having Cyrus hand deliver an extra fifteen, five extra on us, as we speak. ”
“Dammit.”
“My thoughts exactly. I wanted to double-check that we hadn’t miscalculated anything, but all the receipts and logs of what we sent confirm that 300 guns left our warehouse and arrived at the delivery center.”
“So it was one of our foot soldiers then? Should be easy enough to track them down and remind them who they’ve crossed.” Azula pulls a knife from the holder on her thigh and checks her reflection in it.
“Our distribution center in Los Angeles is one of our biggest. Between our people and the Irish, we have at least a thousand staff working there. It could’ve been any of them. Given they’d gone undetected for months now, they must know all the blind spots of the building.”
“Just send me out there and I’ll have the traitor pissing his own pants in a matter of minutes,” she seethes.
I don’t doubt her words. But I don’t want to be the type of boss that leads with fear. I want respect. And respect would come with tracking down the traitor myself, exposing him, and demonstrating not only my physical power but also my mental strength.
“I promise to let you have your fun with him, whoever he ends up being. But I want to take a stab at finding him first. Without having to immediately resort to threats.”
“You can take the first stab as long as I get the other twenty that follow.” Azula licks her teeth with her tongue.
“That is not what I meant.”
“Why not? There’s few things that give me as much joy as feeling a man bleed under me.”
“You’re an incredibly deranged individual.” I love her regardless, but it has to be said.
Azula places a hand on her chest. “Oh, Zahra, you say the kindest things to me.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just get the meeting with Declan set up, will you? The more I think about this mess, the more my blood boils.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out. You always do.” Azula gives me one final reassuring smile before heading out of my office.
Though I appreciate her vote of confidence, I’m not quite sure I deserve it. I just hope I’ll live long enough to prove her right. To prove to everyone that I am worthy of taking over for my father. To prove to myself that I can handle being the boss.
____
Arman knocks on my door, causing my back to stiffen. “Your guest has arrived,” he announces.
“Thank you. Send him in.” I close all the excess files on my computer screen, leaving only the ones that Declan needs to see. Mainly, the long list of evidence that points to someone stealing from us.
Arman grimaces, his shoulders tensing, while chewing on his lip.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this nervous before.
The head of my father’s security had always been a brick wall.
Sure, he may have joked around with me as a kid and treated me like a pseudo niece, but anxious was not an expression I’d ever seen on him before.
My hand immediately moves to the holster tucked under my blazer, ensuring it is in place. “What’s wrong? Have you been attacked?”
“No. No, nothing like that. It’s just, uh…” He tugs at his collar.
“Just say it, Arman. I’m a big girl, you don’t have to coddle me. I can handle it,” I snap.
Arman winces at my harsh tone, and a small wave of guilt hits me.
Arman had been one of the few members of my father’s staff who treated me with nothing but respect since the moment I took over.
Clearly, I had some of my own insecurities I need to work through.
Just because some men doubted my ability to rule doesn’t mean that all of them did.
And while those who doubted me deserved to be shunned by me, I need to be better at showing grace to those who had put their necks out on the line to support me.
“Forgive me, Arman. The current situation with all the shipments has had me…in a mood.”
He gives me a tight smile. “There’s nothing to forgive. Declan’s here. He just insists on meeting you in the garden.”
Declan wants to meet me out in the open air? Damn, maybe Azula was right and he did have a sniper out to get me. Killing me in my own home would be ballsy but I wouldn’t put anything past Declan these days. Or maybe it was just a dick measuring contest.
Arman senses my hesitation. “Given Declan has come into our estate twice now, maybe a small compromise with meeting him in the garden would be a kind gesture between allies?”
Dammit, he had a point. I’m still supposed to be pretending that I don’t despise Declan. “Has the perimeter been checked?” I ask, hoping I didn’t come off as overly suspicious.
“Three times. I wouldn’t allow you, or Declan, to remain outside if I had any concerns.”
“Thank you, Arman.” I give him a small smile before letting out a deep breath and stepping outside.
With spring slowly starting to fade into summer came the suffocating humidity.
I debate leaving my blazer inside but that would leave me unarmed, so instead I tolerate the sweat that’s already started to form down my back.
Declan appears to be equally impacted by the new rise in temperature, though he’s smart enough to come in a white cotton t-shirt and black jeans.
He looks so…normal. Like any other man I’d pass on the street.
Well, any other man who was 6'3, had incredible posture, and biceps that were so defined I’m sure they could be seen from a mile away.
Still, there was such a casual undertone to his stance, the way he looked at the tulips in my father’s garden with curiosity, and the boyish smile he sent my way as I approached.
“I was beginning to think you forgot about me.” Declan removes his sunglasses, tucking them into his shirt, the color of his eyes a beautiful mix of green and blue.
“Nope. Though I wasn’t planning on meeting you outside.
” I keep my voice cold and distant, like I’d rather be getting a root canal than conversing with him.
A fact he clearly doesn’t miss as his cheerful expression drops.
The twisted part of me relishes seeing the smug expression fall from his face.
It’s the least he deserves. But the rational part of my brain yelled at me to put on a facade.
I have to get closer to him, both emotionally and physically.
With my lack of success in being able to remotely hack into his phone and computer, I’d come up with an alternative.
A small bug I designed that could connect to his cellphone and transfer all the files and information stored.
The only catch is I haven’t tested it out yet.
Which means I’m not entirely sure how close I need to be in order for my device to detect Declan’s phone…
and I also don’t know how long the transfer would take.
So naturally, this means I have to stall as long as possible, and do the one thing that drew a true shudder from me. Engage in small talk.
“So, any reason in particular you wanted to meet in my father’s garden as opposed to the perfectly air-conditioned building a few feet away?
” Flashing Declan a genuine smile, I take a step closer to him and feel my phone vibrate.
Perfect, it’s working. Now I just needed to keep him occupied here long enough.
“It’s the first warm day of the year. What could be better than taking in the sun and walking around a garden?” He shoves his hands into his pockets almost as if he’s…nervous. Like he’s waiting for me to scoff at him.
I suppose, in his defense, that is a pretty accurate assumption of what I wanted to do. But no matter how good he is at pretending to be authentic, I can’t fall for his charms. Still, I guess there’s no harm in letting him think I’m softening up to him.
“Well, I can’t say I love the fact that I can feel my boobs starting to sweat, but I haven’t seen all the flowers that have bloomed yet, so I’ll let you win this battle.
” The words fall out of my mouth before I can stop them.
Welp. Can’t say I had entirely planned on talking about boob sweat with Declan today, but this is how I normally talk to my friends, so maybe he’ll appreciate the clear effort I’m trying to put in.
Or maybe he’ll think I’m a nutcase. Either works for me.
My face starts to heat and I know for certain I’m blushing. Great. As if he needs another thing to tease me about. He presses his lips together. Hard. No doubt trying to prevent the laugh that is desperately begging to come loose from his mouth.
Gesturing toward the stone path in front of us, I take a step forward and Declan follows. Good. I need him close to me.
Between the sun beating down on me and Declan’s cocky-yet-lethal demeanor, I know these next few hours were about to be a nightmare. The only saving grace is the fact that after this, I would have everything I needed to silence Declan for good.