6. Blakely
I hearmy phone ring somewhere beside me. Checking the caller and the time, I groan. “Cailean?” I answer in a sleepy tone. “This better be good, it’s 3 a.m.” I hear him chuckle on the other side of the line.
“Sorry, boss, but I have something you may want to see. It’s already sent.”
Checking my email, I see the video he sent me. I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about it.
“Tell me it’s not what I think it is?” I ask, my voice full of emotions as I watch the video.
“I’m afraid it is.” I can feel the anger coming out of him. “We were looking into the Snakes business when this video popped up,” he says.
“Popped up? What do you mean, popped up?” The sound of his sighs reaches my ears.
“Someone sent it to us. We tried to trace the sender, but nothing so far. We’re still working on it.”
The video shows several young women chained to a pole, half naked, and some covered in blood. It has completely woken me up. Mother fucker.
“I want names and locations. We need to find them and learn what they plan to do with them.” My tone is harsher than I intended, but if we wait too long, I don’t want to think about what will happen to them. “Cailean, if they plan to sell them, I want to know who the buyers are and how many girls there are.” My throat becomes tied as my last words come out of my mouth, “And if there’re bairns with them.” Closing my eyes to the possibility is not an option, but it’s not something I want to dwell on.
“Got it, boss.” As I end the call, I inhale deeply and exhale slowly, trying to calm my racing heart. I knew they were up to no good, but human trafficking? That’s another level of fucked up, even for them.
Aisla’s bright smile pops into my head, and I can’t help but feel a sense of warmth. She would have been happy with the work we’re doing to help women when she had nobody to do it for her. Thinking of her always brings me back to the reason why I chose to do this, even when it’s not easy.
I let out a deep sigh, feeling the tension release from my body, and run my fingers through my curls.
Quietly, I slip out of bed and pad my way to the kitchen, hoping not to wake Bai and Em as I brew myself a cup of coffee. There’s no way I can go back to sleep after that. Black coffee would be welcome, but I can’t bring myself to drink it like that. Mine needs to be with a splash of milk and a ton of syrup. Sweet is my thing. I didn’t get my curvy thighs eating salad and drinking water.
As the aroma of brewing coffee fills the air, my mind begins to race with thoughts. I’m missing something. I know I am. But what? Once my coffee is done, I add oat milk and syrup and go on the balcony. The air is chilly and humid. Spring is here, but it feels like winter in Scotland. I inhale deeply and scroll through my phone until I find the contact I am looking for. He answers after the first ring.
“Blakely, it’s past three in the morning. What’s happening?” The line crackles with Preston’s husky voice when he picks up.
“Something happened.” That’s all I say. He knows I won’t take any risk over the phone. Our phones may be locked down tight, but if I could breach Aidan and Scott’s encrypted video surveillance, who’s to say our phones are safe?
“My office. Two hours’ time.” I silently nod, even though he cannot see me, and end the conversation without any further words.
As I walk through Preston’s mansion, my footsteps echo off the tiled floor. I don’t understand why people need that much space. Especially since he divorced his wife a few years back. I pass the security guard with a quick nod. This place is guarded like a palace. You wouldn’t notice them at first, except for the first guard at the main entrance. They fill the room in various outfits. While some of them look like they are ready to tend to plants, others look like they are ready to whip up a gourmet meal. If one were to inspect closely, they would notice the gun holster hidden under their clothing and the black silicone earpiece they were wearing. The house is surrounded by them.
It’s five in the morning, but the house is already full of people. My heels become louder to my ears, my black dress lifting with each step. I’m preparing myself mentally, as I know I might see him at any point. The charade a few days ago left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to see him again. Caleb’s clean-up team might need to be called in to handle the aftermath of what I could do to his son.
Breathing in deeply, I push open Caleb’s office door without bothering to knock. He knows I’m here. It’s not for no reason that he has twenty people from his team up and about by 5 a.m.
“Blakely,” he greets me. “What was so important that couldn’t wait until 7 a.m.?” I smirk because I know he’s usually up early in the morning.
“I think it’s better if I show you.” Before leaving this morning, I made sure to transfer the video and encrypt it. I know, I’m resourceful. You don’t become the youngest criminal defence attorney with the highest cases won without learning a thing or two.
I can see the shock on Caleb’s face as he watches the video from the corner of my eye.
“Who?” he asks, his gaze hardening. He stands from his seat and goes straight to his mini bar, serving himself a glass of whisky.
“Isn’t it a bit early for that?” I ask. He waves me off with a hand gesture.
“Early here. Late somewhere. Want one?” I sigh because it’s way too early for alcohol, but with what we have in front of us, that’s not something I’ll deny.
“Neat, please,” I answer him. He nods and pours me a glass with a splash of water in it. Answering his previous question, I add, “We don’t know for sure yet, but Cailean called me in the middle of the night with this video.” I nod my thanks as he hands me the glass. “We suspect the Snakes are behind it,” I say, feeling the coolness of the drink as it slides down my throat. He sinks deeply into his chair, his eyes fixed on the glowing screen. He’s probably scouring for anything that might reveal the location of the missing girls.
“Cailean tried to localise who sent the video, but they are pretty good at covering their tracks. What I don’t understand is why they would send my team this video. Something is bothering me, and I can’t put my finger on it,” I add, listening to the gentle sloshing of the whisky in the glass as I swirl it.
“Do you think it’s all related? Aidan’s arrest, the drugs, the trafficking?” he asks, his brow furrowing in concentration, trying to comprehend like me.
“Maybe. I don’t want to jump to conclusions too quickly. This is something bigger than us, and I don’t want to mess that up.”
“I’ll reach out to The Twelve and request an immediate meeting to discuss any information they may have heard about this,” he says, his phone already in his hand, ready to make the calls. I interrupt him, putting a halt to what he is doing.
“Be careful. I don’t trust any of them. There is no solid evidence that proves it’s the Snakes. Everybody wants to see you and Aidan taken down. You’re both too dangerous for them. It’s possible that it’s a setup or a collaborative effort.” He exhales, knowing that I’m right.
He’s been part of The Twelve for decades, and his ascension to power bothered more than one. What bothers them is that he cleaned up what his father did before him. Caleb Senior, or Zeus as he liked to call himself, was ruthless and engaging in shady activities. Until Cal stepped in and reclaimed authority over the society.
He has made significant changes to his businesses, ensuring that drugs are not brought into any of them, which has upset more than one.
They’re losing money, and they can’t have that. He has inspired some of The Twelve to follow his steps, wanting a better future for their family. When I say several, I’m talking about the new generation. Aidan is already an inspiration for them, following in his father’s footsteps. They worship him like a deity, eager to gain his approval by any means necessary. It pains me to say that he’s doing a good job. He’s still an arsehole, but he’s making an effort to do better for the next generation. It’s better in a broad sense because murdering people is not what I would call doing a good job. The older ones are so imprinted in their habits that they don’t see that most of their business would be more profitable if they were legit. And I say that with a lawyer’s eye.
We hear a faint knock on the door before the one person I didn’t want to see makes his entrance. He looks at us, confused, probably wondering what I am doing in his father’s office at this time of the day. And not without any reason. I’m not dressed like someone would be at almost 6 a.m. My black heels are higher than I’m accustomed to. My black dress is shorter than I’m used to, and my cleavage is clearly noticeable. I’ve tied up my hair into a messy bun with a few unruly curls framing my face. My signature red lipstick is the finishing touch that gives me the confidence I need.
“Son,” says Caleb. “Do you need anything?” Aidan glances at me.
“What are you doing here?” He looks at our glasses and asks, “Isn’t it too early for a drink? And since when do you drink whisky?”
“Business.” Is the only word out of my mouth, answering his first question. “But we’re done,” I add, pushing back my chair and standing up. I pivot in his direction, and the intensity in my voice rises as I say, “And there’s a lot you don’t know about me. The girl you once knew died years ago.” I direct my attention towards Caleb. “Preston, always a pleasure.”
My lungs fill with air as I exit the room. The few interactions I’ve had with Aidan since I’ve been back have drained me, and it has taken all my strength not to jump on him and strangle him with my bare hands. As I leave the office, I bump into someone. The corridor is so dark that I don’t recognise who it is at first.
“Blake?” I recognise my brother calling.
“Scott, hi.” His gaze is partially shocked.
“What are you doing here this early?” he asks.
I swallow hard. Scott has always been the kind to see through my bullshit when I was younger. This is the time to put on my court face.
“Caleb had an emergency regarding one of his businesses and requested to see me.”
“At five in the morning?” He doesn’t believe me for a bit.
“Aye. You know I am not supposed to speak about his business with you. But he thinks that someone is stealing money from Banes. He asked me to take a look into it and see what legal actions can be taken.” There, that should do it for now. He nods, knowing that if someone is trying to double-cross Preston’s business, the fact that he called me for an early meeting is not surprising.
“Shit, okay.” I can feel his mind whirl. He wants to add something but doesn’t know how to say it. “Hmm, do you have a minute or two? I’d like to ask you something.” I nod before we start walking towards the main room, and he asks, “How did you get access to our security camera?”
I knew he would ask at some point, but I’m surprised it took him this long. Scott is not the patient type, and wondering how his wee sister had access to something that’s so heavily protected is eating at him.
“What can I say? I work with competent people.” I try to joke. “I don’t know how they did it, per se. But I know they had a hard time trespassing on your system.” That’s not completely a lie. My team worked on that, but he doesn’t need to know that I was the one to discover the breach in his system.
“They’re good. Multiple layers of security protect the system,” he says, impressed.
“I’ll make sure to put you in contact with them. Who knows? They might teach you a thing or two,” I say playfully. His groan makes me laugh.
“Okay, big bro, your company is delightful, but I have to get going. I need to organise my return to Paris and take care of some cases.”
“You’re leaving already?” I sigh because there’s no way I’m staying longer than necessary, even with the Snakes’ shit. I can handle that from overseas.
“Aye. I did the job I was asked to do here. There is no reason for me to stay any longer.” I can see the hurt in his eyes. Shit. I pinch my nose. “That’s not what —” he stops me.
“I get it. I really do. But would it kill you to stay a little longer and spend time with your family? I missed you. Bailey missed you. She was a complete mess when you left. Damn, even Maw and Da’ planned to come to see you.” Guilt floods me for putting my pain first. I missed them so much it hurt.
“Our parents are coming?” I ask, the tears ready to burst. My parents came to visit me many times, the same as my siblings. But it’s not the same as living in the same country as them.
“They are. And I ruined their surprise,” he answers with a faint smile on his face. My feelings are battling inside me. I sigh because I already know what I have to do, and that would give me more time to investigate the Snakes and The Twelve.
“Fine. I’ll stay a bit longer.” His smile spreads across his face now.
“Really?”
“Aye, really. You’re a pain in my arse, you know that, right?”
“Yup, but you love me,” he says, taking me into his arms.
“Alright then. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to call Paris to let them know I won’t be back this week. I also need to take care of some work.” I shake my head with amusement because his happiness is blooming through the room. “Let’s plan something for later, alright?”
“You bet I will. I even plan to kick your arse on the next trivia night. I’ve been practising,” he says, which makes me laugh because, c’mon, he’ll never beat me at it.
“In your dreams, big bro.” I kiss him on his cheek and add, “See you later,” before leaving.