Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Before
Amirah
Seven days have passed since I reunited Jewel with Lily, and I’ve been in deep research mode.
My brother has been extra busy since the explosion on the train tracks and everything else that is happening.
All hell has broken loose. I want to get more intel from him and The Brotherhood about what’s happening at Magick, but I’m waiting for things to cool down a little.
I stare at my laptop screen. My PowerPoint presentation is coming together nicely—I’m going to present it to my brother when the time is right.
I’ve put everything that I’ve learned from Jewel in there about the trafficking ring, the girls who are being held against their will, and the way Callan exerts control over them.
This runs deeper than I want to admit, but there are still so many blanks.
Does Zeke know what’s happening in his club? Does my brother know? Is The Brotherhood a part of trafficking children and using them as sex slaves?
My breathing picks up. There’s no way my brother knows about this. If he did, it wouldn’t be happening. My brother isn’t good, far from it. He’s done some bad things in his life, but this isn’t his style. He would never take women—hell, especially children—and treat them as objects.
Jewel has told me everything she knows. She thinks that Zeke has no idea and that it’s all happening under his nose. I need to crack the code of who the enforcer is, but she confirmed that Callan is one of the leaders. She saw him forcing the women to do things multiple times.
I click over to the slides I’ve created on the enforcer.
I’ve put pictures of various masks that Jewel mentioned, as well as info on the things she knows he’s done—incite fear, slice people open.
He even slit a guy’s throat when he tried to get too handsy with Jewel, which she said would have been sweet if his blood hadn’t spurted into her mouth.
There’s a big question mark in the middle of the page.
Who is this enforcer? Is it someone within The Brotherhood?
Is it someone from our side of the tracks or from Daringhood?
Is it Callan just wearing a mask? Although why would he do that?
Jewel said that some of the girls have nowhere else to go.
They are runaways from Daringhood, trying to escape a life of homelessness or parents who don’t look after them.
Being part of the club is safe to them—they get fed and have some purpose.
That makes me sick to my stomach. Freya could have ended up there, given her mother’s addiction.
All these girls need somewhere safe to go. They need protection.
I slam my fists down on my laptop and push it off my lap.
“Fuck!” I yell, and my door flies open.
Three men in suits, armed to the hilt, storm into my bedroom. “Everything okay?” the middle one asks, while the one on the right rushes to stand in front of me, and the one on the left heads for the en suite.
“What the fuck?” Is this a joke? These better be strippers sent here to entertain me, but in my heart, I know they’re not.
“Not a joke, ma’am. Your brother has requested round-the-clock detail for your safety,” the middle one replies, still scanning the room. “Any present threats?”
“None detected.” The man from the bathroom emerges, swinging his gun around like it’s his first time showing his dick to a woman.
I’m so over this. There’s no privacy in this goddamn house anymore.
I’ve constantly got three security guards following my ass.
I can’t go anywhere or do anything without them trailing me.
This will make it impossible for me to get the answers I need.
I want to go back to Magick and investigate, not in disguise but as Amirah Ledger, someone people pay attention to.
I want to follow Callan, see if I can find any evidence of his connection to these crimes.
I need to speak to my brother, and he’d better hear me out. I’m going crazy holed up in this prison. I storm out my door, through the corridor, and down our stairs. My security detail follows closely behind me, and the anger I feel increases with every step I take.
After opening the back door, I step out onto the back patio, the warm sun kissing my cheeks. I head straight for the training shed, where I know my brother will be. He’s been practically living there this past week.
Moving through the shed, I keep my head down, not wanting to speak to anyone but my brother. I take the stairs two at a time and rip open the office door, then slam it shut behind me. My security detail stays waiting outside.
“Yes, Amirah?” Gage asks, cocking his head to the side. Lucas stands from the chair opposite Gage’s desk, but I don’t even greet him. I’m so frustrated.
“So, what, now I can’t even go outside our front door without someone glued to my ass?” I snap, bracing my hands on the edge of his desk.
Gage leans back in his office chair. “It’s for your own protection,” he says, glancing at the paperwork scattered over his desk.
“I don’t want to be holed up in the house all day.
I wanna help,” I practically whine. I’ve done as much research as I can in my bedroom, on the internet, and talking to Jewel.
But it’s not enough. I need to be around The Brotherhood to fish for more intel.
Everyone talks, and someone here knows something that’ll help me.
Gage moves around the desk, standing in front of me. “Absolutely not,” he growls.
I squeeze my eyes shut, breathing out a heavy exhale. I need to play this smart. My frustration isn’t going to work with Gage. I learned that when I first asked him if he could help me look into things with Jewel.
“Please let me do something. Anything. I’m going crazy,” I say, looking up at Gage with my best attempt at puppy-dog eyes.
“Fine. Get Freya and go train with the new recruits—brush up on your skills. You both need to be able to protect yourselves if, God forbid, we can’t,” he says, moving back around the desk.
My inner voice screams fuck yes. “Thank you.”
I leave with a grin on my face. I came here wanting more power, but instead I got something even better. Training with men of The Brotherhood—it’s a win-win. I can learn how to defend myself, all while fishing for intel that I need to finish my presentation.
I have to save the girls at Magick. And the only way to get Gage to help me is to present evidence so compelling, even he can’t say no.