Chapter 3 #2
“The trio—now the duo—run The Sovereign Method,” Sydney continued. “It’s an organization that empowers men to reach their full potential. King A has written a book called The Man’s Bible.” She paused. “The ‘A’ in King A could be for alpha or anonymous. Neither has been confirmed.”
My money’s on asswipe. Asshole works too.
Sydney glanced around the room. The group was locked on her every word with some nodding along.
“King A runs a weekly podcast that’s listened to by millions,” Sydney said.
“From what our Internet team has learned, his following on social exceeds three mil. The split is eighty-five/fifteen, men-to-women. They worship him like a god. The testimonies all say how these clients go from having no confidence to getting multiple promotions at work. Some state they couldn’t get a date. Now they’ve got a harem of women.”
“Why did we take Petersen out?” asked Tracie. “I mean, the guy sounds like he’s offering something legit.”
“The business is a front,” Sydney explained. “He’s—
Lorne cleared his throat. “We can’t go into the details at this time. If there are no more questions, I’m closing out the meeting.”
Sydney waited, but the room had fallen silent.
“Excellent work, Fox Key,” Lorne said. “Thank you all for being here.”
At 4:20 pm, the debrief had officially ended.
Everyone filed out, leaving her alone with Lorne and his supervisor, Tracie. She’d been ass-in-the-chair for four hours. She wiggled her ankles, desperate to get outside and go for a full-tilt run through her Alexandria neighborhood.
“What do I need to know?” Tracie asked.
Sydney glanced at Lorne, who nodded once.
Hoping to keep this meeting to under an hour, she said, “The organization is a front for sex trafficking. The majority of clients are in the US, but there’re growing groups in the UK, Italy, Australia, and Canada. There may be more countries, but that’s what we’ve got for now.”
“I see,” Tracie said.
“It’s more like a cult,” Lorne explained. “These men are enticed with the promise of power. They learn how to manipulate, maybe even hypnotize, and lure women with financial opportunities.”
“It’s complicated,” Sydney added, “yet simple at the same time.”
“Explain,” Tracie said.
Thirty minutes later, Sydney had regurgitated a lot of information. She was done. She’d been done hours ago. Her foot was bobbing up and down, while her fingers tapped out a frenetic rhythm on the tabletop.
“Are we good?” Lorne asked.
“Yes, that was very thorough,” Tracie replied. “Fox Key, could there be any repercussions from taking out Todd Petersen?”
Of course there could be repercussions.
Lorne nodded. “Fox Key, lay low for a few.”
Lay low? I don’t think so…
She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could get the words out, Lorne added, “Keep a go-bag at the ready.”
She smiled. “I can drop off the grid in ten.”
Tracie stood. “Impressive. What’s your background, Fox Key?”
“I’ve been at Langley since college, ma’am.”
“What did you study?” Tracie asked.
“Guns,” Sydney answered.
Tracie’s eyebrows crowded her forehead. “You majored in guns?”
Lorne chuckled. “Fox Key double majored in international relations and criminal justice.”
“Are we good?” Sydney asked, eager to leave.
Lorne extended his hand. As she shook it, he said, “Excellent job. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you, Fox Key,” Tracie said.
Sydney shook Tracie’s hand, shouldered her handbag, and left.
Bypassing the elevator, she trotted down the stairs.
Those meetings were like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Instead of returning to her cubicle, she exited the building.
Fully expecting Lorne to call her, she climbed into her Jeep, set her phone in the console tray, and drove out.
She knew that by taking out Petersen, she’d poked the bear. While King A would stay well hidden, he’d probably arranged for a group of henchmen to find her.
“Let’s go, assholes. I’m not afraid of you, and I’m ready for the fight of my life.”
TEDDY
As Teddy street parked in front of his cousin’s Alexandria home, he eyed the two men guarding the front door. A team from Maverick Hott’s company, ThunderStrike Security, had been hired to protect the Santini family.
Teddy strode up the driveway, slowing as he stepped onto the walkway.
“Hey, guys,” he said. “How’s it goin’?”
“How you been, Tank?” asked one of the guards.
They held a scanner to his face, the light turned from red to green, and he was cleared to enter.
The delicious aroma of familiar spices filled his nose. First, garlic, then oregano, onions, and peppers. His stomach growled as he headed toward the kitchen.
Teddy loved his cousin, Carrera Santini, like a brother. The two had been close as kids, stayed close. Over the years, he’d grown close to Carrera’s wife, Slash, though initially, he couldn’t be within ten feet of her.
At six-thirty, the kitchen stood empty. He glanced onto the screened porch. No one was outside.
“Hello?” he called out.
No answer.
Concern had him pulling his Glock from his holster as he began clearing the first floor. As he walked past the open basement door, familiar voices filled his ears.
Down the stairs he went. His grandmother’s laugh snagged his attention, and his heart swelled with joy. His family—congregating at the downstairs bar—glanced over, then eyed his weapon, still in his hand.
“Whoa, brother, what the hell?” his older brother, Luciano blurted. “Riporre l'arma nella fondina. Holster the gun.”
“Everyone okay?” Teddy asked.
His grandmother, Elsa Santini, stepped forward. “Theodore Santini, put that gun away right now.”
He holstered his Glock, then kissed his petite grandmother on each of her cheeks. “Ehi, nonna.”
She beamed up at him. “Hey yourself, grandson.”
Luciano stepped over, pulled Teddy in for a hug. “Thanks for being cautious.”
“I got you,” he replied.
The family had been on edge since the eleven Haqazzii terrorists had vanished, but not before their leader, Muhammad Haqazzii, had threatened to kill all of them.
Slash sauntered out from behind the bar, hugged her brother-in-law. “Whatcha drinking?”
“A shot of Macallan,” he replied. “Who’s in?”
Someone bulled his way over, threw his arms around Teddy. “There’s my baby bro!”
His brother, Gabriel, slapped him on the back before letting go. “I texted you, but got nothing, fratello. You ignoring your fave?”
Teddy laughed as he unearthed his phone and turned off Do Not Disturb. His phone binged with all the incoming texts he’d missed.
“Did you see the one where we’re meeting in the basement?” Carrera asked.
Teddy chuckled. “I’m caught up now.”
Never ones to run for cover, the Santini Family had been keeping a low profile. For him, that was biz as usual. He did his best work in the middle of the night, when the monsters could hide in the shadows.
Slash, now behind the bar again, pulled several shot glasses and started pouring. When finished, she tossed him a nod. “Pass ‘em out.”
Teddy started handing them out. Only his grandmother and Luciano’s wife, Simone, refused.
Teddy raised the glass. “A noi.”
“To us,” Slash translated.
“Look at my wife, learning Italian,” Carrera said.
Teddy tossed back the top-shelf whiskey, appreciating the vanilla, figs, and cinnamon as he savored it before swallowing it down. “Now, that’s what I’m talking about.”
As the conversations resumed, Gabriel pulled him aside. “I need your help.”
“What’s going on?” Teddy asked, wondering if that meant he’d be spending time in Italy.
Luciano joined them, and Gabriel shook his head to silence Teddy.
“What are you two up to?” Luciano asked.
Gabriel and Luciano looked alike with their dark hair and olive skin. Both were tall and strong, but not as bulked-out as he and Greystone.
“I’m chasing evil,” Teddy said. “That’s all I ever do.”
“And no one does it better than you,” Luciano replied.
“That’s why we always ask you for help,” Gabriel added.
Just then, his brother Greystone filled the entryway, his massive frame dwarfing the space. He glanced around, flashed a smile. “Sorry we’re late.”
As Greystone kissed Elsa’s cheeks, movement snagged Teddy’s attention. Caroline entered the room, her arm looped through another woman’s arm.
And that’s when every damn thing went into slow-mo.
The other woman was Caroline’s sister, Sydney Austin. The one woman who’d crashed into his life months earlier, then ghosted away just as quickly.
Heat infused his chest and he found himself checking her out, his gaze raking over every sexy inch of her.
Sydney Austin was his dream woman. Out-of-his-league kinda girl.
Her long dark hair had been braided, the long trifold of thick hair cascading around her shoulder and down her breast. She was a little taller than average height…
five-seven or five-eight. Tonight, she’d worn a form-fitting, long-sleeved black shirt with see-through sleeves, and a pair of black jeans.
Simple, yet on Austin, it was all he could do not to blurt out, “You look effin’ fantastic! ”
But he had more control than that… hella more control. Except for the fact that his pulse had shot up and his dick had awakened from a long and very frustrating slumber.
“Hey, family,” Caroline said with an adorable smile.
Like her sister, she too had braided her blonde hair into pigtails. Teddy couldn’t help but chuckle. It was like an Austin-sister slumber party had crashed the Santini family dinner.
The sisters looked as different as he and Gabriel did. Where Caroline had blonde hair and a light skin tone, Sydney was the opposite. Dark hair, darker skin tone, dark eyes that held the mysteries of the universe.
Easy there, Shakespeare.
“This is my big sis, Sydney.”
“Thanks for letting me crash your party,” Sydney said.
“She just got into town,” Caroline added, “and I wasn’t letting her spend her first night back in the country alone.”
“Where were you?” Elsa asked.
“Italy,” Gabriel answered. “She was in Italy.”
Silence, as the group glanced from him to her.