CHAPTER 23 - Bryan Trevor
This world can hurt you
Cut you deep and leave a scar
Things fall apart, but nothing breaks like a heart
Nothing breaks like a heart – Mark Ronson
The tablet feels like it weighs a ton as I stare at Noah through the screen. She’s wearing a gray hoodie over a long black top, her hair tied in a bun, looking exhausted as she cleans the shelves of the enormous library.
I miss her like crazy and I’m counting the minutes until I can see her again, because I haven’t touched her since Sunday at the lake.
Unfortunately, on Monday morning there was a problem at Prestige Shield and I had to fly to Vegas to fix it, or that idiot Darius—the security guard who took Luke’s place—would screw up the damn contract with the Riders.
My brother had no idea that the magnate’s current wife was none other than Darius’s first girlfriend. Things spiraled out of control and I had to go there personally to sort it out.
One problem turned into several, and I ended up staying four days in the city.
I hated every minute, but I used the time to get ahead on company business and Lilian’s discharge, which should happen in a few days.
The sound of Sadie’s laughter pulls me from my thoughts and I swipe my finger across the screen, a smile spreading across my face when I notice how much she’s enjoying being taught by Lauren.
Even though I know Luke is always in front of the screens, monitoring everything happening at the mansion, I can’t help checking the cameras every damn five minutes. Besides, it’s the only way I’ve found to ease the ache of missing my girl and know when she can talk to me.
When I told Noah I had to go to Vegas, I watched her reaction through the camera and hated that for a few minutes she thought I’d abandoned her. She didn’t say it in her messages, but I saw her body language and made sure to make it clear I’d be back in a few days.
I got back at dawn and I’m counting the minutes until I can go to the mansion to see her. The only reason I haven’t gone yet is because I needed to put my plan with Dominic into action—plus, Gavin and Sarah are still at the house.
I feel like I’m one step away from throwing out this whole damn plan I’ve been putting together because I can’t stand seeing Noah and Sadie inside that fortress living with those two monsters anymore.
I’ve thought it through, rethought it, researched thoroughly, reached out to my contacts, but there’s one crucial point in this whole mess that’s keeping me from pulling them out of there today: Sadie.
The little girl, being that worm’s daughter, would complicate things for us—especially since the moment Gavin discovered they’d fled, he’d file a kidnapping complaint and make an already complicated situation even worse.
I don’t want to pull them out of one prison just to throw them into another.
I want them to be free to come and go.
To walk the streets without fear of someone locking them up.
That’s the only reason I haven’t pulled them from that fortress yet.
However, my patience is hanging by a thread.
On Sunday, when I left the bar, I went straight to Will’s house with Luke and, after introductions, I laid out all the instructions for gathering as much evidence against Gavin as possible.
That’s exactly why I’m sitting in my car at six thirty in the morning, across the street from the distribution center, waiting for my orders to be carried out—or I’ll need to have Luke dig three graves.
My phone buzzes with a notification.
WILL MACLARY: Dominic succeeded!
Reactivate the cameras and wait for him at the back gate, he’s already leaving.
As soon as I read the messages, I send the command to Wolf, knowing he won’t take long to collect on these favors. I turn my attention to the mansion cameras, noticing that Gavin and Sarah are heading toward the front door.
I start the engine and circle the block around the distribution center, arriving at the gate at the exact moment Dominic passes through, dressed head to toe in black—cap and dark glasses included.
My initial plan was to infiltrate Gavin’s office to search his laptop and documents.
But once I discovered Dominic is a hacker, everything changed for the better, and I didn’t have to put myself at risk.
He went in, bugged the worm’s laptop, and from now on, I’ll be able to see everything Gavin accesses from anywhere.
Only after I’ve combed through every file will I think about going after physical documents. Something tells me he wouldn’t keep anything compromising in an easily accessible cabinet.
The car door opens and Dominic climbs in with a satisfied smile, pulling the flash drive from his jacket pocket.
On top of the remote access, he made a copy of everything on the laptop.
The MacLary family is turning out to be much better than I imagined!
“What time is the plane coming to get my mother?” he asks, and I take the drive, slipping it into my pocket.
“It’s already at the abandoned airstrip,” I tell him, starting the car, ready to get out of here—but I kill the engine when I see a car with its headlights dimmed approaching the back gate. “Shit, who the hell is showing up at this hour?”
“Could be the security shift change,” Dominic responds, but instead of approaching the gate, the car stops a few meters away. “Or someone else is interested in breaking into DarkMed,” he adds, watching a guy get out of the vehicle dressed all in black, just like him. “What the fuck is that?”
“Judging by the size and the liquid, those are gas cans.” I furrow my brow as I spot the containers in the guy’s hands.
Just what I needed: a damn arsonist to screw up my plans.
“Shit. That bastard’s going to torch the place and my father’s inside.”
I’m about to tell him to stay calm when Dominic jumps out of the car and runs toward the stranger.
I punch the steering wheel and hit the gas, knowing that if any security guard spots Dominic, they’ll call Will and this whole thing will blow up in my face, ruining my plan.
“Get in!” I shout, rolling down the window the instant Dominic reaches the guy. “I told you to get in, damn it!” I growl, and the man behind him looks over his shoulder.
I narrow my eyes, recognizing him immediately.
“Well, well, are the dead rising?” the idiot mocks.
“What the hell are you doing here, Travis?” I demand, staring at my idiot friend.
“I could ask you the same, but right now I’m in a hurry to handle some business.” He smiles diabolically, and I only recognize him because his face isn’t covered.
The hatred in his bloodshot eyes mirrors my own.
“You’ll only torch this place over my dead body,” Dominic threatens.
“That’s no problem for me, asshole,” my friend retorts, still smiling.
“Travis, get in your car and follow me,” I instruct, but he quickly refuses.
“Believe me when I say I’d love to see this piece of shit go up in flames, but there’s an innocent person in there who doesn’t deserve to pay for Gavin’s actions—and that innocent person is Dominic’s father.
” I point to the big guy in front of him.
“You get why I can’t let you do this? You’d do the same in my shoes!”
I close my eyes, knowing Dominic just put his foot in his mouth.
“If it were my father in there, I’d help you burn him,” Travis responds, his eyes blazing with hatred and, if I know him well, a few other substances too.
“For old times’ sake, hold off on this.” He looks back at me when he hears my voice. “Let’s talk, and another day I’ll help you blow this place sky high.”
“Bryan…”
“We’ve been out here too long and the cameras are rolling, damn it!” I growl, losing patience with these two idiots. “I’m going to have a hell of a time scrubbing our footage, so get in your damn car and let’s disappear before security shows up.”
He looks at the building and then at me, but doesn’t respond—just turns on his heel and heads back to his car.
Dominic throws himself into the passenger seat and I finally peel out of this mess.
“Who the hell is he?” he asks, but instead of answering, I dial Wolf’s number and put the damn call on speaker, knowing I need to race against time.
It rings out.
“Shit!” I punch the steering wheel and call again.
This time he answers on the third ring.
“You know, Bryan, you’re starting to push it,” he growls on the other end, breathless.
I quickly understand what I interrupted and the reason for the edge in his voice.
“You need to wipe the last five minutes from the distributor’s external cameras,” I say quickly, turning right and noticing Travis is following me.
“That’s impossible right now!” I hear someone calling for him, confirming he really is in the middle of something with his group.
“Something came up and I’m sure I’m on camera, along with two friends of mine,” I tell him, and he huffs on the other end.
“You promised you wouldn’t drag my damn company into this!” he shouts, and I understand the anger.
I’d be the same way!
“Every company has glitches,” I say, trying to smooth things over.
“Not mine!” he yells, and I hear a door slam in the background.
“I know I screwed up, Wolf, but it’s either this or they discover someone broke into the distributor, and when they investigate, they’ll realize the cameras were disabled,” I press, using every card I have. “It’ll be worse for both of us!”
“You owe me your damn soul, Bryan, and you can bet I’ll collect,” he threatens.
“It’s yours whenever you need it,” I respond, and he hangs up. “He’ll figure it out,” I mutter, not to Dominic but to myself, trying to release the tension that’s built up in my body.
“If you have a security company, why can’t you do this without asking for help?” Dominic asks.
“Because Wolf Security’s system is a fortress. Better to go straight to the owner than waste time trying to hack in,” I respond, flooring it when the road to my house comes into view.
I don’t know why the hell Travis was trying to burn down the distribution center, but I’m not letting him leave without an explanation.
I park the car and his pulls up right behind me.
Luke jumps out with his gun drawn, but one look from me and he lowers it.