32. Soul
Soul
It’s never a good sign when things are this quiet, and I know I’m not the only one thinking it as we filter into church. It’s been weeks since Zane took Emery and Charlie, and he’s still yet to make a move.
Steel sits at the head of the table to my right, tapping his fingers on the armrest as he glances at Ghost. “Has there been any movement?”
Ghost has been monitoring the feeds around the warehouse we raided last week, keeping an eye out for Eli.
“Nothing.” He drags a tattooed hand through his dark hair. “Eli hasn’t sent anyone to clean it up, which means they sense the trap. They’d rather let the bodies rot than risk being tied to it.”
“What about the owner of the warehouse?” Steel asks.
“A shell corporation owned by a shell corporation. There’s nothing to tie it to Eli.”
“There goes our backup plan,” I grumble, leaning back in my seat.
We hoped they’d eventually sweep in to take care of the men we left behind so we could seize the opportunity to tip off the Feds and tie them up in legal trouble. Unfortunately, they’re smarter than that.
“We’ll figure out something else,” Steel says.
I shake my head. “It’s too fucking quiet, and you know it. Zane told Emery he’s going to use her to take us down, and he hasn’t so much as contacted her yet to see if she’s gathered anything. What’s he waiting for?”
After Emery admitted everything her uncle said to her in the interrogation room, I brought the information to the club. I expected the guys to take it worse than they did, or to think she might actually betray us. They surprised me by having her back. They were as pissed as I was.
Zane didn’t just threaten the club; he threatened Charlie.
No one, including me, blamed Emery for considering his offer to keep our daughter safe. I respect the hell out of her for wanting to protect Charlie, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t come down to that. Even if it means I have to take the fall in her place.
Steel’s eyes narrow on me as if he reads what I’m thinking. “We’re going to figure this out.”
“Then let’s do it already.”
Legacy leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I’ve been digging into all of Zane’s ancillary bank accounts, and I think I found something.”
“A way to drain his assets so he can’t buy his way out of this?”
“Not quite. Something different, and you’re not going to like it.
” Legacy and Ghost share a look that has a knot forming in my stomach.
“I’ve been tracing every deposit back to the source, and as you know, he shifts his funds around too much to pinpoint exactly where it’s all coming from.
All we know is that everything from his clubs goes overseas, while his casino money stays stateside.
It’s all filtered through so many corporations; there’s no cutting him off. ”
“So we’re still running in circles?” Steel frowns.
“Not exactly. When the deposits were a dead end, I started digging into the transfers, focusing on the largest ones first. He splits his money between LLCs, trusts, and corporations. Except for a few monthly deposits to a personal account. They’re smaller compared to the rest, so it didn’t set up any red flags at first until I realized they were all going to the same place…
Which is when I noticed the name on the account. ”
My blood runs cold, knowing what he’s going to say before he says it. “They’re in Emery’s name?”
All eyes move to me, and Legacy nods. “It makes sense. He’s hiding his money under her name, so he’ll need her back to eventually access it.”
“Then why not keep her when the Feds took her?”
“Overplaying his hand?” Steel guesses. “Ego maybe? He obviously thinks Emery will do anything he asks if he sent her back in here expecting her to turn on her own husband.”
“Do you think she knows about the accounts?” Havoc asks, and my eyes narrow, hating that he’d even ask that.
“It doesn’t seem like it. She’s never withdrawn anything from them.
” Legacy shakes his head. “And she’s not tied to Zane’s organization in any other way.
Her name isn’t on any other accounts. It’s entirely separate by design.
If he loses everything, those funds are protected because his name isn’t on them. ”
“It’s his insurance plan.” My teeth clench.
Of course, Zane is using Emery to hide money. Like she said, he doesn’t care that she’s his niece. To him, she’s something to be used.
“Zane will need Emery to access the money,” Legacy says. “He’s housing it in a notoriously strict bank. Withdrawal and account closure requests can only be made in person. She’ll have to be there to authorize anything.”
“She won’t help him.”
“Even if he gives her no other choice?” Steel counters, and my stomach churns.
Charlie.
My hands clench, and I wish we’d kept the assholes from the warehouse alive so I could release some of this frustration. With the club on lockdown, there’s barely anyone going in or out, including us. Which means there’s nothing I can do but sit around and wait until we have a plan.
It’s fucking aggravating.
“There’s more.” Ghost is the one to speak up this time, looking from Legacy to Steel and then setting his attention on me.
I glance at Chaos, who shrugs. Clearly, he has no clue what they’re going to tell me either.
“Why do I get a bad feeling about what’s coming next?”
“Sorry, brother,” Legacy says. “When I was tracing Zane’s money, I noticed something that felt off around the time he opened the account in Emery’s name. The first deposit was right after her parents’ car accident when she was six years old.”
“That makes sense if that’s when she started living with him. Until she turned eighteen, any money that he moved to her would still be his to do with as he pleased.”
Legacy nods. “Except there was another payment for that exact same amount made at that same time. Zane transferred the majority of his liquid assets into Emery’s account, but another chunk was sent somewhere else. To a family with the last name Williamson.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?” I rack my brain, trying to remember where I’ve heard it—or read it—which is when it hits me. “The drunk driver who killed Emery’s parents was Trent Williamson.”
“Yeah.” Legacy clears his throat. “His family received a large payment less than a month after the accident. The money was initially deposited into a trust, which was controlled by an LLC that wasn’t tied to them. It wasn’t moved out until after the investigation was closed.”
“Why would Zane be paying off the family of the man who killed his brother?” My teeth grit.
“It looks like—”
“I know what it looks like. Fuck.” I tip my head back, taking a deep breath. “Zane killed his own fucking brother and paid off the guy by settling with his family. Was he trying to kill her as well?”
Ghost shakes his head, cutting in. “The airbags up front are all that malfunctioned. We think he intended to keep her alive, or he would have had the seatbelts tampered with instead. He needed her.”
“She was six,” I point out.
“I know.” Ghost ignores that I snapped at him. “It looks like her father was the co-owner of the first casino Zane opened. Zane couldn’t have done it without him. They built the empire together.”
“Then why kill him?”
“That part, I don’t know. Something went bad between them, and Zane must have wanted his brother out.” Ghost shrugs.
“But he kept Emery alive.”
“Emery was her father’s heir. When he died, she inherited all his assets. If she had died in the accident, the money would have been tied up in probate for years. His business expansions would’ve been stalled. Projects they had started would have been paused. Her surviving worked in his favor.”
Chaos looks over at me. “There’s no way she knows about that.”
“Agreed.” Bile rises in my throat. “I have to tell her.”
No one disagrees. A wave of sympathy rolls through the room.
Emery’s uncle hasn’t just been using her to make business deals; he killed her parents. He dragged her into his world. My chest aches just thinking about how she’s going to react to that information.
“The good news is—”
“Good news?” I cut Legacy off, and he winces. “Sorry.”
“No, I get it. What’s the upside?”
“With all this information, I have a few ideas about how we can go after Zane. Tanner might be able to help us reopen the investigation into Emery’s parents’ death. If we can find a way to prove that he had them killed, it might be enough.”
As much as I don’t like the thought of using Zane murdering Emery’s parents as the catalyst for taking him down, it’s our only play.
“All right. Keep me updated.”
“Same,” Steel says, reclaiming the meeting. “Now that we’ve got a lead on what to do about Zane, what else are we dealing with? How are things at Ironside Ridge going?”
Chaos grumbles, shaking his head. “The city council is giving the guys trouble. Some of the locals aren’t thrilled about us setting down roots in ranching country, and they’re using their pull with the big players in town to make things difficult.
The guys say they have it under control, but we’ll see. ”
“It’s not even an official clubhouse. They’re lucky we’re not gunning for more.” Steel’s fingers clench.
“Lanceleaf Valley is a small town, and it’s nothing like Vegas. I get what we’re trying to build, but I’m just telling you it’s not going to be easy.”
“Do we need to send someone else down there?”
Chaos shakes his head. “They have it covered for now. I’ll let you know if that changes.”
“And your brother?” Steel's eyebrow lifts.
Kincaid is still living on the land, even after the problems he caused for Chaos. I respect Chaos for trying to mend fences; I just don’t know if we can trust him.
“He’s helping out where he can. I’m keeping tabs.”
Steel pops his knuckles. “So long as he isn’t behind any of the issues. I still can’t figure out how you talked me into this. Setting down roots in Texas of all places. What the fuck was I thinking?”
“That you’re not stressed enough,” I joke.
Steel laughs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Don’t I fucking know it.”