Page 5 of Midnight Legacy

My jaw tightened into a ball and I glared at the screen.

“Thought as much. You’re the only other person in that room who could have made that shot in the dark.” Jordan loaded another fingerprint photo from his phone and began to search through databases he had no legal right to be in.

My gaze moved to Jordan, who stopped what he was doing. He lifted a bottle from under the desk and filled both our glasses. “He was a prick. Fuck him.” Jordan raised his glass in a mock salute.

Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose. “He threatened Cas,” I finally spoke.

I’d never killed someone I knew before. They were normally nameless men who were the baddies. In the past few months, I’d decimated my record and dispatched Malcolm and now Michael.

“His actions had threatened all of us.” Jordan sneered, taking a long gulp. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he was involved in tonight’s little escapade. Michael’s never been brave enough to confront anyone before, yet tonight he faced a gunman?”

That hadn’t occurred to me. Michael had always been a coward.

A ping on the computer drew our attention. The dead men were on record for numerous misdemeanours but nothing like what they pulled tonight.

“Hired guns,” Jordan confirmed. “I doubt any of those men knew anything about the Council. I managed to grab the zip drive before the police arrived and put it in my shoe. Here’s the file names they wanted.”

I scanned the list on one of the screens. “Who the fuck is Doulton and why is everyone getting their panties in a twist about him?” I demanded, my hands forming fists.

“Anything in Cassandra’s father’s files?” Jordan asked.

He’d never queried what I saw in her safety deposit boxes before. I brought out my phone and flicked through the photographs of the documentation, finally handing it to him when I found the relevant images. His eyebrows lifted and he handed my phone back to me.

“I can see why people’s asses are eating their thongs. We need to keep low profiles after tonight in case anyone is watching us, but then we need to sort this situation out once and for all.” Jordan leaned back and rubbed his eyes. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”

The Doulton files pertained to priceless gemstones that had been catalogued from mines across the world. The Council had their fingers in gemstone pies, but those files detailed secret mines in South Africa. Whoever got their hands on those deeds was worth a kingdom. The money from it was going to an account in a tax haven. It was worth billions after all this time.

“Tell me about it. How’s Ash?”

Jordan gave a bitter laugh. “I slipped him a sleeping tablet so he should be out like a light. He lives in his head too much already. Better that he sleeps before facing funeral arrangements.”

I nodded and pushed myself to my feet. “I’m gonna check on Cas and make sure she’s resting.”

“Fucking glad I insisted Megan stay at home tonight,” Jordan muttered. “All those bullets flying from assholes who couldn’t hold a gun properly. Who the fuck aims at the ceiling?”

“Cas will be joining her in future. My nerves won’t cope with any more surprises like tonight. If she’s locked in the apartment, it would take a small army to get to her.”

Jordan waved as I wandered wearily to the door. I heard the clink of the glass bottle being set on the desk. Jordan was obviously planning on drinking himself into oblivion. Lucky bastard. I would join him, only I had other responsibilities.

Cassandra stretched when I strolled back into the bedroom, turning toward me. “Planning a war?” she queried, her voice husky from sleep.

My lips twitched. “Maybe? We seem to be surrounded by bad men with evil intentions.”

“As opposed to bad men with good intentions?” She arched an eyebrow.

Yeah, she was talking about me and the guys, but I would never apologise for what I had to do to keep her safe. Instead, I distracted her by kissing those pouty lips that were designed to kiss mine for the rest of our lives. My hand splayed protectively across her stomach, and her fingers found mine.

Eventually, she pulled back, her cheeks flushed, and lips swollen. “Are we going to talk about tonight?”

My teeth bit into my bottom lip. There was nothing I needed or wanted to say.

“We can’t keep pretending, Zee. Who were those men?”

Instead of answering, I walked into the main living area in search of another drink. Cassandra padded out behind me, dressed only in her ridiculous bumblebee onesie. I honestly thought they only made those things for kids.

Her fingers wrapped around my wrist and drew it away from the bottle. “You drink too much already.”

Some days, whisky was the only thing that made my mind numb enough to deal with the shit show of my life.

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