Page 52 of Midnight Legacy

He spun to face me. “I want my family back. I want to go back thirty years and change all the lives that the Council destroyed in their hunger for power and money. But since we can’t do any of that, let’s discuss what can be achieved.”

There was a story here that none of the rest of us saw, a deep hurt in his eyes that I didn’t understand. My arms folded across my chest, but I kept hold of the gun.

“I don’t want Malcolm’s place in your sick enterprise.” I wanted nothing to do with any of his business.

He handed me a piece of paper from his pocket without a word.

I read it and handed it to Ash, who stood beside me. He left the room, dragging Jordan behind him.

Dante returned to his place at the window, his hip braced on the frame. “There are times when I miss the English weather. It is always hot and dry where I live, unless it’s storm season.”

He didn’t seem to require a reply, so I went to the fridge and lifted out two bottles of beer, handing him one.

“Frank was my only brother. We were always close during our lives until a few months before he died. Malcolm was my eyes in the Council who kept me informed about my family. According to him, Frank and Elise were well, their girls all grown up and married. It was a shock to me that they were dead along with Kimberley. Money appeared in our business accounts, so I never suspected that anything was wrong.”

I’d seen the accounts, they only went to one account, so Dante had access to the same accounts as Cassandra.

“His business partner found the car on the road that night and took Cassandra to the hospital. Her family was buried when she got out, and he put her into a children’s home with a different name.”

“Clive seems to have gone missing,” Dante replied. “I was trying to find him to have a chat.”

“Has he?” I replied nonchalantly. “I was planning on having a chat with him myself. What a shame.”

He was currently in a cell in one of our units until I had time to visit him for that chat. Jordan had a way of storing people until we were ready for them. Clive was currently attached to a machine in a coma with tubes keeping him alive. It was less messy, and they didn’t scream or hurt themselves.

“Indeed.” Dante’s lips twitched in a barely-there smile. “If you find him, tell him I’m looking for him.”

Jordan and Ash re-entered the room, and Jordan used a device to scan him for hidden transmission bugs. He then gave the bottle of wine the same treatment.

“Talk,” Jordan spat out, his dark gaze locked on our visitor.

“I don’t have a lot of time and I owe no explanation to any of you here. I need to speak to Cassandra immediately.”

My brow furrowed. Something was going on that I didn’t understand.

“Very soon, my people will realise I’m off the grid and then all hell will break loose. My phone is in the car, but it won’t take them long to track it.”

Reluctantly, I went to our bedroom. “He wants to speak to you,” I said to Cassandra, my mind trying to put together all the information currently racing through it.

She nodded once, linking her fingers through mine.

“Uncle Dan?” Cassandra said softly as we entered the living area.

A genuine smile crossed his face. “There you are, poppet.” He opened his arms and engulfed her in a hug.

My instincts went onto red alert, and the need to remove his arms from her burned through me.

“What’s going on?” Cassandra asked.

“Everyone out but her husband,” Dante snapped.

Jordan and Ash threw confused looks at each other.

“It’s fine,” I said, removing my gun from the back of my belt. “I’ll yell if I need you.”

Dante watched until they left, then sprang into action. “I don’t have much time, Cassandra.” He delved into his pocket and produced a key. “This is the only key that is missing from your mother’s bible. It is the second key that unlocks the deposit box you haven’t been able to access.”

Her gaze darted to mine. “How did you know?”

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