Page 14 of Midnight Torment

“Every man on that Council is already a billionaire,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, but some people become obsessed with hoarding money,” Ash said. “Dad was trying to create his own power dynamic and that requires money. Blood diamonds are an untraceable source of income.”

“Maybe we should take a closer look at those mines,” I replied. “Those deeds were hidden for over twenty years. Is someone still mining them, or have they been sitting static?”

Ash frowned and pursed his lips together for a moment. “I can’t imagine anyone would allow them to just sit there, they would need security maintained at them at the very least, which means an overseer to ensure their assets are protected.”

I sighed and closed my eyes. “And there is still one Jenkins brother that knows they hold the deeds to those mines. He very conveniently left his key to Cassandra since he wasn’t able to access that deposit box with only his key.” I stared at Xavier. “He knew you wouldn’t let that paperwork sit there. He’s probably been biding his time, waiting to steal them from your home.”

Xavier had the good grace to look down. “Yeah, I moved them after you guys tore me a new ass.” He let out a deep breath. “They’re in our own personal storage unit with vaults. They are as secure as I can make them.”

“Even I would have difficulty breaking into that place,” I replied. “The vaults in the basement are built to withstand a bomb.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Dante to use a bomb,” Ash commented in a drawl tone.

“He’s threatened Megan twice now, and I’ll be honest, that more than pisses me off.” Only he was on the other side of the world, he would already have a bullet in his head. “We’ve all been looking into his activities. Why target her?”

“I was thinking about this,” Ash replied. “What if he’s not targeting Megan but you? He targeted Horatio and I have to ask the question why? Everything Dante does has symbology and reason. Why Horatio when he could have hit any of us at any time going in or out of the Council house?”

Bloody hell.

“I have no idea. Do you think there is something about my family since Dante was about at the time my parents were still alive?” I needed a drink because the past needed to stay there.

“I think we should ask Lucas,” Ash replied. “He seems to know more than he ever tells us. He would never had admitted to the Zodiac Brotherhood only Lucrezia figured it out. My guess is there is a lot of skeletons in his closet and he will try and keep them there unless we drag them out and expose them to the light.”

“Uncle Lucas always did have his fingers in too many pies,” Xavier said. “I sit on his seat on the Council, but he is always interfering and giving me his opinion.”

As much as I respected Lucas, my main focus was on Megan’s safety. “If we’re being watched, then we need to move all assets to secure storage. If they can’t access it, then our enemies can’t use it against us. Then we need to start locking the women down. Megan and the others are our greatest weaknesses, and a man like Dante wouldn’t think twice about pulling a Darius and shipping them to a containment camp somewhere off the grid.”

“Agreed,” Ash replied. “I doubt Tuscany is a safe option right now since everyone knows where Lucas lives.”

We all had properties dotted across the globe, most of them were off the radar and under aliases. “I bought that island a few years ago when I was going through my melancholy phase. I even built a house on it and have never used it.”

Xavier laughed and nearly fell off his seat. “I remember that, you were going to live off the grid and hide from the world.”

“It’s still a good idea most days,” I muttered and glared at the assholes laughing at me.

“No one knows about it,” Ash said as he contemplated the options with his strategic mind. “Knowing you, it was built to withstand the apocalypse.”

“Megan certainly couldn’t wander off there.” The more I thought about it, the more advantages I found in leaving her sexy ass there until all this died down.

“Cassandra would kill me,” Xavier said, throwing cold water all over my flaming good idea. “She’s too close to her due date and freaks out every time she has a twinge or she doesn’t feel the baby kick for a while.”

“Maybe you should consider having it stocked up, since it’s good to have a back-up plan,” Ash suggested. He wanted Lucrezia out of this mess as much as I wanted Megan safe.

“I’ll get it sorted out, and put security access in for all of us. That way we have a beta site waiting for us.” I would prefer to have a gamma site as well, maybe even a delta site. You could never be too prepared for a fucker like Dante.

“We need a few distractions over the coming days, and we’ll start moving everything that we brought from Cassandra’s old home,” Xavier continued. “I only left what we were still studying. But if your senses are saying they are a risk to have in the house, then I’ll move them.”

Over the years, we’d all come to trust my instincts. “Gather them up, and we’ll start to move them later today,” I replied. “Is there more than we can move on our bikes?”

“No.” Xavier shook his head. “I have some paperwork of Dad’s to move as well, but it should all fit into a backpack.”

“Okay phase one is to ensure no one can get their filthy hands on any of that paperwork. Megan is in work with a lot of people around her and Flynn as her intern. Cassandra and Lucrezia are guarded at your home. This is as good a time as any for all of us to take stock and move everything that could leave us vulnerable.”

“Agreed,” Ash said, pushing himself to his feet. “We tidy house and ensure we are squeaky clean. I have been systematically clearing out Dad’s houses, shredding what isn’t needed or what makes me sick and the rest I’ve been putting into storage. Some of it is still in my townhouse, so I can clear that out today.”

They both looked at me and I shrugged. “You know me, everything of mine is in storage. But I’ll help you two tidy up loose ends.”

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