Page 43 of The Saviors: Part Two
“We’ve been looking into Amber, Baxter, and Roland.”
She jerks her hands away. “You’ve done what?”
“We needed to make sure everyone checks out, Cupcake. That includes Ari and his team too.”
“Are you guys insane?”
“Probably.” Sean shrugs. “But we did it for your protection.”
“Baxter and Rolandsavedme. Amber’s been my only fucking friend. Are you saying I’m not smart enough to pick it up if they’ve been lying to me for two years?”
“We aren’t saying that, Lovie. And we’re just being overly cautious.”
“Why didn’t you come to me first?”
“Because we didn’t want to upset you, Dragonfly. And it was my idea.” Kai braces his arms on the table. “We just started digging yesterday.”
“Okay,” Chelsea says slowly. “Are you just going to alienate everyone until we figure this out?”
“If we have to.” Axel shrugs. “Ari already knows that we’ve been looking into him.”
Kai raises a brow. “How?” I explain about the software, and Cole fills him in on their conversation. “Shit.”
“He’ll get over it. He knows I’m a suspicious bastard by nature,” Axel says and gestures to my computer. “Bring up that picture of Amber.” He explains to Chelsea about Vivian’s niece, and her frown deepens. “Nolan did a comparison, and we don’t think it’s the same person. But that doesn’t rule her out.”
“What am I supposed to do? Shut her out?”
“Exactly that,” Axel answers. “It has to be someone that has access to you or us. This is the only option we have. Don’t stop talking to her but don’t tell her too much.”
“This is ridiculous.” Chelsea throws her hands up in the air. “She’s been really worried.”
“Has she? Or is she just acting? Because I would think she wouldn’t take no for an answer about seeing you after what happened.”
Chelsea glares at Axel. “She hasn’t been here because I haven’t fucking told her where this house is. And she’s been begging to see me. Amber is not the leak. Maybe you need to look at your own team and quit pointing the finger at me and mine.”
“We aren’t saying for sure that it is them, Lovie. But we have to look at it from all sides. I’d rather be wrong about them being involved than risk putting you in any more danger.”
Chelsea sighs. “I get that. Let me see the picture.” I move over to my computers and bring up Amber’s side-by-side on the flat screen. “They look nothing alike.”
“No. But Charlie has had this in place for a while. It gives her time to fake her death and reconstruct her face. Ages and everything match,” Axel argues.
“That’s a lot to go through just to bring you down, Axel.”
“You don’t understand the lengths that he’s willing to go through. He hates me that much.”
“But what’s the deal with the Abbs Valley crews?” I ask. “That’s bold even for him.”
“Control. If he has nothing standing in his way, he’ll have control over Forest Grove, Grover, and Abbs Valley.”
“Yeah, but this is the fucking Mafia. Not some lowly gang or corrupt official,” Sean points out.
Axel shrugs. “He’s arrogant. Holden tightened up their security even more than it was. If they get a hit, he’ll know.”
“I put several new precautions in place for Chelsea’s security. New motion detectors and everything are already in place.”
Chelsea leans back in her chair and looks around the room. “What am I supposed to do about Amber, Roland, and Baxter?”
“Keep Amber on a tight leash for now. You can still talk to her, but she doesn’t need to be here for now. We’ll keep an eye on Baxter and Roland,” Axel answers.
