Page 33 of Wicked Love
He didn’t waste time for farewells before dismissing the video chat. I was left staring at a blank window.
I let out my breath with a brief growl. How much had I even learned from the attempt? I didn’t think he cared what happened to me or my family’s business, but he hadn’t given away enough to convince me that he’d purposefully undermined us either. I still had no idea whether Doom’s Seed had intended to move against us or if it’d really been only a lieutenant taking initiative he shouldn’t have.
One thing was clear: Doom’s Seed was no friend to the Storm, to the guys who called themselves the Vigil, or to Madelyn Silver. I’d have to keep an even closer eye on his people’s operations in this city and their surveillance of the college. Things could take a much more dangerous turn so quickly.
As much as I admired Maddie’s resolve and determination to find answers, I couldn’t help worrying that we were all in over our heads—and we wouldn’t find out just how much until the next unexpected strike.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Madelyn
There was something warmer about our next meeting with Beckett despite the main circumstances that brought us together. We were perched on stools around the kitchen island, only Dexter standing as he moved between the island and the stove, where he’d cooked jasmine rice and a couple of different curries to fortify us for the conversation ahead.
I already knew to expect great things from Dexter’s culinary efforts. Beckett hadn’t sampled them before. As my first bite of the tofu and yellow peppers in ruddy sauce melted on my tongue, he brought his fork to his mouth. He chewed carefully, and his eyes widened.
“This is fucking good,” he said to Dexter.
A broad grin stretched across Dexter’s normally subdued face. I had a feeling Beckett had just won a few points with the other two guys as well. There was no denying he meant the compliment, and the fact that I’d rarely heard him swear only emphasized his enthusiasm.
Slade stretched out his legs to the side of the island and scooped up another forkful of his own. “Yep, we’re pretty spoiled around here. Dex has his place in the Vigil assured for all time as long as he can work a stove.”
He winked at his friend, but something about his tone sounded a bit off to me. I couldn’t put my finger on it, and my stomach twisted despite the delicious food.
It’d been too long since we’d really been able to relax and have a proper conversation with each other that didn’t revolve around murderous criminals. I had no idea what other things might be on Slade’s mind.
A small smile had touched Logan’s lips, but he got down to business, waving his fork at Beckett. “This isn’t a dinner party. What have you found out in the past few days? You said you were going to talk to that guy you think is behind this—Doom’s Sprout or whatever.”
“Doom’s Seed,” Beckett corrected him with a hint of dry amusement, but any sign of humor quickly faded from his expression. “I did speak to him. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t launch into a full confession of wrongdoing or an overt declaration of war.”
I frowned. “Did you get anything out of him?”
“Not directly.” Beckett offered an apologetic grimace. “But it was a necessary step to make sure he knows he can’t expect to hide his involvement. If hedoesn’twant a war, then he has to ensure his men stand down, at least when it comes to anything that interferes with my business.”
“Wonderful for you,” Logan muttered, and I aimed a kick at his shin.
Beckett appeared unfazed. “I do think I found out something else useful. I mentioned Evan Silver in passing at the end of the conversation. Doom’s Seed didn’t let himself react in front of me, but there’s been a telling shift in behavior among his people since then.”
Hope shivered through me. I leaned toward him with my elbows on the island. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve had my employees monitoring all of the companies the four of you connected to the theft of Madelyn’s car, Mr. Silver’s past investigations, and his death. Business was proceeding as usual at all of them until my conversation with Doom’s Seed. It’s been the same since at the chop shop, the bar, and the spa, but my comments must have spurred some changes at the warehouse and the seafood market.”
Slade stopped chewing, his dark eyes lighting up with curiosity. “What kind of changes are we talking about?”
Beckett took another bite of curry before answering, as if he didn’t realize the rest of us were hanging on his next words. Or maybe he did, and this was his way of heckling Logan right back.
“The warehouse from the address in the trinket box is now for sale through back channels. It looks like they’re trying to offload it so it’s no longer part of Doom’s Seed’s holdings. And the man you had footage of regularly coming by the seafood market hasn’t been back since then. Neither has the guy named Sharply who used to work there every other weekday.”
Dexter came over to stand between Logan and Slade with his own plate. He set it down, his expression pensive. “What do you make of those changes? Do they point to anything we should be concerned about?”
“Not immediately,” Beckett said. “But those two businesses were the ones already tied the most directly to Mr. Silver’s death from the evidence we had. The fact that they’re the only two where Doom’s Seed has adjusted his operations confirms that they’re a key factor, while the other businesses must not be all that involved. He doesn’t want there to be any chance of you finding more proof of what happened back then.”
My pulse stuttered. “Then this Doom’s Seed guy is definitely behind my dad’s murder?”
Beckett gazed back at me evenly. “It’s too early to be sure. But either he knows the details, or he mentioned my comment to that lieutenant of his who could be making the changes independently. Either way, someone high up in the organization is moving to protect themselves.”
“Then we need to dig deeper into those places,” Logan said. “Especially the seafood market. It seems to have been some kind of hub for whatever they were moving around.”
“The secret is in the fish,” Slade said with a light laugh.
