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“Holy shit, Six!”
When I walk out, he is running his hands through the little shaved spot and fingering her long locks. Trimming the ends made her hair look fuller, the waves more pronounced. She looks drop-dead gorgeous, but half of it is her newfound confidence. Her kiss-swollen lips and flushed cheeks only add to her appeal.
Micah takes her hand and walks with her down the stairs, Lukas watching their descent.
“Wow.” Lukas pushes his hair back from his forehead, eyes locked on Six. “Luis, you did this?” I’m assuming his question is rhetorical because he doesn’t take his eyes off her.
“Maybe he can do you next.” Micah teases him, tugging on a section of his chin-length hair.
Six looks over her shoulder, eyes shining as she unsuccessfully suppresses a giggle.
“Head out of the gutter, Six.”
Bennet
What are the fucking odds?
Everywhere I turn, Jackson fucking Adley is unsurprisingly making people miserable and ruining lives. But there’s no way he’s connected to this, to her.
There has to be something I’m not catching. It’s staring me right in the face and I’m missing it. My frustration manifests itself in the stiffness of my neck and shoulders, pain blooming at my temples.
This is getting deeper than I could have ever imagined. I knew someone was looking for her and that we should hide her. I knew the moment I met Jackson he was the spitting image of my father, knew without a doubt the DNA results would be positive. I felt the connection, not only with Six, but the other guys as well.
I’ve analyzed every second, every piece of evidence at my disposal, and I never considered that any of these things could be related. The correlations are stacking up and it’s becoming impossible to compartmentalize, which I’m usually quite good at.
Lukas, Micah, and Jackson decided to run into town to pick up the evidence packets and run a few errands. I reminded them to keep a low profile and to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
Luis takes Six upstairs, leaving me to weed through my worst nightmare. There’s nothing worse than a puzzle I can’t solve. It’s not like our silly IQ games. There are too many intricacies and loose ends that simply don’t fit.
My computer pings, a welcome distraction.
I’ve asked my secretary, Brenda, to find out more about what my father is doing in Raleigh. She’s managed a friendly relationship with my father’s secretary, not at my bidding, but it has been useful for avoiding him. Now I’m using that connection to get closer to him. I open her email and read:
Bennet,
I have confirmed that Mr. Adley is in the Raleigh area. He is staying at The Umstead Hotel and Spa, which is located between Raleigh and Durham. It seems his business has mostly taken place either in his suite, or in a warehouse in North West Raleigh. I am working on getting the exact address of the warehouse or any information about what business is conducted there, but so far all I know is that it is a large, unmarked building with a barbed fence and armed security. The PI arrived late last night and should have something for us within the hour, I will keep you updated of course.
I will let you know when I learn more. Until then, I have covered all of your meetings and have attached notes below.
Brenda
That woman is a saint, and if she ever betrayed my confidence, I would be legitimately heartbroken. After thorough vetting and many years of working together, I do trust her, but I am on edge with all of the unknowns. I’m not just avoiding my father like usual. I’m trying to keep her safe.
Six.
Will we ever be able to put together the pieces of her past?
Almost an hour later, I’ve given up on staring at all of the photos and papers. I’m pretty sure I have them all memorized at this point. I’m going through Brenda’s notes for the meetings she attended in my stead.
I’m signing off on a few budget reports when I get another ping. This time it’s from Tony, my cybersecurity specialist. There is no message, only an encrypted link. I click it, and I’m in!
I have all of my father’s accounts laid out in front of me- business, personal, off-shore, even accounts he has hidden under various pseudonyms. Well done, Tony.
Tony gets paid a lot of money to help me, usually ensuring the security of my own accounts and devices. The work he’s doing to hack into my father’s accounts could cost him his life, which makes him all the more trustworthy in my book. We’ve been working together for longer than Brenda has been in my employ. I make a mental note to send Tony a bonus and begin combing through the accounts.
My father is beyond rich. However rich I thought he was, the numbers I’m seeing in all these accounts are well over triple his estimated worth. I am positive the majority of it is not through legitimate means, which I may finally be able to prove.
The amount of money going to a company called BioCere, Inc. is staggering. There are multiple accounts funneling into this business. What the hell kind of business are they conducting that goes through that amount of money? Given the name, I’m assuming it’s pharmaceutical or medical in nature. It’s also what my father is most known for.
