Chapter Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty Three
Bexley

“We located the phone signal a mile away from Charles de Gaulle airport,” Dominic continued to explain his findings. “It wasn’t too hard to figure it out. Malcolm stored a suspicious number as “C” in his contact list.”

Asher narrowed his eyes as he thought. “Don’t be too hasty. We still don’t know if the number belongs to Susan. “C” could mean anyone, not necessarily the Chameleon. He could have a secret mistress or an escort he uses. You need to be thorough. Pull up the phone records and go through each conversation. There has to be something more concrete for us to go on.”

Cruz handed me a glass of brandy to calm my nerves. I took it and sipped a small amount. The burning sensation seeped into my tongue and licked a fiery trail down my throat. After several sips, I began to feel the smoky liquid taking effect.

“I think we’ve found something,” Dominic replied a few minutes later. “We’ll fill you all in as soon as we get back.”

The boys seemed optimistic and that eased the knotting tension I was feeling inside. At least tonight wasn’t a total waste of our time. We bugged Malcolm’s phone and that gave us a vantage point. At least we could tap into his conversations and weed out all the corrupted Ministers before stepping foot into Britain. There had to be someone who we could trust with this information. The leader of the opposition maybe? I had to think positively or else I would crumble under the pressure . . . but when all this is over, I know my men will be done with the agency. It has been a huge part of their lives for such a long time, but they turned on us when we needed them most. If they can’t see what is happening under their noses then they don’t deserve to have soldiers as good as the Wolfe Brothers on their team. They don’t deserve my father, or Uncle Zane. It will be a sad loss for Britain the day they turn in their I.D cards and guns. The country should mourn the loss of six great servicemen because they are a testament to the agency. My husbands want to move on to new and brighter pastures, and I can’t say that I blame them. They didn’t fail our queen and country. The agency did. And as soon as we get back up on our feet again, I’m going to help them to build one hell of an empire. The secret service will be beg for our allegiance. I'm so angry right now, I could scream.

“Bexley we’re here,” Cruz announced, nudging me.

I set down the glass tumbler and got out of the limo. Dominic and Ulrich had arrived a minute or two before we did, and were waiting for us at the front of the chateaux. It was half past midnight and shadows stood motionless across the vineyard. The moonlight shone down upon us, outlining us in its silvery hue. We had to be careful not to wake the sleeping priest and his maid. It was good of them to let us stay here, but we couldn’t outstay our welcome. We would take the fond memories of our wedding day and leave at the first sign of daylight. The last thing any of us wanted was to put our allies in jeopardy and have the authorities accuse them of aiding and abetting wanted fugitives. I hoped to return here with our children someday, and show them where we recited our sacred vows. Not a business arrangement. It was so much more than that now.

“Let’s go into the kitchen,” Uncle Teddy suggested, lowering the volume of his voice.

Braxton led the way, removing his prosthetics. Asher and Cruz did the same. I was getting so used to them wearing disguises, it didn’t faze me as they tugged the fake skin from their faces like a scene from a gory horror film. Asher had missed a piece beneath his ear and it started to bug me as we gathered around the table. I yanked it away like I was tearing off a plaster, making him flinch with discomfort. He rubbed the side of his face, glaring at me as if I’d just waxed off half of his beard. Everyone settled down around the table, sitting shoulder to shoulder. Dominic set up his laptop and turned the screen for us to see.

“Take a look at this,” he mentioned, scrolling through the phone records. “Do you remember the Russian diplomat with the name Volk, meaning wolf? They tried to cover it up as a Bratva hit, but we all know it was a message from the Chameleon. Well, Malcolm received a call from “C” a week before the assassination. Then another five-minute conversation took place on the morning of the killing. And again, an hour before the agency raided our house.”

“Are you saying that you can place “C” at the scene of the murder?” Asher asked, needing Dominic to confirm that.

Dominic’s eyes flinched with regret. “No . . . not in Moscow when the shooting took place.”

“Wait . . . what?” Braxton’s expression morphed into a bemused grimace. “Of course, she was there. She murdered an undercover agent and assumed their identity. That’s how she was able to travel to the U.K. She murdered Volk, and then she killed Agent Black. Jesus, Dom . . . I thought you said you’d found her?”

“I thought I had,” Dominic retaliated.

Asher waved his hand in dismissal. “Can you pinpoint where the call took place?”

Cruz said nothing as he listened to the news. I couldn’t read the impassive expression on his face. There wasn’t a flicker of anger or surprise. The guy was a walking enigma. Emilio poured us all another drink and set down the glasses in front of us. Ulrich guzzled his down in one large chug and held his glass out for a top up. Uncle Teddy wore the same grim expression since we arrived back.

“Not exactly,” Dominic answered, sighing exasperatedly. “It’s coming from somewhere in the North West of England. Whoever “C” is, they have a signal scrambler programmed into their device. I can’t decrypt it unless they make another call. We can’t risk calling them in case it backfires on us. So, as you can guess, we’re in an awkward predicament.”

“So . . .” Cruz finally spoke after finishing his drink. “Not only do we have the Chameleon to contend with, it appears as if we are dealing with an accomplice. Someone who is calling the shots from inside the U.K. We know that the Chameleon was in Moscow on the day of the killing, but the caller was not.”

The revelation startled me and I bounced my gaze around, witnessing the same level of understanding start to resonate between them.

“Of course . . . that’s how she’s able to be in two places at once, always blending in like a ghost. She’s working with someone else,” Asher said, piecing it together. “But then that beggars another question as to who “C” is? If Malcolm believes he is dealing with the Chameleon, and no one else, then he too is being fooled. Susan is using him like a puppet to get what she wants.”

“One of us needs to tell Dad about this,” Dominic mentioned. “We need to keep him and Uncle Jaxx in the loop.”

“Then you better explain it to him because my head is fucking scrambled with all this fucked-up nonsense,” Braxton huffed. “My brain shuts down past the stroke of midnight. If I can’t shoot at it, punch it, or smash it to smithereens, then count me the fuck out. I’m going to bed,” he grumbled.

Cruz flashed him a megawatt grin. “Goodnight, mate.”

Asher scrubbed a hand over his stressed face and exhaled a weary sigh. “Night, Brax.”

Dominic just raised his hand in acknowledgement, too busy scrolling through his phone. Teddy, Ulrich, and Emilio mumbled 'Good night' in an equally exhausted tone.

“Good night, babe,” I murmured, following suit with everyone else.

Braxton stopped and turned in the doorway, eyeing me with amusement.

“In case you couldn’t tell, that was a hint-drop for you to come upstairs, so I can rip off that dress and fuck your brains out,” he rasped in his deep gravelly voice. He jabbed his finger in an upward motion, signalling for me to get up from my seat.

His brazen comment made me blush from head to toe, too embarrassed to look around at all the grinning faces around the table. Braxton was the type to pick me up like a caveman and throw me over his shoulder. He wouldn’t think twice about lifting my dress and spanking my exposed arse for good measure. It wouldn’t matter that we had company. Ulrich, Teddy, and Emilio would see more than they bargained for if I chose not to comply. He would take whatever he wanted, not caring that we had an audience. I didn’t want him to prove his point in front of my so-called uncles, and our mutual cousin. It wouldn’t be right.

Braxton waited expectantly for me to push back on my chair and follow him upstairs. Cruz, Asher, and Dominic would give us a moment and then they’d be up to join us. There would be no sleep for us until they had all satisfied their cravings. Kissing Malcolm would have its consequences as I was about to find out.