Page 71 of Trouble

“There is zero chance we’re letting you waltz into a prison, Audrey,” Liam said. The possessive growl in his voice made my heart pitter-patter, but I shoved the idiotic emotion aside. This was too important to let them baby me in their effort to keep mesafe.

“If your brother truly has information that can stop your dad, don’t you think he’s being watched? Your father’s men will be much more familiar with you—it’ll be easier for me to slip in unnoticed. Besides, how do you plan to get Isaac to even seeyou?”

“We’ll think of something. We’re not risking your safety.” Louis’ tone had the sound offinality.

“No. Enough’s enough. I know I’m not used to your big, scary mafia world, but I’m done being babied. I’m already stuck in the mud with you—it’s too late to try and keep me out of it. Besides, if you two idiots get yourselves killed because you were too stubborn to let me help you, then who’s going to stop your father from coming after me?” I made my voice as stern as I possibly could as I caught Liam’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “I am going to visit your brother. You two need to figure out how exactly your father is planning on delivering that money, and then you need to stophim.”

“Audrey, it’s too fucking dangerous. You’re not doing this, and that’s fuckingfinal!”

* * *

Belmarsh Prison consistedof a multitude of stark buildings loosely connected behind a tall fence made of concrete and topped with barbed wire. I walked up to the gates and the guard building, the faint sense of victory over winning the argument with the twins evaporating at the sight of the guard’s grim face and the looming shadow of the compound behind the fence. I’d been able to convince Louis and Liam that it was too important to attempt to stop their dad from delivering the payment to the Russians for them to spend any more time trying to get into the prison unseenandget their brother to talk in the end, only because I emphasized the likelihood of what would happen to me if they weren’t around to stop him. It’d been a half-victory though, since Louis wassomewherekeeping an eye on me, leaving Liam to try to stop their dad on his own. Not a solution I’d been happy about, but it was the only deal Igot.

“Hi, I’m Lana Clarke, here to visit Isaac Steel.” I held up the fake ID they’d managed to get me at six this morning when they’d woken up some poor guy named Sam in the Southeastern part of town who they apparently trusted. He didn’t look particularly trustworthy to me, with his shifty eyes and food-stained vest top, but he’d produced the ID in an hour and given me some of his wife’s clothes so I wouldn’t look like I’d just come in from the wild. I’d also been offered a shower, but after glancing at the mold growing in his bathroom, I’d politelydeclined.

“Visitation slip?” the guard grumbled, and I fumbled the printed piece of paper out of my pocket and handed it over. He typed in the relevant number and finally handed it back to me. “Proceed toreception.”

Did that mean Isaac had agreed to see me? I thanked the man and followed the arrows leading to the visitation center once the heavy gates clankedopen.

I waited in line with the five other women who’d shown up this early on a Monday morning for a female prison guard to pat us down and check our pockets and bags for offending items such as hair clips, bracelets, andgum.

“Do not leave the assigned table until asked to do so by a guard. Keep noise levels low. Any aggressive behavior will lead to immediate removal and your visitation privileges being revoked indefinitely. Do not pass the prisoner any items. You must comply with any and all instructions from members of staff,” the woman droned in a voice as engaging as an infomercial as she patted me down. Once we were all checked, she opened the metal door separating us from the visiting area. “You have onehour.”

It was a large room with a high ceiling, painted pale green with the exception of the upper half and ceiling, which were both a depressing shade of beige. The floor was covered in blue institution-strength carpet that was uncomfortable to step on, even through the soles of my shoes. There’d been a clear attempt at modernization, but there was no escaping the depressing weight smothering Belmarsh like an invisible blanket. It was a max-security prison, and no amount of cheap paint could hidethat.

There were a good thirty tables set out across the room, and I sat down at the one allocated to me. A few minutes later the door at the far end of the room buzzed open, and men in gray uniforms began to file into theroom.

My nerves, which I’d managed to keep in check up until then, broke through my iron control and I clenched my fists in a desperate attempt to calm them again. I couldn’t afford to lose it now—if I didn’t manage to convince the twins’ brother to give up whatever information their other brothers thought he possessed, I risked the two men I loved getting killed. And likely me along withthem.

He was one of the last to walk through the doors, but I recognized him instantly. I’d thought he would look like the twins, but that wasn’t the case. Apart from his height, the obvious strength of his body despite the shapeless prison garb concealing his wide shoulders and narrow waist, and the sharpness of his jaw, Isaac Steel looked nothing like Liam and Louis. His hair was jet-black and his chiseled face devoid of any and all emotion. Where there’d always been a nearly visible energy crackling off either twin, their brother was a void. And yet I knew he was a Steel from the way he moved—self-assured yet softly, like a stalkingpanther.

When he sat down in the chair opposite me, I noticed his eyes were as gray as theirs, but they couldn’t have been more different from the men I knew. There was no happiness, no mischief in his gaze as he stared at me. Just silent, darkdanger.

Suddenly, and with a rush that went straight to my lizard brain, my nerves were on high alert from more than the importance of this meeting. I’d gotten so used to the twins, I’d never stopped to consider that maybe not all mafia sons were as gentle as them. It wasn’t until I saw their brother that it dawned on me how truly safe I’d felt with them, even when I’d first learned what theywere.

Yeah, there was about a zero percent chance I’d have let a man like Isaac Steel take me to the middle of nowhere, no matter who was afterme.

I felt his eyes on me, scrutinizing me. Looking for deceit, I guessed, as I pulled myself together and returned hisgaze.

“Isaac Steel? I’m Audrey Waits. Thank you for meeting me.” I was proud of how even my voice sounded, despite my heart pounding in my throat at his unsettlingstare.

“Visitation form said Lana Clarke.” His voice was a deep timbre, with the same cockney accent as thetwins.

“I know. I had to use a fake name. Your father might be on the watch forme.”

If he was surprised that his father was looking for me, he didn’t show it. “If my father is looking for you, a fake name isn’t going to keep yousafe.”

I nodded, wetting my lips. “I’m starting to getthat.”

A small pause and then he asked, “The visitation form said you had news about Ellie. Is shedead?”

The way he said it, with no emotion whatsoever, I could almost have believed he didn’t care one way or the other. But when I shook my head, he exhaled softly, and I realized he’d been holding his breath waiting for myanswer.

“I was told to tell you that she’ssafe.”

His eyes narrowed. “Bywho?”

“Marcus. I am here on behalf of Liam andLouis.”

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