Page 32 of Sinful Embers

“Are those for us?” Sabrina points to the phones.

“Yes.” Syd hands us each one. “You have each other’s phone numbers on them, labeled as Guest 1, Guest 2, and Guest 3. My number is under Oriol, Clyde’s is Decker, Nikolas’s is Hunter, and Galina’s is Queen.”

“My mother’s on here?” My brows shoot up and I take the phone Sabrina hands to me.

“Yes, Nikolas asked us to put her on there.” Syd’s eyes narrow. “I take you know the rules. These are clean and can’t be traced, but you are not to put any other numbers on them unless authorized by Nikolas. No contact with family or friends back home or anywhere else in the world. And don’t use it for internet searches.”

She walks back to the safe and brings out a tablet, handing it to Sabrina. “This has all the necessary fail safes on it. Nikolas asked me to give it to you.”

“Thanks.” Sabrina’s eyes light up. “This is amazing.” She eyes the high-end device out like it’s her favorite candy bar.

Syd nods and gets back to the black box, flipping it open and sliding two pistols onto the desk.

“These two Glocks are unregistered.” She skillfully checks each one before handing one to me and one to Oleksi. “Clyde will kit you out with holsters and ammunition.”

She turns back to the box and pulls the top half off pulling out two cans of pepper spray. "These are for you, Sabrina." She smiles. "They’re not your average gun shop cans. They’re a bit more lethal, so be careful not to spray yourself—this stuff will melt your skin."

Sabrina whistles, her eyes lighting up even more than they did when she saw the tablet. “Awesome.”

“At least they’re not explosives,” I comment.

Sabrina quickly debunks my statement. “Wanna bet?”

“No more blowing shit up!” I put the Gun on the desk and power the phone on, and almost immediately, it rings.

I see it’s Nikolas.

“How long have you been waiting to get an alert my phone was turned on?” I answer.

“Not long,” Nikolas replies. “I take it you’re all settled in, and the accommodation is to your liking?”

"Five-star all the way," I reply. "Any news on Leigh?"

“I’ve got my people checking all Manning properties around England,” Nikolas says. “So far there is no sign of Leigh.”

My grip tightens around the phone. “Maybe they have her in one of their warehouses?” I suggest.

“We’re checkingallManning’s properties including warehouses, office building, even containers on the docks,” Nikolas assures me. “Trust me, son, I’ve thought of everything.”

I don’t miss the way he just called me son and for some reason it makes me feel closer to Leigh. I feel it also means Nikolas has just put his complete trust in me, like I’ve passed some test of his.

“I know,” I tell him. “It’s just getting a bit much and I feel like we’re limping along.”

“Hang in there.” Nikolas encourages me. “We’ll get her back, and I’ll update you as soon as I know more,” he continues. “Until then, lay low. And for God sake, look out for Rina and keep her reigned in. She has a big heart that unfortunately sometimes makes her react rather fiercely to situations.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep everything under control,” I promise.

His tone shifts. “Has Rina cracked any of the encryption in the fourth journal?”

Uh-oh—busted!

I look over at Sabrina and she frowns at me curiously.

“You know about that?”

“Do you really think if I didn’t want her to take it I’d have let her steal?” Nikolas laughs.

“I don’t think there’s much progress… yet,” I answer cryptically.

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