Page 163 of When Hearts Remember

But now that Dayton is part of this and he’s linked to Alexis, I can’t help but be afraid. What if there’s something more sinister going on?

I need to get to the bottom of this as fast as I can.

My phone rings, and I pick up. “Anderson speaking.”

“I heard you’re dealing with a snake. Thought I’d offer my exterminator services before you called me, since this all follows the trend of Andersons needing my help.” The familiar gravelly voice chuckles.

“Elias, I’d ask you how you knew about this, but then I think I’d rather not know.”

“This one’s easy. Liam called me.”

I sit up in my chair. “You’re the person he trusts with his life?”

What on earth has my best friend been involved in? I wasn’t aware he was that close with the king of the underworld, who even the mafia, mob, and bratva respect in the city.

“Are you surprised?” A clicking sound. That damnlighter again.

“I swear, someday, I’m going to steal that annoying lighter from you and chuck it into the ocean.”

The clicking stops. “And you’ll be a dead man.”

“Tell me why you don’t smoke but carry that damn thing everywhere.”

“Maybe,” the clicking resumes, “maybe one day, if I need your help, you can get the story out of me. We’re more alike than you know.”

I furrow my brows. I can never get a straight answer out of this man. “Why did Liam think you can help? This is a financial crime. I don’t need someone killed.”

“The walls have ears, Ethan. He couldn’t tell you everything he suspected when you met at The Menagerie because it was too public, but he saw a few flags in the account at The Caymans. There was a second shell company with transactions moving in and out of that account. It’s no simple embezzlement scheme you’re investigating.”

“What did you guys find?”

“The Association.” My heart drops.Fuck.If they’re involved, then things just got a lot more dangerous. “It’s the same account that paid for Ian Vaughn’s legal fees back then. And I have a vested interest in all things The Association.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me.”

I think back to what happened with the Vaughn siblings’ uncle, renowned ballet choreographer, who is spending his life behind bars in a maximum security prison because of what he did to Taylor when she was sixteen. He claimed he was forced by the infamous international criminal organization made up of billionaires and powerful people, an association purported to control governments, politicians, and businesses.

Alexis still doesn’t know her precious Uncle Ian is very much alive. The only reason I kept it from her is because of the damn medical trial, since this revelation happened right before her accident. Her brothers wanted to spare her the pain of learning the only father figure she had was actually the scum of the earth.

“I wish I was. That’s why I called. We need to find the snake before it bites you,” Elias murmurs. “I owe that to your family. You Andersons have honor and I respect all of you, and that’s a rarity given what I know about the elite.”

Our family came from a line of dukes in the British aristocracy before our ancestors moved to the States in the eighteen hundreds. Our motto, “valor and virtue, with honor, we stand,” is drilled into every Anderson offspring since before we could talk.

We’ve kept our hands clean and stayed away from The Association despite multiple covert attempts over the years to loop us into their fold.

We don’t associate with criminals.

Other than Elias, who’s been nothing but steadfast toward us.

I clear my throat, uncertain how to respond to this rare display of emotion from my friend. “I’d thank you, but I’m sure that isn’t why you called. You have something up your sleeves.”

“I’d offer a more violent and expeditious way of finding out what’s going on, but since I know you, and torturing Dayton isn’t on the table, I took the liberty of setting up another shell company.”

“For?”

“Bait. Dayton embezzles because he needs money for whatever reason. Flag one of the fake vendors he’s using—nothing suspicious—just a routine audit or something like that, so he’ll be forced to use another vendor. Then offer the one I set up. When he bites, we’ll be there to follow the money and find out who he’s sending the cash to.”

I mull over his idea. It’s definitely more legitimate than Elias gutting the bastard, which I secretly want, but am sure my siblings and Alexis won’t appreciate. “Let’s say your idea works. How do we get the fake shell company info to him?”

---