Page 120 of Love Bleeds Red
“Fuck,” I say. “That’s got to be one of his employees. Bailey mentioned that he had other staff but I honestly forgot to look for anyone else.”
“Well, the barrel of a gun found him… right in the head.” Damon sucks air through his teeth. “I’m guessing that cleanup will cost extra?”
“Yeah, but it is what it is. I found the bastard’s stash of cash in here. Whatever we need, it’ll be covered.”
He nods once. “Anyone else I should search for? Colonel Mustard in the library with a lead pipe?”
I narrow my eyes. “Who the fuck is that?”
“Clue,” Damon says, like I’m the crazy one. “The board game.”
“No idea what you’re going on about,” I say, shrugging.
He looks like I just told him I lived under a rock. “What was your childhood?”
Gesturing around the room, I smirk. “Clearly, not normal. As if you didn’t already know.”
We hear footsteps and turn toward the door at the same time to see Falin holding her phone. “I thought we should all be together for the big moment. Come on, they’re waiting at the dining room table. Jasper already raided the kitchen.”
“Big moment?” I ask, following her out of the room with the leather portfolio under my arm.
“The media leak! Didn’t I tell you?” I don’t respond so she goes on. “I set everything to drop all at once at midnight London time.”
I do a quick calculation and realize that’ll mean it’s still early enough in the US that the traditional news could hear about it right away.
“Perfect timing,” I say. “How long do you think we have before this place is swarming with investigators?”
“That’s the thing,” Falin replies as we walk down the hallway. “I may have been deliberately vague about the estate’s location. I sent everything we have to BBC, Sky News, The Guardian, plus the Metropolitan Police and NCA. Oh, and I may have also tipped off the FBI and Interpol. But I only mentioned his London properties and offshore accounts. Plus, everything we have on Orlov and The Brotherhood.”
“You didn’t give them this address?”
“Call it a gut feeling,” she says with a slight shrug. “Figured we might need some time to... process everything properly. What with him being your… you know.”
I appreciate her not saying the dreaded F word.
“Jesus, Falin, you’re brilliant.”
She beams and I swear I notice a spring in her step. “I know.”
Damon and I chuckle despite this insane situation. “So how long do we actually have?”
“Could be days before they connect all the dots and trace him here. Maybe longer. There’s a lot of evidence to sift through.”
We reach the dining room where the others have gathered around Alfred’s massive mahogany table. It’s surreal to sit in his formal dining room, surrounded by crystal and silver, while the man himself is locked in a concrete cell below our feet.
Bailey looks up when I enter, and I can see the exhaustion and discomfort in her eyes. She’s been running on adrenaline for hours, and it’s finally starting to catch up with her. She’s sitting next to Mum, who also looks like she’s minutes from falling asleep in her chair.
I go to them, resting my palm on Bailey’s shoulder. She leans into me, humming a small satisfied sound. “How much longer?”
I check my watch. “About ten minutes until the leak goes live. But Falin says we might have days before anyone traces Alfred back to this place.”
“So we can leave soon?”
“Yes, and you never have to come back here again,” I say gently.
Jasper comes through the entryway on the other side of the room, carrying a bottle of liquor in one hand and a covered tray in the other. “Expensive whiskey, anyone?”
“What’s on the tray?” Falin asks.
