Page 68 of Sacrifice (Corrupt Empire 2)

Chapter Twelve

Aiden

What the fuck was Chuck’s game? I couldn’t work it out. I’d only mentioned there’d been some kind of altercation between Avery and Tristan because he’d questioned why I’d been late. I was too worked up about it not to say anything. That fucking worthless piece of shit was on thin ice. Son of a fucking bitch. I almost lost my mind when I found him pinning my fucking woman to the sinks.

Tristan Shaw was a dead man walking.

I was going to enjoy the moment the bullet pierced his skull, snuffing the life out of the sick motherfucking cunt.

First things first, I had to find out what the fuck his father had on Daniels Holdings. Rocking the boat was a bad idea, so I couldn’t off Frazier’s son quite yet. It would only arouse suspicion, especially after what happened today.

I’d got to her at the right time, but now I couldn’t feign innocence and say I’d never met Avery. We’d been officially introduced and there was no fucking taking that shit back. I needed to find out what Chuck was playing at and fast. Whatever he suspected needed to be nipped in the bud.

I rubbed the back of my neck, slamming my hand down on the steering wheel as I sat in traffic. This whole thing frustrated me no end. Not having Avery right there with me. Not being able to protect her at all times drove me insane.

I’d been seriously perturbed about being called into the office in the first place, but now I was fucking glad Chuck insisted on me coming in person to go over the new security equipment. He’d tasked me with this at the beginning of the month, but it had taken me a while to do all the necessary research. Especially dealing with the fact that my girlfriend had to go back out into the real world.

My phone rang. I hit the button on the steering wheel to answer it.

“Did she approve the new plans?” Chuck asked without preamble.

Why was he ringing now?

“Yes. You didn’t mention you wanted me to drop in and let you know.”

“No, no. I didn’t need you to. So… Aiden, I heard the police questioned you regarding an anonymous tip they had back when my niece was missing.”

And there it was. He had been fucking testing us. He’d obviously found out from his informant on the force. Why it had taken so long, I had no idea, but this didn’t sit well with me at all.

“Yes. It was bullshit though.”

“So today really was your first introduction to Avery.”

“Yes, why would you think otherwise?”

“I don’t, but you can see how suspicious it looked when someone says they saw you with her.”

The traffic started to move, which I was fucking glad about, but I wanted to get off the phone. This conversation was dangerous.

“My friend’s wife looks a little like her. Mistaken identity. Did Ethan tell you about this?”

“Ethan? No, he’s been reassigned to another case now Avery is back. Anyway, I have some more work for you. I’ll send you the details.”

He hung up without letting me respond. What the fuck? If he didn’t get the information from Ethan, then who the hell else would know? He didn’t have any other informants on the force. It made absolutely no sense.

Unless…

Who was the anonymous tip? My skin prickled. Had Chuck got someone to follow me around? He’d been acting suspiciously when he’d come over that time, asking questions about if I knew who’d killed Mitchell and Kathleen. I couldn’t shake the feeling now I thought about it. There was only one person Chuck would get to fucking follow me.

John.

I needed a word and I knew exactly where I’d find him. I turned off at the next junction and made my way across the city. Thankfully there was less traffic. I parked up a couple of streets over and walked the rest of the way. Dusk had already fallen and it was close to the time she’d be on her way home, so if he was here, then now would be the best time to ambush him.

I found his car parked a little way down from Avery’s house. Rapping on the window, John looked up at me, eyes wide. He was in his late forties, bald head with a shit ton of tattoos. John wasn’t a man you messed with, but he wouldn’t fuck with me either.

I opened the passenger door and got in.

“Aiden, what are you doing here?” he asked.

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