Page 43 of Deadly Obsession

Let’s get to work…

Alaric never mentioned I couldn’t help her hack into their system. If there’s something here, I’ll find it. The real question is, how will Ivy react when she finds out the secrets the Killers Club is hiding?

CHAPTER28

SEB

“Ican’t believe it,” I repeat for the hundredth time. We’ve been awake most of the night, talking through theories. I don’t want to believe she works for the Killers Club, but everything points to it, and the sinking dread in my stomach tells me that Freddie’s right.

I thought we knew her. The real her. She was the first woman who didn’t care about my title or my family. A woman who saw the real me. How much of it was a lie? Did she know who I was when we first met? Have I been a pawn in her ruthless games? Was she using us the whole time?

“Her name is Ivy, remember?” Freddie spits. “And sheispart of the Killers Club. We’ve been too stupid to see it.”

Yesterday, Freddie was a shattered man. His heart fractured into a thousand pieces, but now a furious fire has ignited in his core.

“So, Spencer tried to kill her, but he didn’t finish the job,” I say, reviewing our suspected series of events. “Her story about witness protection was bullshit. The Killers Club found her—somehow—and they took her in. They trained her to be an assassin, and she’s been working for them for the last five years.”

“She once told me she worked overseas,” Freddie says. “Maybe that’s true.”

“So they gave her a new identity,” I continue. They’ve got the resources to make that happen. “Then she ran into me on a job when she was killing Danny. After that, Callen and Bram saw her having a drink with an agent. We thought we were protecting her, but she was a step ahead all along. Do you think she knew who we were from the start?”

“They know everything!” Freddie explodes, making me wince. Any softness he’s shown since being reunited with Rose—Ivy—has been blasted away, replaced by a blood-thirsty resolve. “All she wanted was information. We meant nothing.”

“Fuck!” I whirl around and punch the wall. I bet they’ve been laughing at our stupidity. “And what about Callen? That bastard had to know. Maybe he didn’t trick her at all. She could have volunteered to take the bomb to the ball.” I feel sick. “Look, I know we haven’t talked about it since Callen left. I should have told you about the night when we—”

“I don’t need to hear the sordid details,” Freddie cuts me off. His icy glare sends a chill scurrying down my spine. “All that matters is finding Bram. We find her, we find the club, and we bring him home. That’s our focus, but…” He grimaces like he’s in physical pain. “We’ll need help.”

“Callen?” I scoff in disbelief. “Do you think he’ll want to speak to us again after how we left things?”

“We have to try,” Freddie says, walking to the window. We have a great view from our flat, and he surveys the hurrying figures on the street below. “Callen is already a step ahead if he knew about Rose. He won’t be able to take on the Killers Club single-handedly. If we’re going to save Bram, the three of us need to combine forces.”

“He won’t be interested unless we get on our knees and grovel,” I say. “Even if we wanted to speak to him, how would we find him? He’s probably in Scotland trying to pick a fight with the Loch Ness monster. You know what he was like before he joined us.”

“I don’t think we’ll have any problem finding him.” Freddie grins. “Now grab your coat. We’re going for a walk.”

“A walk?”

Maybe he’s lost his mind. The revelation about Rose’s real identity could have tipped him over the edge.

“Trust me,” he says, already heading for the door. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER29

CALLEN

It was hard to get eyes on their building, but I managed it. I’ve watched them come and go over the last few days. I don’t stay for long periods to avoid drawing any attention. I want to establish a pattern and understand their routine, which is challenging without directly passing by the house while switching vehicles and disguises.

Blondie and the tattooed boss are the only two people I’ve seen leaving the building. Their schedule isn’t predictable; they leave and return at random times. I haven’t found another entrance or exit in my search of the area, so they either have an underground tunnel stretching beneath the city or fewer agents in the building than I initially thought. Their organisation might not be as powerful as they made it out to be unless they have a secondary location. But my predatory instinct tells me I’m close.

Storming the building will take careful planning. Although I want to blow the door off its hinges, I need to wait until Blondie and her boyfriend are out to make my move. While waiting, I’ve spent time assembling an extra special explosion for the Killers Club. It was easy to get the supplies, and the hotel manager looked the other way when other guests complained about noises coming from my room.

I’ve been splitting my time between watching the Killers Club and keeping tabs on the Dukes. Freddie hasn’t left the house in days like the sorry sack of shit he is. They keep the blinds permanently drawn, and I haven’t been able to get a proper look inside. The fuckers are turning into vampires without me around. I don’t know why I’m wasting my time watching them, but I can’t help myself. It’s a bad habit I’ll need to shake, but not today…

I shuffle around on my motorbike seat. After an hour of watching the Killers Club’s house in the rain, my arse is going numb, so I decide to loop back to the flats where the Dukes are staying before returning to the hotel.

I zig-zag through the London traffic and park up outside an office building opposite Freddie and Seb’s hide-out—from my previous rounds of surveillance, I’ve learned that I can get the best view of their floor from inside it.

The foyer’s empty when I enter. There’s no reception desk or cameras—conveniently, they broke with some help from me, and they’ve not been fixed yet. I head to the waiting lift and jab the button to take me to the sixteenth floor.

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