Page 74 of The Lies That Shatter

Kellan shakes his head, disappointment dripping off him in waves. “No, sorry. She left her flat this morning, presumably heading to work, and after she went down Southback Street, I lost her. There’s a few camera blind spots in that area, most notably an alley that runs through, which is most likely where she was taken from.

“I’ve scoured hours of footage and have created a face recognition alert, which lets me know if she’s spotted on any cameras. Her phone is off, and the tracker that Finn secretly placed in her purse went dark hours ago. My best guess is that whoever took her found the tracker and disabled it, disposing of her phone at the same time. At the moment, I’m doing the best I can, but I have nothing to go off.”

“Can’t we just beat the shit out of Mel until she tells us where McKenna is?” Ryleigh asks, not even bothering to hide how blood-thirsty she sounds.

Liam throws a disapproving stare her way, but Ry just rolls her eyes at him. “No, we can’t do that. Mortimer will see that as an act of war, and he will move before we’re ready. If we’re to take him on, it has to be on our terms.”

“So, we capture Brandon, and hope like hell he has some information on Mac? It seems like a long shot though.” It’s not much of a plan, but it’s the best we have right now.

“It is a long shot,” Shane admits. “But I’ve long suspected that Bran may be playing both sides. He pretends to be with me, but I think he’s secretly making deals with Whitlock. A guy like Brandoesn’t just stop wanting to rule. He’s still the power hungry psychopath he was when he pulled me back into this mess, so there’s no way I believe he’s no longer interested in ruling.

“I’ve been keeping him close, so I can keep my eye on him, whilst trying to work out what he’s up to. I have no idea what it is, but he’s definitely plotting something, and since we have nothing else to go on, I think this is the best place to start, don’t you?”

Everyone agrees, knowing there’s not much else we can do. I just have to keep my fingers crossed that Bran knows something about what happened to Mac. Until then, Kel vows to keep looking for her, and I rack my brain, trying to think of anything that may be even a little helpful, though I come up with nothing.

It doesn’t take long for Kian and his men to locate Bran. He’s holed up in his girlfriend Katya’s flat, and they grab him from there with very little effort. His girlfriend looks traumatised as Bran is dragged away, but she has the good sense to stand back and let it happen. Bree was very clear that Katya must not be harmed, and Kian’s men followed orders.

They bring him to the abandoned warehouse, tying him to a chair in the middle of the interrogation room. Even though he looks completely unaffected by the whole situation, I can see the fear in Brandon’s eyes from here.

Bree is alone in the room with him, while me, Liam, Shane, and Kian stand behind the two-way glass. I’m sure Bran knows we’re watching, but he keeps his eyes trained on Bree all the same.

Red started the conversation in a civilised way, despite Bran being tied to the chair. She tells him he’s here to answer her questions, and she reassures him that if he answers honestly, she will let him go unharmed. But if he makes this difficult, she can’t be held responsible for her actions.

Even from my position in the adjoining room, I can tell how much Bree is hoping they have to do this the hard way. Gone is the sweet family girl we love, replaced with the stabby, blood-thirsty leader who has an unhealthy love for the hunting knife she keeps on her at all times.

“Why the hell are you so bothered that I missed the meeting? How do you even know about it?” Bran asks, looking slightly confused when Bree starts with her questions about the Whitlock meeting.

“I keep an eye on my enemies, tracking their movements at all times. You should have been at the meeting, like you have been all the others. I want to know why you would miss this one,” she replies, not giving away anything more, but she doesn’t need to. Bran’s eyes widen as reality dawns on him.

“I fucking knew Vinnie was still working with you. He put on a fucking good act, killing Daddy Desmond, but I should have known he wouldn’t abandon you,” Bran spits, piecing together that Shane—Vinnie—is still on our side, and he’s been playing them since Bran pulled him back into the family.

“That’s not what I asked you. I want to know why you didn’t attend the meeting, and if you’re not going to tell me, I’m going to be forced to make you,” Bree sings, pulling her knife out of the sheath in her pocket. She swirls the dagger around, a manic smile on her face as she threatens him.

Although Bran doesn’t appear scared, his eyes narrow as he tries to assess how real Bree’s threats are, and how much danger he’s in. “I didn’t attend the meeting, as Mr Whitlock asked me to assist his wife instead.”

My ears perk up at the mention of Mel, and I lean closer to the window, desperate for any tiny hint or clue as to where McKenna is.

“What were you doing with his wife?” Bree asks, her voice remaining just as impassive as before, so Bran doesn’t pick up on how much we need this information. He strikes me as someone who would hold back if he knew it was important to us.

“She had a problem with the guy she’s dating, so I helped her out. What I’m more interested in is why you care so much? It would appear little Vinnie hasn’t left his Doughty roots behind at all, has he?” Bran laughs, looking slightly more insane than he did before.

“Tell me more about what you did for Mrs Whitlock,” Red snaps, her frustration with Bran becoming more obvious as he continues to laugh maniacally.

“He’s not going to give us anything more,” Shane mutters from beside me, and the anger I’ve barely been keeping in check flies to the surface. As the red mist descends, all logic flies out of the window, and before I can think it through, I storm into the adjoining room.

Bree looks shocked at the intrusion, and Bran’s eyes widen as fear and confusion flicker across his face. I storm straight over to him, grabbing hold of his shirt in my fist. “Tell me where the fuck she is, you asshole.”

Bree pulls me away from Brandon before I can throw the punch I was gearing up for, as I hear the others flood into the room behind me. Bran’s eyes flick dramatically between all the people in the room, widening as he tries to connect the dots and analyse what he’s seeing. I know I’ve just blown Shane’s cover for sure, but I can’t bring myself to care. She’s all I care about, and I know Brandon knows where she is.

Bran’s sadistic laugh fills the air. “I have to admit, even I didn’t see this coming. I knew there was a brother I hadn’t met,but I didn’t think much about it. I looked into you when you first met Mel and found nothing. Kellan clearly did a cracking job with your alias, going all the way back to fake childhood photos. I have to admit… I’m impressed.”

My rage is barely contained, and hearing his approval for the scam does nothing to quiet my pounding head. I don’t want his approval; I want fucking answers. “Tell me where the fuck she is,” I growl again, my body vibrating with barely restrained fury.

“I don’t think I have anything more to say,” Bran sings, that smug look on his face winding me up even more.

Without hesitation, I grab the blade out of Bree’s hand and thrust it into Brandon’s thigh. His cries of pain sound more like a pig squealing, and the people around me gasp at my reckless actions, but I block them all out. This is between Bran and me.

“Finn, stop,” Liam shouts, as he approaches me from behind, but Red holds up her hand, stopping anyone from getting close to me.

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