Again, she’s quiet for a very long time and when she turns back to me, she looks like she’s going to be sick. “You know about the gas leak a few years ago?”
I feel the blood drain from my face and Colette’s eyes fill up with tears.
“The one that killed Santiago’s father and brother. The one that burnt him so badly,” she continues but she doesn’t have to. I know.
“I know The Tribunal has been investigating. Even though they said it was a leak. An accident. They’ve been investigating for years. And Jackson, as an advisor to The Councilors he’s been privy to all those meetings.” She breaks off altogether unable to speak for a moment. “It needs to come from Jackson, you know?” she asks, her voice strange.
“What does?”
I see how her hand is trembling when she brushes a finger gently down Ben’s cheek again. “Holton is blackmailing him.”
“Blackmailing?”
“Threatening him.”
“For what? With what?”
“Jackson’s uncle was one of the men who funded it.”
“Funded it?”
“It wasn’t a leak, Ivy. It was planned. It was murder.” She breaks down entirely on that last word. “I told him he needs to go to them. They’ll listen to him. They know him. But if Holton goes through with his threat,” she stops, shakes her head. “I don’t know what they’ll do, who they’ll believe. Jackson had nothing to do with it. He only found out about his uncle’s involvement when Holton came to him with evidence.” She looks at me, sniffles back her tears. “Evidence he claims your brother gave him.”
18 Santiago
"It's been too long," I growl. "Something should have shaken out by now."
Marco watches me quietly as I toss the stack of files onto my desk. More crap that Eli has sent over. Some of the evidence Abel gathered on the excommunicated members. I'm beginning to feel like he's sending me on a wild goose chase.
"He's only giving me this to distract me from finding his son," I mutter.
Marco scratches at his chin. "Possibly."
When I meet his gaze, I can tell he wants to say more.
"Just tell me." I gesture at him. "You won't offend my delicate sensibilities by being honest."
"I understand you are in a difficult position," he offers carefully. "Being that Eli is your father-in-law. But if you feel like he’s fucking around with you—”
"Why don't I just torture it out of him?" I shake my head, disgusted with myself.
"Yes." He jerks his chin. "You could keep your wife away until he healed. She wouldn't ever have to know. Eli won't tell her if you don't let him."
But I would know.
And that's the fucking problem.
I collapse into my seat and reach for the bottle of scotch, which seems to be the only answer to my current problems.
"There are only so many sewers a rat can hide in," I say.
"In one city," Marco agrees.
He's right. Abel could be anywhere. And Eli isn't offering up any ideas. My men have searched every inch of this city and turned up nothing. He seems to have disappeared. And he isn't the only one. The Society is known for having a vast reach, but even they haven't been able to track down everyone involved in this scheme who's turned up MIA.
"Chamber's family," I murmur distractedly, spinning the bottle around in my palm.
"What about them?" Marco asks.
"They still haven't been located."
"I thought we assumed he must have killed them too."
"We did," I admit. "But what if Chamber's had the foresight to send them away? He had far more connections and money to buy them a new life."
Marco's brows pinch together. "And Abel found out where they were?"
"It's not outside the realm of possibility. He cleaned out Chamber's office. Maybe Chamber's had something there. Maybe he was planning to leave too."
"It sounds reasonable. But would they take Abel in after he murdered their husband and father?"
"I have a feeling Abel doesn't ever wait for an invitation. He just arrives as he pleases."
Marco considers the idea for a moment. "I think you had a point earlier. There are only so many sewers he could hide in. If we want to get him out, we have to flush him out."
"Hard to do when he doesn't care about anyone but himself," I note.
"He cares about his ego though. How he's perceived. It must be killing him to be invisible right now. He's thirsty for power."
I blink at Marco, surprised by his observation. It's simplistic, but so obvious I can't believe I didn't see it myself.
"Why would he need his father dead?" Marco states the obvious.
"So he can become Head of Household."
"Exactly. And I don't think he's disappeared with any notion of giving that up. He's still delusional enough to believe he can take back his power. He's just trying to figure out how."
"There is one way to speed up the process," I remark.
I don't know if it's the scotch talking, or me anymore, but when Marco nods, I know he agrees.
"If Eli were to die for real, there would be a temptation waiting there even Abel couldn't resist. The elevation of his status in the Moreno family."
It's the undeniable answer to all of my problems.
Vengeance for my family's death.
A honey pot to lure Abel back to the Society.
There's just one thing standing in my way.
My unfortunate wife.
* * *
"Knock, knock."
I drag my attention from the knife in my hand to the doorframe. I'm surprised to find Angelo standing there, but I suppose it shouldn't be much of a shock. I've been expecting him to come back and claim the final piece of the puzzle he asked me for.
"You look tired." He walks inside and drops his body into the chair across from me.
"I am fucking tired," I murmur unintelligibly. "Life is exhausting."
"Yet here we both are, still waking up every day," he muses.
I offer him the bottle of scotch, which he declines.
"I know, you aren't here for pleasantries." I fumble around with the keypad on the safe in my bottom drawer, opening it up to retrieve the
