Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Nine
Kelley walked into his study with a grin on his face. He’d barely slept the previous night, despite his exhaustion. Once hadn’t been enough and he’d reached for Milana a few times until the sun rose and he’d gotten up for Kyzer. They'd both been insatiable.
He walked over to the couch area and moved the one he and Milana had been on back to its original place. His tie was on the back of the other couch and it slipped to the floor against the wall just as he reached for it.
Kelley moved the couch away from the wall and bent down to retrieve his tie. The wooden part of the skirting lay on the floor and he pushed the couch further away and picked it up. He looked at the piece in his hand, the edges a little jagged, like it had been cut out.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and turned the flashlight app on and directed the light into the hole that had been hidden by the skirting piece. He lay flat on his stomach as he moved his phone and something caught his eye.
Kelley stuck his fingers inside and it gripped the plastic casing. He pulled out a memory stick and turned it over in his fingers. It was just a normal memory stick you could buy almost anywhere. He dusted himself off and turned the flashlight off.
He pushed the couch back up against the wall and walked to his desk. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he sat down at his desk. Why would Charles hide a memory stick in the skirting? It had to hold either incriminating evidence or it was a collection of the sick games he'd played.
Kelley hesitated for just a moment before placing the memory stick on his table. He pulled his phone out and dialed Blaire’s number. He’d been the only one not to come see Kelley. Nothing short of death would pull Blaire away from his screens.
“What’s up, madman?”
“I need a laptop, clean, secure, no internet connection,” Kelley said.
“You mean a laptop that can’t be hacked,” Blaire said.
“Yes, smart ass.”
Blaire huffed out a laugh. “When do you want it?”
“Yesterday,” Kelley said and Blaire cleared his throat.
“What are you busy with, Kelley? Is it something I can help with? I can hack anything, man, just say the word.”
“The laptop, Blaire, soon as you can.”
Kelley ended the call and looked at the memory stick. He didn’t want to take a chance that it might contain some sort of virus that would hack into his own network or activate some sort of program that leaked their documentation.
An hour later Connor opened his study door and placed the laptop on his desk. Kelley looked up and pulled the laptop closer. “Thanks, Connor.”
“What are you busy with?”
Kelley’s expression remained stoic. “Nothing much. When it becomes important, I’ll tell you.”
Connor shook his head. “Are you still pissed off about last night?”
“Shouldn’t I be?”
“Jeannie told us how you two met. My mind just went there, because … well, because you’re you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean, Connor?”
Connor shifted into the seat in front of Kelley’s desk and sighed. “You could snap your fingers and women will fall at your feet. She did everything for you, Kelley. She helped them wash you, she shaved you. She even fucking brushed your teeth for you, twice a day. What the hell was I supposed to think?”
“You should’ve known that I wouldn’t do that to you,” Kelley said as he interlaced his fingers together.
“I do know that.” Connor raked a hand through his hair. “I didn’t think and I’m sorry for the way I reacted but you were wrong. I’ve had your back, so have the others. Maybe not in the way you’ve always had ours, but we’ve had your back.”
“Yeah, you have. Will you leave me alone to work now?”
Connor huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “It’s good to have you back.”
“I don’t want to be disturbed, Connor, not by anyone.”
Connor left his study and closed the door behind him. Kelley opened the laptop and waited as it flickered to life in seconds. The normal apps were on the laptop and he inserted the memory stick into the USB port.
The folder opened automatically and Kelley looked at the list of videos. None of them were named and they were sorted by date. The oldest clip was twenty-four years old and the newest one was dated the same month he freed his mother and Marley.
He didn’t want to watch them, he already knew what he’d see. He plugged his earphones in and double clicked on the first clip. It opened and the picture quality wasn’t great and he saw an empty street. A small figure stumbled from the pavement and stood up. His face was smiling and his eyes wide with excitement as he stepped onto the street.
Kelley flinched backwards as the car rounded the corner and went over the little boy. The car didn’t apply its brakes, it didn’t stop, it just sped up and drove off. The car had literally driven over the child and he knew the liquid on the street was blood.
The child lifted his head, his hand twitched and then nothing. A second child appeared, kneeling next to the one on the road, screaming and shaking the little body in front of him. Another woman, one he didn’t know, picked the second child up, her face had a look of horror on it.
The video clip ended and Kelley realized that he was breathing hard. The second boy in the footage was without a doubt Mason James. His heart hammered against his ribs and he turned to the side and vomited into the trash can.
His mother’s face was clear on the camera. There was no doubt. She’d killed Mason’s brother and then sped away. Mason had watched his brother die. A headache started pounding behind his eyes and Kelley blinked the tears in his eyes away.
