Part C: Chapter 56

***Aidan’s POV***

I was pissed. What the actual hell was happening? How could this be happening in front of me and I had no idea about it? I punched the wall in front of just as Carter entered the room and I turned to look at him with angry eyes.

“Easy there mate,” he said as he walked over to the couch and sat down. “There is no point in you taking out your frustration on the poor wall that did nothing to you.” He had made himself comfortable in my house but I didn’t care about that especially when there was so much I had overlooked.

“How can this have happened? How?” I asked in frustration but I knew he was just as clueless about it all as I had been. “And right under our own noses for that matter.”

Carter sighed. “It’s too early for this especially when I haven’t had a drink.” He got up and walked over to the mini bar where he grabbed a bottle of bourbon and two glasses then returned back to the couch. “I need alcohol in my system so I don;t do anything stupid like punch a goddamn wall.” I watched as he poured the alcohol in the glasses then picked up one and drank its contents.

I sighed as I picked up the other one and downed the contents in one gulp then tossed the glass against the wall. “Better?”

“Not even close,” he answered as he poured himself yet another glass. “I need more alcohol in my system if you truly want me to handle this situation better than you.”
“You’re turning into an alcoholic,” I muttered as I joined him on the couch. “It’s not good for your liver.”

“Tell that to the poor wall that you keep taking out your frustration on,” he retorted as he sipped his second glass much slower than the first. “I need to numb it all and you know it takes a lot for our kind to get drunk much less sick of anything.”

I ran my fingers through my hair in pure frustration. I hated the fact that he made a very valid point. But what I hated most was knowing that my own men had betrayed me for a cheap way to be rich. I always made sure that I provided everything that my people would need but for one of them to betray me like for a few dollars really pissed me off. “Touche.”

Carter placed the glass back on the coffee table and turned to face me. “Look, I know you are pissed and frustrated with how things happened but now we know that it was one of our own and we have the proof to have them stripped of whatever rank they have and banish them from our pack,” he said calmly. “I’m pissed too, don't get me wrong but I’m trying to keep a rational brain and not make any hasty decisions out of anger.”

I laughed at that, but it was cold and dry, lacking any form of humour. “You wanted to kill the bastard immediately so you laid your eyes on him,” I said. “If Sean hadn’t stopped you, you would have done something really stupid but not as dumb as you make it seem.”

Carter rolled his eyes at that as he picked up his glass and sat back, one leg crossing over the other. “It wasn’t like I was actually going to go ahead with it. I was just pissed,” he said with a shrug. “You looked like you had seen a ghost and that’s coming from me.”

I narrowed my eyes on him. “Shut up,” I groaned as I covered my face in embarrassment. That had not been my finest moment I will admit but all of us had been really shocked and then angry once the information had been properly digested. “We need to find him before he does something like this again. Any luck with that?”

“Ivan said he was closer to finding him but honestly, I don’t trust Ivan as much as now,” Carter admitted as he leaned over to refill his glass. “Something about him and how he’s always been so close to Shelly and Gerald doesn’t sit well with me and I know I should trust him because he is one of us but I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Maybe it’s just all in my head.”

I looked at the ceiling and then back at him. “I don’t know, maybe you could be onto something but do you really think Ivan, Shelly and Gerald could do something like this to ruin the integrity of this pack?”

Carter sighed, “you are right. For now, I will trust him to do his job and not repeat the same mistake,” he answered. “Let’s wait and see if he can find the guy before this week ends.” Just as Carter finished saying that, my phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out.

“It’s Mal,” I said and answered, placing him on speaker. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry, something came up and I had to attend to it,” he said. “Is Carter there?”

“No shite dumbarse, I’m going to break your neck for not delivering as agreed upon,” Carter growled in anger. “What did you find?”

Mal sighed, “this is why I called Aidan and not you. Always so aggressive for no reason,” he said it so quietly but thanks to our great hearing, Carter and I were able to catch it. “Anyway, I’m sure this will make up for it.”

“Julius Bartel, the second born son of Bartel after Karl Barter. He was always under his elder brother’s shadow but that was before Karl was burned alive along with his wife Leonie. As for Julius, he has another sibling though the records for who or what the person is are completely wiped even on the dark web.”

Carter and I exchanged looks because yesterday we had learnt some interesting facts about Jemila’s family but there had been no mention of a third child, one younger than Julius. We were getting more and more information about Jemila’s family and she wasn’t here to hear the news for herself. I will find you my Gem.

“Anyway, after the death of Karl, it seemed that someone took the companies he owned and made Julius second in command but that isn’t even the most interesting fact. Julius is just a decoy meant to take the fall for whatever is truly happening so that no one is able to pin it all on the true mastermind,” Mal continued. “From the records I was able to find, Julius’ last known location was Regensburg Germany and he was spotted with three bodyguards and a young lady about the same age as Jemila Bartel but no one actually saw what the young lady looked like because she had her head covered.”

I felt my breath catch in my throat. Was I finally close to finding her?

“Are you sure about all this?” Carter asked, taking the words right from me. “I need you to be sure so that we aren’t chasing ghosts Mal.”

“Of course I’m sure,” Mal responded. “I wouldn’t have called if I hadn’t triple checked the information to make sure it was legit.”

Carter looked at me and then spoke. “And when was this?”

“That was five days ago when they were spotted in Regensburg, but from the looks of it, it seemed they were just passing by going somewhere else,” Mal answered. “That’s all I could find. I hope it’s going to be of some help.”

“You have no idea just how useful this information is,” I said. “Thanks Mal.”

“No problem, sorry again for not getting back to you on time.” Then he hung up.