ZANDER
The Firm’s offices have a completely different energy now that we’re in prep mode for the event this weekend. Cade sits at the head of the table, file folders and a tablet in front of him. He scrolls through the information on the screen, his expression serious.
“Did Kam confirm his suspicions?” he asks, looking at me.
“On the sender of the letter?”
Cade nods. Damon slides a piece of paper over to him, and Cade glances at it before flipping it onto another stack within reach.
“Yeah. It’s him. The same conclusion we came to.” I can’t even speak about these latest developments without anger churning in my gut. We matched a thumbprint but it’s Kam who knew immediately. He knew who would have access and motive. There’s no way I’m ever telling Ella a damn thing about any of this. No one should go through what she went through. “And the event Ella’s friend is throwing is where he expects the drop-off.”
Cade cracks open a dossier acquired on the suspect Kam has led us to. I’ve read it a hundred times over. It’s him. The vile fuck has a name and it’s at the top of my hit list. It takes everything in me to remain calm.
“Ah.” Cade nods. “So that’s why you’re so inclined to go to a fashion show opening?” There’s a hint of a joke in his tone that somewhat lightens the mood.
Hell yes it is. “That’s right. Kam agrees it would be good to place her there as well. For PR, for us and also to address the situation person-to-person.”
The humor fades from Cade’s expression. “He’s not going to see her, correct?”
“There are two hundred people expected to be at the event, including the press. We’ll keep her away,” Dane answers for me. Thank God he did. Just the thought that he would be near her makes my skin crawl.
I have to remind myself that he isn’t the one who did those things. But to threaten her with that information … it’s incomprehensible.
“So he will be at the event and we will confront him as we’ve done in the past.” Cade switches off the screen of the tablet and looks first to Dane and Silas, then to me. “Are we prepared with ammunition of our own?”
Blackmail the blackmailer. “What we have on him is far worse and with one click, the police will be informed of everything. The blackmail and his other misdealings.” Again, Dane answers. This isn’t the first time we’ve handled these issues delicately. The police are never informed and the individual goes away quietly, not willing to risk us destroying their lives. I, however, wouldn’t mind simply pulling the trigger.
“Has Ella been informed?” Cade asks.
Now the anger is replaced by worry. “No. She has no idea.”
Cade exchanges a look with Damon. Heat coats the back of my neck at the thought of her finding out what happened. “How has she been in your sessions?”
Damon answers easily, “She’s working through some things. Much more stable than she was when we took the case. Ella has shown a lot of progress when it comes to processing her feelings instead of letting them turn harmful. There is no question of her mental capacity. I feel confident signing off for the judge and ending her conservatorship.”
“So long as the event goes accordingly. She needs to show stability there, not just in counseling sessions,” my brother comments and the thin skin around my knuckles turns white as I ball a fist.
“She’ll be fine,” I add, talking over Damon who then agrees with me.
My brother picks up a pen and jots down a note on a sheet of paper. Once again he glances at me. “Are you sure you can handle this?”
“I have no doubt.”
I’m absolutely confident that with me by her side, Ella will make it successfully through the event without it throwing her into a spiral. I’m even confident that she can do it by herself. Damon has observed her work as far as her mental health, but I know that her inner strength is far deeper than he can imagine.
It’s me I’m more worried about.
I’m not just pissed. I’m furious. A threat against Ella feels like a threat against my heart. I want to kill this bastard. How dare he threaten her? And with that of all things?
The video he sent makes me sick to think about. I watched it because, as a member of The Firm, I need to have all the information available to me. I wish it hadn’t been necessary.
The video was of her father, along with a group of men. All of them were with a much younger Ella. There was a side-by-side comparison of what they’d done years before with her mother.
Rage heats every inch of me and I have to readjust in my seat, unable to keep still.
If there was any doubt that he was abusive, the tape was evidence enough. It wasn’t a very long video, but it was long enough to know exactly what was going on.
“Any word from Kam?” Cade questions.