Dark Captor (Dark Syndicate 2)

Chapter Three

Tristan

It’s her…

It’s definitely her.

The instant I saw Dmitri Oleksiak I knew Isabella Baker most assuredly had to be Isabella Viggo. The presence of that man was confirmation enough. He’s a senior member of the Circle of Shadows and would only be present out here if he were guarding something special, or someone. And he wouldn’t be guarding a mere person who was just a point of contact. Seeing any senior member of the Shadows is the same as seeing Mortimer himself. They are the strongest and what you’d expect to find guarding a person like the boss’ daughter.

I’ll take that as evidence enough that it’s her.

I watch her car disappear around the corner, and I almost feel sorry it’s her.

She seems to be like any other young woman who wants to pursue her career. A woman who wants to live her life.

I expected a princess. A privileged, silver spooned beauty like all the other rich girls who live off daddy’s dirty money. I was quickly proven wrong as I watched her at work in the clinic. I could tell she cared about her work, and unlike her father, she cares about people.

When I saw how Dmitri handled her earlier, I got the true picture of what her life must be like. What I saw was someone being ruled with an iron fist. Held under the thumb of a dictator who wants to control every aspect of their life. That was as clear to me as the sensation of her watching me.

As her car drove away, I could feel that strong magnetic pull you get when you can sense you’re being watched.

It’s irony at its finest. I was watching her, and she was watching me too.

I’ve been following her for the last three days. I arrived on Sunday with my brothers and got a place close to where she lives. Days ago, when I first saw her working at the center, I almost didn’t think it was her because I couldn’t imagine Mortimer Viggo’s daughter working in such a capacity.

The checks we ran on her all looked legit. Everything was made to look like she was the daughter of some wealthy businessman called Russell Baker. A very clever made up name, I have to give Mortimer credit for. He almost made a believer out of me. I almost dropped the mission thinking we were wrong.

Until yesterday when I thought I saw Dmitri. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt so I couldn’t quite tell if it was him.

Today he wasn’t. Today he dressed like any regular guy. Anyone would be easily fooled and would never know the man is a deadly assassin who could kill you before you took your next breath.

The other day when I couldn’t confirm if Isabella was Mortimer’s daughter, I thought the other man with her might be a boyfriend of sorts. He’s a lot older than Dmitri, much older than her by maybe twenty years, but that’s hardly strange. Now it’s clear he’s a guard too.

I came across Dmitri in my first encounter with Vlad. That was months after Alyssa’s death when I managed to track them down. Dmitri nearly killed me and would have too if I didn’t have my father backing me up. It was a narrow escape. We were too focused on catching Vlad to pay him the attention he should have gotten.

I wished we’d killed him. From the looks of things, it seems he might have gotten Vlad’s old job.

I pull in a deep breath and set my hands on the steering wheel.

This is it.

We found her. So that means we should be able to find Mortimer.

It’s a massive step further than I ever imagined. A path to retribution, and I can see from the steps Mortimer has taken to protect and conceal her that she’s the thing he loves.

The devil has a heart. The devil has a weakness and I just found it.

Beautiful and angelic as she is, this woman is my ticket to a man I’ve been seeking vengeance on for the last six years. She’s food for the beast inside me that’s been itching for revenge since I saw my Alyssa’s head in that box.

Quickly, I fire off a message to Massimo and Dominic confirming we’ve found Isabella Viggo then drive away, heading back to the house.

I arrive in less than an hour beating traffic.

Massimo and Dominic are in the living room sitting around the little dining table. Candace is here too sitting cross-legged on the carpet by Massimo, organizing paperwork.

She works with Massimo at the company now, but her family has always worked for mine in some shape or form. As a trusted friend we’ve known since childhood we brought her along to help with the research. Since there are few people we trust we had to rely on those we already have at our disposal. Even if we would have opted to keep her out of business, her presence here is a sign that Massimo is keeping his head above water.

Our small team included all the people in the room, my two main guards Nick and Leo who know what we’re here for, and five guards who are just here for security purposes. They haven’t been given the details of the mission. Those chosen are people we’ve known for more than twenty years and have protected us in battle.