Then

"Do. It. Again. Don't fucking make me repeat myself," Gareth growled and reached for the already lit cigarette in the ashtray in front of him. It was the only object within reach he did not want to throw at the bunch of sniveling weasels, who sat on the other side of his desk, looking pathetic and nervous.

Every sound and motion in the large conference room stilled. No low buzzing of voices, taps on keyboards, shuffling of papers, or the occasional clank of a coffee cup or plate could be heard. Even the printers and phones seemed to know they should stay quiet as every man in the room stood frozen and waited to see if this was the moment when Gareth would explode.

They had all waited for it to happen, and there had been a few close calls, but the news his accountants had just given him might be the grain to tip an already dangerously balancing scale.

The collective intake of breath and the drop-dead silence in the room did not go unnoticed by Gareth. Rationally, he knew he was overreacting, but there was no space for rationality in him. Everything and everyone grated on his nerves, and his mind could not handle much more.

It had been a week and a day since they had discovered Phoenix and his team were missing. They had found the car, their phones, and Danil's body when they had gotten to the DPS coordinates, and though they all mourned the loss of a comrade, they were happy it was only one so far. Still, as time went by with no clues, no ransom demand, and no new threats toward the people in hiding in the mansion, they all feared it was just a matter of time before more bodies would appear.

Gareth already knew he was not handling it well. By fuck, someone would pay dearly for having killed Danil. From the report he had gotten, it had been an execution-style shot to the back of the head. No nonsense, just one shot - one kill. The stalker had made it clear who he had in his sights of the people around Phoenix, and Artyom and Timur were not among those, sadly making them expendable, with little need for grandstanding or playing around before their deaths. Phoenix's, however, if it came to that, would be presented with all the superior gloating of a psychopath. There would not be enough whiskey in the world to soothe him if he got the news of Phoenix's death.

Inhaling the smoke, Gareth smiled with gratitude to Rotha, who had brought him a whiskey without being asked. The man had been a good personal assistant since he had taken the position many years before, but the year with Phoenix and Vlad had developed Rotha into someone more intuitive in fulfilling unvoiced needs, it seemed. He had proven that plenty of times over the last week. Quiet, effective, and one step ahead of any possible temper disaster. Almost like Rami, but better dressed. As much as Gareth adored Rami, he knew the man only dressed in suits because that was what Gareth liked in the people around him, but Rami preferred and probably looked best in his tight t-shirts and jeans, which he believed was a more badass look than the bodyguard suits.

"Can you please do it again? There has to be some mistake, and you bloody well find it." Rubbing his temple with his free hand, while inhaling the last of the cigarette, Gareth tried to push back the gnawing headache from a week without sleep and more reports than he had ever wished to read in a lifetime. It had been necessary, though, and the lack of sleep he was used to.

Day and night, until Rami, Cracker, or Jace had forced him to rest on his office couch or go to his room, Gareth had gone over reports on everything that had happened while he had been away. Mission reports, city leader updates, business reports, financials...

Reports, reports, reports!

It was not the homecoming he had hoped for. What Gareth had seen as back-to-back meetings, certainly overdosing on coffee and Natalya's sweet treats while getting up to speed, he had also imagined being bliss. Sitting there among his men, listening to their voices, hearing of their accomplishments in his absence, and just being near them. Looking to see if any had changed over the past year. In his mind, it had not only been about the reports and the nitty gritty of the details, but about being close and reconnecting.

Nothing had gone according to plan.

The reunion party he had arranged for Saturday for his men, he had canceled, not that anyone had complained. Partying with some of their own in peril was in poor taste, and all his men were out scouring the city for clues. Fuck it, the country. His men had scattered to search, and Horse and Cellmate had been at it tirelessly to get something from the website or the communication the stalker had sent to Phoenix. Jace had led them all like a true leader, while Gareth had done what he had promised to do.

Getting up to speed on everything.

A year's worth of information, Gareth had read through and absorbed in a week, at his new makeshift desk in the largest conference room. Reading reports until his eyes felt like bleeding and his brain exploding, always surrounded by up to fifty people from both sides of his organization. All the while still holding meetings and helping Jace whenever he could.

Yet, they were nowhere near anything worthwhile to find Phoenix.

"Why don't I look it over, G-man?" Cracker asked and jumped down from the windowsill where he had been sitting for hours while Gareth was in his meeting with his accountants. He had kept Jace updated on any development at the mansion and coordinated his teams from his phone, informing Gareth of the massive amount of nothing they had come up with.

Cracker understood Gareth's frustrations, because he felt them too. Phoenix had been gone for eight days officially, but eleven days in all. With that amount of time passed, it was unsure if Phoenix and the team were still in the country. Leaving the car and their phones behind for them to find, but no passports or luggage, spoke to a possible change of venue, which would make it harder to find them if no new clues came in soon.

He could not imagine what Phoenix went through at the hands of his stalker. One thing he knew was Phoenix was still alive. If not for his gut feeling, then the website had partially confirmed his theory.

That Tuesday, the day after they had informed Gareth, the website had been updated. A set of jail bars, like in a computer game, had been added over Phoenix's image, and every other picture had a stamp across it that said 'pending'. It showed the stalker was far from done, but also that he had Phoenix, and he was still alive.

Even without the website, Cracker had been certain about that. The man was too smart to get himself killed, and he was simply too strong and stubborn to accept death on any terms that were not his own. Phoenix would face whatever it took while they fumbled in the dark to find him. All they needed was one breakthrough, one tiny clue, and they would ride it like they had stolen it.

Cracker's teams were all over Ireland in crappy motels, awaiting any coordinates to investigate. Horse and Cellmate gave him anything they found, even the saddest and smallest of breadcrumbs they forwarded to him so he could get his people on it.

And Jace, that poor man, ran himself thin. The dread and hysteria in Jace rippled under the surface every time they met, but remarkably, Jace had kept it together. Never had Cracker seen that fierce determination in Jace, and never had he known it was possible for one man to command Gareth's men better than Gareth. But Jace did it. For Phoenix and whatever those two shared. Though he officially knew nothing, and he had no intention of prying into anything, he knew the bond Jace and Phoenix shared went beyond colleagues, beyond friendship. If he had to be honest, that bond went beyond anything mere mortals could comprehend, because very few got blessed with what they had found in each other.

It was not for him to judge, and not for him to say when and how they chose to reveal what they had. It was most certainly not for him to out them to others, though he knew everyone, Gareth in particular, would be happy for them, but probably a tad surprised. Jace was known as a womanizer, and Phoenix, everyone knew to be cold and detached, far from romantic at all. But Cracker had seen them once in Budapest, seen the light in Phoenix's eyes, and how they had connected. Not only physically, through a very impressive lip-lock, but also through subtle signs of confirmation. A look here, a smile there, a simple word of encouragement, or a physical presence to confirm to the other they were there for each other. Since that day, he had observed them to know if it had been a onetime moment of mission-based loneliness or more.

It had definitely been more.

The way Phoenix had gone to bat for Jace after the Levi incidents, and the information Cracker had been granted after those, had only showed him that Phoenix cared - a lot. And Jace... Jace hid his worry behind his leadership, and he pulled one idea after the other out of his ass to solve the mystery and bring Phoenix home.

It had been a puzzle of missing pieces to find head and tail in everything, but Cracker knew what he knew, and since the website, where it had been obvious the stalker knew of Jace's importance to Phoenix, he had finally seen the big picture. Which was another reason he knew Phoenix was alive. He would do anything to get back to Jace, but, and that was the scary part, he would also be willing to do anything and everything to protect Jace.

Since he could do nothing to help Phoenix other than organize and have his teams ready, Cracker knew he could help with the recent issue at hand. One none of them had foreseen.

"What can you do about it?" Gareth asked aggressively and directed his murderous gaze at Cracker and not his lead accountants.

Cracker shrugged and showed no signs of intimidation by Gareth's tone of voice or how he seemed one push from going nuclear on all of them. "I know a thing or two about numbers. You've never needed to doubt me before. Just let me have a look, ok?"

"Fine, do what you want. It can't be worse than what these imbeciles have done." Gareth waved off Cracker with a defeated sigh and motioned for the accountants to leave.

"G, get some sleep."

Sighing, Gareth acknowledged Cracker's advice as coming from a place of concern, though he reeled at being told to go to bed like some four-year-old. He looked at his accountants, who stood indecisively next to their chairs, waiting for him and Cracker to decide what to do. And then he looked at the rest of the people in the room, especially Vlad and Rotha, who worked in silence at a desk at the wall not too far from his own desk. They all looked stressed and worn down.

He had given all his paper pushers the week before off, but when he had canceled the party, Vlad and Rotha had both called to know why, and being updated on the situation, they had come in to help any way they could, and they had called in everyone else from the business team without Gareth's knowledge. Vlad had taken on all of his own and Phoenix's assignments, and Rotha had stepped up and relieved Vlad as much as he could, while still being there to do what he usually did, bringing coffee, booking meetings, printing stuff, and making sure Gareth had everything he needed.

Rotha still did not have the balls to tell Gareth to go to bed, or ask him to calm the fuck down, but he had compensated by being a step ahead to bring food, when he felt it had been too long without Gareth eating, or pouring a whiskey when that had seemed like the only solution.

Through all the reports and seeing his organization in action over the last week while he had caught up, Gareth understood how effective his men were with the new structures Jace had implemented. They all knew he was back, but they still reported to Jace as if he was not. A courtesy to give him space, and a cadeau to Jace for his leadership abilities.

The only part that did not function at peak performance was his own team, despite Vlad and Rotha's impressive efforts to fill the void left by Phoenix. The accountants, lawyers, secretaries, translators, and every other paper pusher Gareth employed had worked overtime to not let anything slip. None of them had been home since Thursday and had slept cramped in guest rooms like cattle. That was when they had a few hours to do so, but mainly they had been at it 24/7, because as capable as Jace was, that side of the organization was Phoenix's, and even Jace could not command that.

They all needed to sleep, not just him.

"Vlad?" Gareth stood from his chair and walked around his desk, seeing how his accountants drew back to be out of reach, just in case. It somehow amused and saddened him they did that. He would never hurt his own. He could yell and expect inhuman perfection, and he might have slammed someone against the wall a few times, but they were mafia men, not prissy schoolgirls.

"Aye, boss?" Vlad pointed at something for Rotha and then looked up from his laptop. "If it's the Graff file, then we're almost done."

"It's not. I don't need it. What I need is sleep, and so do you." Gareth motioned between Rotha and Vlad and then out into the room. "Finish up, reschedule meetings to next month, and send people home. Sleep in your own beds for once."

Walking to Cracker, Gareth patted him on the arm as a thank you for the wake-up call and turned to the room. "Guys, I appreciate all your hard work during this chaotic time, but until this new issue has been solved, we can't do much to move forward. Go home and rest. If you have ongoing cases or something that needs attention before I call you back, work from home and coordinate with your colleagues online."

People slowly, and with a level of uncertainty, began to pack up their things. They tidied their workstations in silence, glancing back and forth between each other. They too knew how volatile the situation was, and they were not entirely sure if Gareth would turn on a dime and demand them back half an hour later in a fit of rage.

"Eh, Boss?"

Gareth turned to face Rotha, who had discretely snuck up on him while he had been lost in thoughts about a long shower, a whiskey, and, if possible, some genuine sleep. "Yes, Rotha?"

"Next month is July. It's the height of the industrial summer vacation, and many probably will be out of their offices. Would you like me to reschedule for August instead?"

"Oh!" Gareth had not even considered that in his already busy mind. Of course, normal people would have more sense of the seasonal changes than him. He worked all year around, and the concept of vacation was an abstract for him. But he could see that working in his favor. If everything got pushed to August, they would probably have the Phoenix situation under control by then and could dive in with renewed energy after a few weeks of that elusive vacation thing. "August is perfect. Thank you for reminding me. Unless it's urgent, then just book the meetings in my calendar whenever, and I'll make sure they're taken care of."

"Ok, will do." Rotha squirmed a little and glanced at Vlad, who had joined them in silence. He looked as if he did not know what to say and hoped Vlad would say it for him.

Smiling his usual smile, Vlad nodded at Rotha, making the man visibly relax at not having to speak. "Are you sure you want us to go home? We talked it over and can stay. Maybe just to take some pressure off you?" Vlad looked around the fast-emptying room, smiling at the few who waved and called out brief goodbyes. "People are going home, and there'll be more rooms available. It's no bother for us to stay. Besides, we'd really like to be in on the Phoenix situation."

Gareth relished in the people he had employed. Not only did he have the best men concerning skills, but they had a code of ethics he appreciated. He had noticed how many had reluctantly obeyed his order to leave. They always did what they were told, but that did not mean they did not have opinions of their own, and leaving ship, while the captain had to navigate alone, went against their beliefs.

"Vlad, you're a phone call away. It'll take less than half an hour to have you back here." Gareth turned to Rotha. "Same goes for you. Go home, I'll keep you updated. Hopefully, we'll have Phoenix back soon, and it'll be business as usual. But really, you've had a long year without me, and Phoenix told me you've both been instrumental in making things run. A chance to sleep in your own beds is the least I can offer in return."

Still smiling, though uncertainty was evident in his eyes, Vlad sighed and shook his head. It had always been futile to argue with Gareth, even if the intentions were in his best interest. "Ok, but call us with updates, please. Phoenix is our friend as much as he's a colleague."

"I'll call you with any news. And take a team from the common room to escort you home. You're still on that blasted website, though I think the stalker is busy with other things at the moment."

"If that's how you want it." Vlad turned to leave and nudged Rotha toward the door. "I just have to pack up my office, then I'm ready to go."

"I'll swing by the kitchen. I'm not going home without some of Natalya's goodies to keep me company." Rotha grinned and waved at Gareth, Cracker, and the accountants still left in the room.

Gareth waited until they had left and motioned at the conference room with a throw of his arm. "All yours. Cracker, do whatever magic you think you can. I'll be in my suite."

"Go on G-man, this will probably take some time."

Cracker did not wait for Gareth to leave. He barked orders at the accountants, asking for a laptop and the files he needed. Smiling at the chuckle Gareth let out as he left, Cracker went to the refreshment table and loaded up on coffee, gobbling down a few pieces of cake for the sugar. He waited with his coffee until the accountants had pulled back, leaving him a workspace in the middle of the long conference table.

A stack of files, notepad and pen, wireless mouse, and a calculator beside the open laptop.

Moving to the chair by the workspace, Cracker tried to empty his mind of anything not related, pushing his worries for Phoenix aside. He already knew a lot rested on his abilities, and he hoped his brain's capacity for numbers would reveal something the accountants had not. Though he doubted it. They were top tier accountants, and Gareth had specifically employed them at his base in Dublin with himself because they were that good. If they had found discrepancies, they were probably right.

The accountants stood back in mesmerized awe and watched Cracker go into a bubble of his own. He grabbed the first file in the stack and read through it, meticulously noting things on the pad and punching in numbers in the spreadsheet on the laptop. Clicking back and forth between his own spreadsheet and the official ones from the accountants, he made more notes on the pad.

After a while, all but the head accountant slowly packed their things and left, which they probably should have done from the beginning, but seeing Cracker in action was something of a show to them.

As Jace would have put it: accountant porn.

Several hours later, Cracker grumbled and looked up, realizing he was not alone. Oleg had sat there, only having listened to the clicking on the keyboard and scribbling on the pad with the occasional shuffling of files without making a sound. Cracker understood why he had stayed, and it tore at him to share his findings with him. Just as himself, Oleg had hoped he would have found the mistake to clear their suspicions.

Saddened by the situation, Cracker shook his head at Oleg to let him know things would only get worse. He dreaded having to inform Gareth, because he knew Gareth had no mercy in cases like this. On a whim, he picked up his phone and sighed heavily at the time on the display before he went into his favorites and clicked a number.

"What can I do for you, Cracker?" Horse asked the moment he had picked up the call.

"I'm sending you an email with dates and times. Can you go over the logs and check who with access to the files logged in at those times?"

Horse clicked around for a moment. "Sure, give me maybe an hour? I'll call you back." Pausing, Horse cleared his throat and for once he sounded like the young man he was and not the hardened adult he often came across as. "Is it true? I mean, what I've heard whispered?"

"Unless you can find something in what I sent you, then yes."

"I don't believe it. I'll find something," Horse said with determination and cut the call.

"How does a sandwich sound?" Oleg asked quietly, knowing it had been hours since they had eaten anything that was not packed with sugar.

Cracker nodded and rubbed his tired eyes. A sandwich sounded like heaven, and with something to drink that would not add to his caffeine high. A week of barely sleeping, running on a diet of coffee and sugary snacks had taken its toll, but he had not touched a drop of alcohol, though he had wanted to. If the call came, if they found one shred of something that could lead them to Phoenix, he needed to be stone cold sober to do what he did best. And by the gods, he would bring all his military skills to the table to show Phoenix's stalker who he had messed with.

After a hearty meal of slices of roast with potatoes and gravy, served with refreshing lemonade, which Natalya had ordered both of them to eat while she stood next to the table and watched them like a hawk, they were walking back from the dining room when Cracker's phone rang.

"Horse?" Cracker said and felt how his heart beat unusually fast with the hope of the genius having found something he had missed.

"So far, it looks as if things are as we fear." Horse grumbled. "I'll keep looking. I have this nagging feeling, but I just can't put my finger on it."

"Ok, thank you. Call me with anything you find."

Only having heard half the conversation, Oleg needed no more than to look at Cracker's defeated facial expression to know his hopes had been crushed.

"I don't believe it. He would never do anything like that. There has to be a mistake somewhere, and we have to find it." Oleg huffed and kicked the nearest wall, instantly regretting it as his dress shoe offered little protection against the hard wall. "If I have to stay here for weeks, I'll find it. I'll be in my office if G-man needs me."

Cracker looked after Oleg as he stomped off with a slight limp and up the stairs. He wanted to run after Oleg and help him, and he wanted to hide away at the bottom of a bottle for a few hours, but he had promised himself to not go there no matter how bad things got. Besides, at some point, when he had grown a pair to match the ordeal, he needed to go inform Gareth of his findings, and though he was not and never had been afraid of Gareth, he was afraid how the news would hit him.

To give himself a little extra time, Cracker stood in the hall and looked into the common room where Niall and half the guys there were on the floor doing a puzzle with a gazillion pieces from the looks of it. He saw people he now defined as friends in the people they were protecting from the stalker, and, in his heart, he knew Phoenix would be happy to know they were all safe there, no matter where he was and what he went through.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed the front door opening as Jace and Rami came in. What surprised him was the tall man behind them.

"Devil?"

A toothy smile broke through the color explosion on Devil's face, and he came straight to Cracker to give him a fierce bro hug. Through all the work with the missing subs, he and Cracker had met plenty of times and had developed some sort of friendship.

"What are you doing here?" Cracker asked when Devil let him come up for air.

"I couldn't sit back home with my thumb up my arse. I can do nothing here just as well as at home. And I'd feel more in the loop by being close, especially with what I've heard..."

Devil let the unspoken hang, glancing at Jace, who undoubtedly was his source, and Cracker's expression was enough to confirm to him that it was not just an unsubstantiated rumor.

Sadly.

"I think G will be happy to see you. Do you have a place to stay, or should we get Natalya to fix you a room?"

"I have a place in town, and Jace has offered me to borrow one of his cars. I can come and go as needed, and I can keep a line open with my contacts from anywhere."

"Is everything ok?" Jace asked when Devil and Cracker had finished their small conversation. He stood beside them with a worried frown furrowing his forehead. He looked tired and needed a shave. Then again, they all needed to groom a bit, but they did not have time for that.

"What do you mean?" Naturally, Jace knew about the rumors, but nothing had been confirmed yet, and Cracker was not about to add to his worries if what Jace had asked about was not what his own mind centered on.

"How would I know? We were at the airport to pick up Devil, when I got a text from G, telling me to get my ass back here."

"I guess he's awake then?" Cracker pulled out his phone and checked the time. "I sent him to sleep, but I doubt he's gotten much rest."

Jace shrugged. It was completely normal for Gareth to not sleep, and in stressful situations, it was a miracle if he even tried. "Better go see what he wants. You coming?"

There was no way around it, so Cracker nodded and followed Jace up the stairs with Devil by his side and Rami trailing after them as the shadow he was.

They heard Gareth yelling long before they reached his office. They had been by the conference room to find it empty and had assumed Gareth would be in his office and not in his room.

"I don't care if she's got whiskey-flavored nipples and sucks better than a Hoover. I'm not interested, mum!"

Jace and Cracker exchanged glances and knew Gareth would be in a foul mood if he had just been on the phone with his mother in yet another argument about producing an heir to the Adjenkov line.

Gareth stood leaned over his desk and stared at his phone as if he could will it to shut his mother out. He looked up when he saw someone enter and waved forward the men he wanted to see. "Mum, I've got shit to do. If you want to continue this conversation, you can call me when Hell freezes over." Angrily, he tapped the phone and rudely cut the call, not caring how it was received on the other end.

Even Jace was wise enough to not crack a joke and stood waiting for Gareth to say something.

"What are you doing here? Never mind. As if I don't already know." Gareth dismissed Devil's presence without a second thought. To be honest, he was impressed that Devil had not shown up before. As a friend to Phoenix and himself, and with the work they had shared over the last many years, a friend to many of his men, it was only a matter of time before he would hop on a plane to join them. Gareth's anger and frustration turned to hope when he directed his bloodshot, tired eyes at Cracker. "Cracker?"

Cracker sighed and shook his head, seeing how Gareth's shoulders sank and the hope dwindled in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but no matter what I did, the numbers only supported the findings the accountants have already made."

Gareth hammered his fist into the desk, feeling the pain surge up his arm, and then went into a string of Russian curses. His brain could not handle that information. The pain in his hand was nothing compared to the one in his heart. He had hoped Cracker would find something, anything, to put their suspicion to rest, but as it looked, he had to accept that maybe his good friend was not such a good friend.

They all stood back and waited, unsure if Gareth would wreck the place, but to their surprise, he just fell back into his chair and rubbed his hand when he had stopped cursing.

"You don't actually believe this, do you?" Jace asked incredulously and pushed the chair in front of Gareth's desk to the side and stepped closer. His blood pumped wildly, because the news had shocked him too. But Jace did not believe it. He could not. "Gareth, you're my oldest and dearest friend. You're my fucking family, but I swear to you, if you for one second entertain the idea that Phoenix could have betrayed you, I'll walk away."

Jace huffed and did his best to not resort to violence, though the desk seemed to have it coming that day, and his hands were already fisted and eager to smash into the polished wood.

"I don't care if you have me killed the moment I leave the house. I'd rather be dead than stand with a man who does not believe in the most faithful of his employees," Jace continued with rage in his voice, spearing Gareth to the spot with wild eyes. "If I can't count on you, I'll find Phoenix myself!"

"Jace..." Gareth said in a pained voice at the words he had never thought he would hear from his best friend, of all people. He did not want to believe it, but he had the best people employed, had the sharpest minds in his organization telling him that his gut feeling was wrong, and however much he wanted to disregard what they had said and listen to his gut, he had to stick to the facts. That did not mean he was not torn and something inside him ached in a way he had never thought possible.

Gareth met Jace's raging stare head on. That was his best friend, and it would kill him to lose Jace, and right now, he was close to losing him. He did not know how to keep his friend and still be the leader he was supposed to be. When presented with irrefutable facts, he had to believe them and act on them, and the facts were that Phoenix had screwed him over for years.

Shocked, Jace realized Gareth had made up his mind, and they, for once, were not on the same page about something, and where he usually would have accepted that and followed Gareth in his decision, he could not this time.

"Fuck this, and fuck you!" Jace hammered his fist into the desk, finally releasing what was in him. Gareth had claimed to be a friend to Phoenix, and Jace knew the man. Phoenix would never go back on his moral code and betray anyone. "You're not the man I thought you were."

Jace did not say or do anything else. He backed away with disgust etched into his features, tense and devastated. Then he turned on his heel and stormed out of there.

"Jace!" Gareth screamed and stood from his chair, unsure of how to stop his friend from leaving. Shocked, hurt, and crushed inside, he took a second to compose himself before he looked at Rami, Devil, and Cracker, who had kept quiet while Jace had given him a piece of his mind.

Cracker just shrugged with disappointment and left without a word, much to Gareth's surprise. He was losing one friend after another, and none had given him a chance to say or do anything. Well, they had, and he had failed them.

"Rami?" Gareth whispered.

Rami threw his hands in the air and backed away. "Don't look at me for support. I owe you everything. My life and my loyalty, but I'm with Jace on this." He, too, turned away and left.

Gareth fell back into his chair and turned his attention to Devil. "Are you going to tell me off too?"

"Do you want me to?" Devil quirked a half-smile at Gareth, because Gareth did not need anyone to tell him off. What he needed was a new perspective from the one his brain and his heart were debating inside him. "We both know Phoenix could never have done anything like what he's accused of. His brain is not capable of that kind of deceit."

Devil went to the bar table and grabbed a glass and the nearest bottle of whiskey. He returned to Gareth's desk and placed both in front of Gareth. "Take a few to breathe and think, ok?"

All he got was a nod in reply, but it was enough, and he turned to leave. Now he needed to go stop Jace from doing anything stupid. Phoenix would have everyone's balls in a chain around his neck if the relationship between his boy and his best friend was not as it had been before his kidnapping. Devil smiled to himself when he heard Gareth pour the whiskey and walked out the door, leaving Gareth alone with his thoughts.

Out in the hallway, Devil found his phone and called the one person who might be able to help.

"Devil?"

"You have to find a way to prove it's a mistake," Devil instructed with no greeting, giving in to the chaos inside him. Usually, he was not one to bud into other people's affairs, but for the sake of people he cared about, he would cross a few boundaries.

"We're trying. I promise, Devil," Horse replied in a strained voice while furious tapping could be heard in the background. "I've pulled in everyone I know to filter through this."

"You have to." Devil sighed. "For Phoenix and Jace..." He paused for a second. "And for Gareth."

"I know." The sympathy in Horse's voice was clear, even through the phone. "You're my thirty-eighth call from people in the organization, all asking me to do something. I can't tell you how many have called Cellmate. Trust me, we're not giving up."

Devil nodded to himself as he walked, hoping Horse would work his magic fast, because the mansion would be a ticking bomb under them all. There was no saying how Gareth would react, but he figured they would need his office redecorated soon, and Jace, he would go off to find Phoenix if he had to go door-to-door through all of Ireland. Whatever Phoenix had done to earn Jace's loyalty, that driving force would be lit on fire inside Jace until Phoenix was back.

The Adjenkov house was divided in a time where they needed unity, and he had no solution to how they could get back on track. He was just a friend of some of them; he had no real authority there. But he would do his damnedest.

"Call or text me with anything. Gareth needs something to switch mindset, and Jace needs to be confirmed in his trust in Phoenix. This can make or break your entire organization."

"Is it that bad?"

"Jace just told Gareth he would leave and not look back. So yes, it's a bloody nightmare."

"Fuck!"

"Yup. I've got to run and find Jace. Though I'm on his side in this, I don't believe he really wants to make an enemy out of Gareth. He just wants his best friend to support him and believe."

Horse just grumbled at the information, and Devil could only imagine what he was thinking. One thing he knew was Horse was on the job, and no one would sleep until they had something solid to go on. He cut the call and hurried down the stairs to see if Jace had left.

The common room was in an uproar when he entered. People stood around in groups and discussed loudly. Jace was nowhere to be seen, but Cracker was there and waved him over.

"He's with Quinn. She convinced him to go talk to calm down," Cracker informed, and Devil relaxed a little at the news.

Rami, who stood beside Cracker, scratched his head and took in all the loudly arguing men in the room. "What do we do? This is a shitshow." Normally, he was a man who did not challenge his boss and always had his back, but this once, he had to adhere to what he believed, and he was rock-solid in his belief in Phoenix's innocence. That did not mean others were not entitled to their opinions. He just wished they would not act as they always did, overloaded on testosterone and good intentions.

"Everyone, can we please calm down and sit to talk it over like civilized people?" Cracker yelled to get people's attention, though it had little effect on the heated voices around them.

Unnoticed by anyone, curious eyes followed everything in the room.

Standing alone in the corner, he observed the chaos. From the moment Jace had come in there in a fit of rage, everyone had behaved like a pack of hyenas in a feeding frenzy. Anger hung in the air and fueled everyone with its potent smell, riling up people to act on emotions and not rational thinking. It mixed with the testosterone in the room and fused together into a bomb with nuclear capabilities. People were yelling at each other, and many seemed only moments from making it into a physical altercation.

Chess had whisked off with Niall, Packard, and Eoin, and Quinn and Brannon had done their best to talk Jace down, but he had not seen reason until Cracker had arrived and helped defuse the situation. Unfortunately, he did not look to be able to calm the tempers in the people left. Not even Rami and that tall, tattooed man stood a chance at getting people to stop yelling.

Maybe this was the perfect time to go?

Slowly, he moved from his spot and left the common room without being stopped. He hesitated a little, but eventually took the stairs up toward his destination. On his way, he only met a few people, but none stopped him as he was a usual sight around the house. Besides, they all appeared preoccupied and in a hurry to get down to the common room, which left him alone in the hallway when he finally made it up to the right floor.

He practically sneaked along the walls and peered into every room he passed with an open door to see if someone was there. It was eerily quiet all around him when he neared the door he was aiming for. With a bit of indecisive tripping in place, he debated with himself if it was the right time. It would have been best if Jace had been there also, but Gareth alone might be easiest.

Grabbing the bull by its horns, he leaned in and poked his head forward enough to look into the office. Gareth sat behind his desk with his head leaned back. It was hard to see if he was asleep or just staring up at the ceiling, but he was there. Silently, he moved from the hallway and into the office, or so he thought, because he startled back when Gareth jerked in his chair.

"Who's there?"

A set of ice-cold eyes scanned the room in a matter of seconds and easily found the intruder.

Relaxing, Gareth let go of the grip he had on the gun strapped under his desk. It was an instinctive reaction to reach for it. He had not heard a sound, but he had felt he was not alone, and there his body never failed him. That tingling inside came to life every time, and it had helped keep him alive in dire situations, though he felt no threat from the young man in front of him.

His carpets, on the other hand, might feel an imminent bowel reaction threat, because the man looked ready to shit himself.

"Sydney?" Gareth slumped back in his seat and rubbed his face. Well, he dried off the remnants of tears, but like fuck, he was going to admit that to anyone. He did not know what Sydney was doing in his office, but anything to take his mind off of Jace and that pain inside, Gareth welcomed.

"I... I..."

"Relax and try again." Gareth gestured at the chair in front of his desk, though it stood a bit to the side from its usual place. He waited patiently while Sydney gulped a few times and then inched forward to sit at the edge of the seat, looking as if he was ready to run at the drop of a hat. "Do you want something to drink? As you can see, it's Whiskey Tuesday."

Sydney gave a small smile, noticing the open bottle on Gareth's desk and the half-filled glass. It was intimidating to be alone with a man like Gareth, but that small gesture of making them equal by sharing in his day drinking helped a lot. He usually instinctively responded to dominant men but had gotten used to being around alphas like Phoenix, Packard, Brannon, and Master Braxton, then Gareth was still in a league of his own. Dominance and self-assertiveness rolled off him in crushing waves, and despite Sydney not reacting sexually to the man, he felt small and inferior under the strong gaze.

Gratefully, Sydney took the glass of whiskey Gareth had poured for him after a trip to the bar table for a fresh glass. He gulped down a bit of the drink and coughed lightly at the burn. Apparently, Gareth drank battery acid without batting an eye.

As impatient as Gareth looked, Sydney appreciated not being rushed. He was still not sure he was doing the right thing.

"I don't know if I'm overstepping here," Sydney opened the conversation in a shaking voice. Had it been a work situation, he would not have shaken and felt so out of his depth. There he was the one with the long education and knowledge, and his assessments would always be qualified, but facing Gareth, with some half-assed theory, well, that had him revert to the insecure person he was deep down, when not sure if people would listen to him. He sighed. "I would have talked to Jace about it, but he seemed somewhat preoccupied when I saw him in the living room earlier."

A shadow crossed Gareth's face and raw pain shone in his eyes. Sydney had never thought he would see anything but power and assertiveness in Gareth, but there it was. Humanity.

"You said we could come to you if something came to mind, and it's probably nothing, but I remembered an incident from a while back that might be important."

"Ok, I'm listening?" Gareth was not sure what Sydney was trying to tell him, but somehow, he understood how hard it had been for him to come there to talk, and that deserved some credit and at least a modicum of respect, no matter what he was saying.

"You know that feeling you get when you can't put your finger on something?" Sydney scratched his head with an embarrassed blush, because he had no real way of explaining a feeling rather than something concrete. He waited for Gareth to nod, though he was not sure if the man was humoring him to get information or if he actually understood. "There's this guy at the club. He's always been kind of creepy and a loner, but, you know, to each their own."

"There's no crime in being a member of a kink club. Honestly, I think many get their freak on when they can. I know I do." Gareth winked at Sydney to let him know he did not judge. Hell, he was friends with Phoenix, who was co-owner of Packard's club. He had no right to look down at anyone's preferences, considering his first stop, when they got all the Phoenix stuff sorted, would be to move into the Chateau for some much-needed horizontal relief.

"Oh no, I'm not pointing fingers at preferences, but this guy..." Pausing, Sydney tried to find the right words to explain himself. "It's been nagging me for days, and I could not recall why that guy kept popping up in my mind. Not until earlier did it fall together in my head. It might sound crazy, but I overheard bits of a conversation he had in the locker room some months ago."

Gareth sat back and listened. He had no way of knowing if Sydney had anything credible to work with, but as it were, they had nothing at all.

"It might be nothing, or it could be something, and it didn't make any sense at the time, but I remember him saying something about getting 'the place' ready for their guest, and just waiting for the right time to start the show."

Admitting to himself that the conversation could have meant anything, and the meaning only applied to their situation because they were looking for a connection, Sydney glanced nervously at Gareth to see his reaction. It was subtle, but something came to life in Gareth's tired eyes, but he still looked uncertain, which was totally understandable, because if there was any connection, he had to admit that his team of men had missed something vital when going over Packard's member files. As a friend and leader to Phoenix, that might be too much for Gareth's ego.

"But I personally went over every single member with any potential that fit the criteria with Cracker and Packard, and we excluded everyone." Gareth wracked his brain to remember the details of that tedious day's work. A pool of people, deducted from the parameters set, had been made, and then they had talked them over and had Horse and Cellmate do checks on them. None had fit the bill, and they had moved on from club members to look at other possibilities.

"I know that, and I don't mean to stir up any trouble or point accusing fingers at the work you've already done to find Phoenix." Sydney sighed and shook his head at himself. That was exactly what he was doing, and Gareth might not appreciate that. He was grasping at straws to help Phoenix and Jace. Two people he had come to respect and care for a lot over time, and it could possibly be his best intentions overshadowing rational thinking. "But could you check again? His name is Billy."

Sydney blushed and looked away from Gareth. "I've not exactly been Mr. Popular at the club and making friends has been hard for me. That's why I was there that day, to talk to Chess because Mas... Colin was away on business, and I felt a bit alone. I don't think Billy even realized I was there."

Gareth nodded in understanding sympathy, though he did not understand. To him, Sydney seemed perfectly friendly and easy to be around. The man had befriended Phoenix, of all people, and that spoke to superior skills in the friend-making department.

Gareth did not answer Sydney and simply picked up his work phone and made a call, putting it on speaker as it rang. As Sydney had said, maybe it was nothing, but he would rather have nothing confirmed than let something slide.

"Boss. That didn't take long. Do you need me to come back?" Vlad laughed lightly, but did not seem too surprised by Gareth's call.

"No, are you at home?"

"Yes, the team dropped me off a while back. What do you need?"

"Packard's member lists. Can you send them to me?"

"Oh, I don't have them. That day, when you asked me to find someone to make the list for you, I gave Packard's drive to Rotha and some secretaries to do the filtering. Maybe call Rotha. I'm sure he can send them to you?"

Gareth nodded to himself. Naturally, Vlad had pushed that assignment down the chain of command, as expected. It was tedious work, and he had enough to deal with. Delegating to others was part of his job. "Will do."

Vlad clicked his tongue a few times, preventing Gareth from ending the call, as it sounded like Vlad had more to say. "Do you have a new lead?" he finally asked.

"No, nothing concrete. Just a new angle at attacking the same problem. I'll be in touch, Vlad."

"Sure thing."

The disappointment in Vlad's voice still hung in Gareth's ears when he clicked to find Rotha's number.

"G. What do you need?" Rotha answered as he always did when Gareth called him, ready to do whatever was needed.

"I need Packard's membership files. Vlad said you might have them?"

"Sure. They're on the shared drive. Anything in particular you need? Let me fire up my computer, and I can do the work from here, unless you want me to come in again."

"No need. I'll do it myself. I'm not incompetent." Gareth pulled his laptop closer and clicked it to activate it from sleep mode.

"But you're not one for boring tasks either," Rotha pointed out with a laugh that Gareth could not help but return. "It's really no bother, if you just tell me what you're looking for." Rotha was already rummaging around, and Gareth could hear him turning on his computer from the distinct Windows initializing sound.

"I'm serious, Rotha. Sydney told me about some suspicious guy at the club, and now I want to do a search for this Billy character, even I can do that without having an aneurism. Go back to whatever you were doing and enjoy your evening and get some rest."

Rotha was silent for a moment, then he sighed. "Ok, if that's how you want it. But I'm here. Just call if you need me to do something."

"I appreciate it, Rotha."

Gareth put the phone down and frowned when he got into the shared drive on his laptop. Maybe he should have asked for directions, because there was an overwhelming number of folders in the directory. It took a while, and he noticed how Sydney eyed him with curiosity, but said nothing. Ok, so menial tasks were not his forte, but he was not helpless. Shit just took a little longer.

Eventually, Gareth found the folder and opened it. Doing a search was easy enough when inside the document, and he did it fast. Sadly, no one named Billy popped up. Not one.

"Are you sure his name is Billy? I don't see any member with that name."

"I'm positive." Sydney nodded for emphasis. Having lived in the shadows in the club, always looking for a partner, he had made it his mission to know the competition. He knew who the other subs were and what they were looking for, even if he only had a few he would define as buddies among them.

"Maybe Billy is a nickname?" Gareth suggested, more to himself than Sydney, trying to figure out what else to do. "Fuck this. I'm calling in the experts."

He grabbed his work phone from where he had left it beside the laptop and clicked around.

"Boss?" Cellmate's deep voice sounded in the office when the call got answered.

"You got Packard's member files before we went through them, right?" Gareth did not go into niceties of greetings or beat around the bush.

"Yes, I sent a copy to Vlad for you all to go through. Is there a problem?"

"Yes, and no. I was searching in the document on the drive, but I can't find what I'm looking for. Could you do it?"

The distinct sound of tapping already sounded before Cellmate confirmed, "Of course. What am I looking for?"

"Can you pull up anyone called Billy?"

"Eh, I can't find any with that name."

That had been expected, since he had not found any himself, but at the off chance he had done something wrong, Gareth had wanted Cellmate to confirm there were none named Billy. Gareth rubbed his face tiredly and reached for the glass. Thinking juice was always a solution. "Maybe try Bill, William, or anything you can think of that can give Billy in the end?"

"Ok, give me a sec." Cellmate tapped around and grumbled a bit. "There are two Bills and four named William as either a first, middle, or last name. Can you give me a little more?"

Gareth looked expectantly at Sydney, waiting for something to narrow the list down.

"I think he looks a little older than me, so maybe thirty-ish?"

It was not much, but Cellmate did not let that stop his tapping. "There aren't any with that exact age, but..." He went silent for a moment and then grumbled a bit more. "G, give me a few. This name seems familiar. Let me run a search."

"Sure." Though he was usually not one to get excited over nothing, then he believed when Cellmate smelled a rat, it usually was not unfounded. Gareth felt how his hands shook slightly at how his body tingled with expectation. He grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured himself a handsome drink, and though Sydney had not asked, he too got one, which he took and sipped more moderately than Gareth.

"I thought so," Cellmate said in a hesitant voice. "You're not going to like this, boss."

The glass stopped mid-air, going to Gareth's mouth. That tone of voice was not something he often heard from Cellmate, or any of his men, and he was sure he would not like what came next.

"Give it to me straight."

"The name. I knew I had seen it before. It's one of our aliases. I know, because I created it myself."

Both Sydney and Gareth perked up and listened intensely to what Cellmate would reveal.

"Who was it issued to?" Gareth asked when he could not take the suspense anymore. He needed to know. All his men had aliases created for them, including his staff of maintenance, cleaning, cooking, paper pushers, and medical personnel, with fake passports and background information to use if they needed to flee the country or get out of a bind with authorities. But he could not believe it was one within his organization.

It was too preposterous to think that one of his own...

His heart, the part of him that believed in the loyalty and friendships between himself and his men, was categorically against going down that road, but his mind and gut feeling had a more rational approach, and they told him he had to at least investigate. If, and that was one fucking big if, someone had dared to go against him, and on top of that, kidnapped and hurt other members of his organization, he wanted that weasel weeded out and punished.

And it was not a slap on the wrist kind of punishment. It would be mafia punishment, and sleeping with the fishes would be the end destination.

He did not want any of it to be true, but if he had something tangible. Any lead, however minuscule, then maybe he could mend some fences with Jace.

Gareth rubbed his temples and searched for his cigarettes, waiting for Cellmate to deliver the bad news.

"You. William Atling. It's an old one, and you've gotten a new since, but it was made for you."

Him?

Gareth's mind spun enough for the room to tilt, and he could not blame the whiskey. One thing he knew for sure was it was not him who had terrorized Phoenix and ultimately kidnapped him and killed Danil.

"I don't even recall that alias?"

"Well, it was one of your first, made to make you older," Cellmate answered Gareth's question. "It was made for you before you took over from your grandfather and studied in England. We change yours often, and you always have two or three active, so one could easily fall through the cracks. And when you moved to Ireland, we made new ones for everyone."

"So, it's a dormant alias?"

"I've not had time to look into it, but the alias should not be in use. I can see if it's been used for other registrations, if you wish?"

Gareth heaved for air for a moment. Too many conflicting thoughts battled in his mind. "Yes, thank you. Do that. And check the other dormant ones to see if more have been used and what for."

"Will do. I'll call back with any news."

Cellmate had cut the call before Gareth had a chance to say anything else, not that he had more to say. He knew Cellmate would be like a dog with a bone, and he would find everything there was to find, and in record time.

"What now?" Sydney asked timidly, putting the revolting drink back on the desk. He cocked his head and studied Gareth as he sat with his drink, not doing anything. The news had shocked Gareth, and if he had to be honest, it would be a miracle if it had not. The whole mafia thing was still new to Sydney, but the idea of aliases made sense to him, and for someone to use Gareth's was not only bold, it was rather ingenious.

"I don't know. What can we do? This Billy is certainly not me, so..." Gareth gulped down his drink and put the glass down. There was not much they could do until Cellmate had more for them to go on, unless... "Do you think you can describe him?"

Shrugging, Sydney looked lost. "Brown hair, brown eyes, slight build. I can't say anything that will help you identify him. But I'll be able to recognize him if I see him again."

Gareth lit up at that. He fumbled around on his desk, swiping stacks of papers to the floor and lifting things to find what he was looking for, and when he found his private phone, he unlocked it and clicked around, finally holding out the phone for Sydney. "Here. There are pictures from my birthday last year. Everyone was there. Maybe you can see him in one of the pictures?"

Sydney took the phone with shaking hands and began looking at the screen, slowly swiping and studying the festive people in the images. It felt oddly intimate to shuffle through Gareth's life, seen through his eyes in the pictures he had taken and saved on his phone as worthy of good memories. Every time he had carefully studied the faces of the people and ruled them out to swipe to the next picture, relief and disappointment battled inside him. Relief that he did not have to be the one to burst Gareth's bubble, and disappointment because he wanted to be of help, and he felt he owed Gareth something for believing him enough to give him the leeway to go through his personal photo library. Many of the men he recognized from his stay at the mansion, but none was the right guy.

From time to time, Sydney peeked at Gareth between looking at the pictures. To his credit, he was waiting patiently. As patiently as possible, when sucking down a bottle of whiskey like a baby would a bottle of milk, while chain smoking, lighting a new cigarette with the old whenever he was done with it. But he did not say anything or tried to pace Sydney, which was much appreciated.

Still looking through the pictures, getting more and more desperate to find the guy, just to prove he had not imagined it all, Sydney halted mid-swipe. His mouth dried out and his hands shook uncontrollably.

There he was.

With a drink in his hand and his arm around some other guy.

Carefully, Sydney put the phone on the desk in front of Gareth. "Him."

Not wanting to look, Gareth forced himself to stand and lean over to see the picture, and his heart stopped. "Are you sure?"

It was rude to ask, and redundant from the look on Sydney's face, but Gareth needed the last push to wrap his head around the fact that he had been played. It made no sense if the man Sydney had identified was indeed the culprit.

"He wears his hair differently at the club, but it's him." Sydney sat back down and fiddled with the hem of his blouse. "What will you do to him? Will he know it was me who told?"

"No, I will not mention your name." Gareth tilted his head to look curiously at Sydney. "Do you really want to know what we'll do to him, or will it be enough to know that he'll be dealt with, and we'll do what we can to get Phoenix back?"

"I think I'm good," Sydney said with an awkward smile and swallowed hard. He saw horrors enough at the hospital. He did not need to know what Gareth was capable of, and he was sure it would not be something he could bring anyone back from, despite his fancy education. "Are you going to tell Jace?"

Deep down, Gareth knew he should, but he was not sure what to say, which was very unlike him. They had a lead, a solid one, however much it irked him to believe that one of his own could have worked in the shadows to hurt people in his organization. He reached for his work phone and knew if he called Jace, he would not get an answer, so instead, he called Rami.

"G-man," came the clipped reply when Rami accepted the call.

"I know I'm not a favorite of yours right now, but I'm asking you, based on over ten years of friendship, please put your trust in me one more time?"

"I'm listening."

Gareth closed his eyes in a moment of relief. He had not lost everything yet, and if this lead was indeed what he thought it to be, then he would have all his friends back very soon. Phoenix included.

"Find Jace and Cracker and come to my office as discretely as possible. I have something you all would want to know, but we can't let it get out until we've discussed it."

"You have a lead?" The excitement in Rami's voice came through the speakers loud and clear, and it mimicked the excitement in Gareth's.

"If Cellmate can confirm what my source has said, then I think I've got more than a lead." Gareth winked at Sydney, who blushed with embarrassment, though he shot out his chest with pride at being valued and having been of help.

About ten minutes of agonizing waiting later, Cracker and Devil came striding into the room, followed by Rami. Gareth stood tense and stared at the door, hoping Jace was with them. Disappointment washed over him. No, it hit him in the face like a bucket of ice water when he realized Jace would not magically appear, no matter how hard he glared at the doorway. One look at Rami and the almost unnoticeable shake of his head confirmed Gareth's fears.

Gareth hid his pain behind his work mask and vowed to himself to correct things between himself and Jace.

Somehow.

Focusing back on the matter at hand, Gareth waved them closer when his phone rang. Holding up his hand to stop Cracker and Devil, Gareth answered the call from Cellmate. He did not put it on speaker, because he did not want his guys to hear a conversation they would not understand before he had explained things. Also, he wanted to be the first to know for sure, to take the information head on and then spin into action, and hopefully have something to exonerate Phoenix and gain Jace's favor back.

"What do you have?"

"I've checked all the dormant aliases. It was a superficial search at best with the time given, but only two have been used since they've been replaced." Cellmate took a breath. If it was for theatrical effect or because he was afraid of Gareth's reaction would be anyone's guess. "William Atling, which is your old one, and... Andreas Cavanaugh."

"Phoenix's?" Gareth asked in a high-pitched voice. Had that fucker used Phoenix's alias? If that was the case, then everything fell into place. Phoenix had not screwed him over. That soon to be dead asshole had used Phoenix's alias to frame him.

"I'm still working on it, boss. I'll let you know everything as soon as I get more info. Is it ok that I've asked Pipsqueak to help me?"

"You can ask Bigfoot for all I care. Get me that information."

"Will do."

Cellmate had again cut the call, and Gareth looked perplexed at his now inactive phone. Things slowly came together in his mind, and an intricate web of lies and deception began to form a picture made of a devious mind.

"Thank you for pointing us in the right direction, Sydney. I think you've just cracked this mystery for us."

Sydney sighed with relief, because he had doubted himself a little. It was one thing to have a hunch, and another to have Gareth roll with the punches and give him the benefit of the doubt, because the man hoped for anything to find Phoenix and would have listened to a crackpot in the park, dressed like Superman, if that brought Phoenix back. But to have the man on the phone tell Gareth something to make him believe they had cracked the case, well, that was more than he could have asked for.

"Care to fill us in?" Devil asked as the one who would most likely keep his head if he annoyed Gareth with questions.

"I barely know where to start. Sydney here came to me with something he remembered from the club, and together we looked into it. He gave me a name of a club member with suspicious behavior."

"But if he's a member, why didn't he show up in the pile we went through?"

"I think there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that. Cellmate went over the names and found out that someone has used one of my old aliases..." Gareth paused, swallowing hard at how relieved he was that Phoenix seemed innocent. "And Phoenix's."

The bomb hit everyone equally. Cracker for once looked completely taken aback, and Devil displayed obvious shock. Even Rami, who would never show his emotions publicly, stood with his mouth agape.

"G, are you telling us it's one of our own?" Cracker asked incredulously and swayed a little at the news. "I mean, who else could have access to the aliases?"

"Why don't you come look." Gareth pointed at the phone on the desk, still displaying the picture Sydney had picked of the almost confirmed stalker.

Cracker moved closer to look, and he stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the image on the phone. "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

"I wish," Gareth grumbled and nodded to Cracker, who already had his phone out to alert his teams.

Gareth pinched the bridge of his nose, finally seeing the full picture as the missing pieces fell into place. Years of obsession and deception formed a horror image of a shitshow, and he understood many things that had eluded him before.

"G?"

Gareth's head flew up, and instantly his eyes sought and found Jace by the door. He had to control himself from sighing loudly with relief when Jace came in and stood in a defensive stance as far away as possible with a stony expression on his face. Gareth knew Jace well enough to know it was just a façade. The look of hope in Jace's eyes he could not hide behind his attempt at being standoff-ish. And Jace did not have the mentality to stay mad. It simply drained him too much.

Gareth was just happy that Jace had come. It might take some time to mend fences between them, but he felt more secure in the chances for their friendship to last with Jace showing up. He acknowledged Jace's presence with a grateful nod, and though he got no conscious reaction back, he saw how Jace's muscles relaxed a little.

"Who is it?" Jace asked from his place by the door. He wanted to go there, to see who it was, but his body refused to move. Somehow, he was afraid to know now that they had someone in their scope. He had wished for the moment to come, to know who had made their lives hell and was responsible for Tana's death, but with a knowledge of the 'who' came the inevitable 'why' and then self-blame for not having caught on in time.

With a soft expression, which contradicted all the anger he felt inside, Gareth lifted the phone and held it out for Jace to come and see for himself. He knew Jace's curiosity would win over whatever issues they had between them, and, as he had expected, Jace came forward, taking the phone with a trembling hand.

Jace willed himself to stay calm, and took a deep breath before he looked at the phone. "Vlad?" he shrieked.

Instantly, he turned to Sydney and shoved the phone into his face, tapping on the photo. "This is the guy?"

It took a second for Sydney to focus on the phone that nearly touched his nose, and then he shook his head. "No, not that one." He pointed to the left of the two men behind the smiling person in the front. "Him."

Even Gareth looked confused at that. He had not noticed anyone other than a smiling Vlad in the photo and had drawn his conclusions from that. Conclusions that had made perfect sense.

"It's not Vlad? Who is it?" he asked Jace, waiting with his heart in his throat for the answer.

"The one who did the filtering of the member lists to make sure he did not show up in the pile. Rotha."

Hi dear Wattlings.

Thank you for reading.

First, I'd like to apologize for the long wait. My laptop went to the great tech heaven in the sky, which made writing kinda difficult. I had to search for a replacement, but would not just buy anything. I moaned and whined about it for a while, and in the end, when I had found the one I wanted, my dad bought it for me, so now happy me with a new and functioning laptop. Sadly, on top of that, my dad had a bike accident and has been in the intensive care unit for a while now. It's been some long days of waiting for news and worrying a lot. But he seems to be better now, though suffering from a broken shoulder and four broken ribs on top of the other issues they discovered when they admitted him to the hospital. I still spend most of my days there with him, so writing is slow, and even though I had this chapter written and ready, I've not had the time to edit and upload it until now.

I do hope you enjoyed the chapter.

So, this is it. A lot happened in this chapter where G and Jace budded heads. Phoenix's stalker is revealed, and a lot suddenly makes sense. How do you think Gareth will handle it? Will they find Rotha and force him to tell them where Phoenix is? How will Jace take it now that he knows? There's a lot more to come, and we still have a wedding to look in at later.

If you like it, then pop a vote and please leave comments. The comments are important for me to know how the story is progressing and the characters are developing. And I'd love to know what you think and interact with y'all.

Give me a follow too for updates on other work and put this book in your library. I'd appreciate that.

Love, Alix

Published: August 3rd, 2023. ©Alix Davenport, Copenhagen