An hour later, Daron waited for Cedric to arrive as Brandi sent another one of his calls straight to voicemail. He left the voicemail Cameron suggested as the security tablet started beeping. He reached for the device, watching as Cedric slipped in through the side door and down to the basement.
“What’s up, Mr. Dee?” Cedric’s approach was slow, almost overly cautious. He paused at his normal workstation.
“You hacked into The Castle system, getting two men shot and one almost killed.” Daron leaned on the big wood desk at the back area hating that he was here having this conversation.
Cedric’s focus went to the ground. “I accepted the job before I met you.”
“The man who was shot had only been back in town for three weeks at the time.” Daron was curious about how far in advance this event was planned. He made a mental note to ask Nicco to follow up with Khalil about when he decided to end his world tour and return home, and who else was aware of his plans.
“Well, they knew because I was hired long before that.” Cedric pulled a laptop out of his messenger bag. “Mr. Dee, I swear it was one of the last jobs I had to complete before I got out of that life.” His fingers flew over the keys, then he flipped the screen toward Daron.
“How did you get past the firewall so quickly to reset the system?”
“One of the security guards gave me the IP address to the terminal and granted me remote access to the system.” Cedric then explained it would have made it difficult and time-consuming to get in otherwise. “I was instructed to manually reboot the system since attempting to shut it down would trigger alarms.”
Daron frowned as he asked, “Were you informed of the upgrade to the system that was done two days prior?” The answer to this question was key in narrowing down the suspect list.
Cedric shook his head, frowning as though he’d just been cursed out. “Are you going to turn me in?”
“Not if you tell me the name of the security personnel who was assisting you.” Daron retrieved the cell from his jacket pocket.
He put a hand over Daron’s cell. “I don’t know,” he confessed. “For my safety, I keep all communications digital, never in person.”
Daron peered at the young man, taking in eyes, stance, and demeanor. He had a feeling Cedric didn’t tell him everything. “I’m sorry to have to do this.”
“Wait. Wait.” He waved both hands frantically as Daron stood. “The only thing I know was he wasn’t working that day. I had to make sure I could access the system fifteen minutes before I reset it.”
Daron could work with that but he remained silent for a few moments to let Cedric sweat. “Look, we’re going to keep this between us. However, if I find out you’ve taken another assignment ...”
Cedric was the one participant who didn’t have to continue working jobs during the transition. He was his own boss, unlike Reese and Amarion who had fallen under Marquise’s radar at an age too young to comprehend the consequences.
“I won’t. Pedro’s set me up with a contact out of DC who’s looking for someone with my skills.” Cedric collected the laptop, typing again before closing and tucking it under his arm. “He pays well and is willing to work with my schedule if I choose to take classes.”
Daron’s cell pinged. “You’d better have your ass in school. Don’t make me regret this.”
Cedric slid past him then turned back when he reached the door and insisted, “You won’t.”
He checked his messages, buying a few moments for Cedric to clear the grounds, and found an email with the IP address that had been used to take the system down. Daron sent Nicco a text to track down the terminal and all the personnel with access. He’d cross-checked the list with people who were scheduled off on the upgrade day to further reduce the pool of potential culprits. Somehow that exchange between Kaleb and Vikkas didn’t sit well. Had Vikkas put out a hit on his own father? If he did, his argument with Kaleb couldn’t have been about that. Khalil was conscious when it happened.
Daron called Steve to get an update and find out about Brandi.
“Your Aunt Bee’s making her rounds but at least she isn’t making waves,” Steve replied.
“I’ll take that.” Daron slipped behind the wheel, starting the engine. “At least I don’t need bail money today.”
Several minutes later, Daron disconnected the line as his tires rolled to a stop on the driveway. The television blared the sounds of an action scene from the entertainment room when he entered the house. He was grateful Cameron wasn’t in the kitchen as he slipped into the office. He smiled, thinking about how animated she became when she was watching those kinds of films. Daron opened the safe, put in the external drive, and noticed the envelope from Marquise.
Marquise doesn’t understand hitting me directly is a thousand times safer than targeting my woman.
Daron would send his enemy to prison. Cameron would put him six feet under if Marquise fooled around and unleashed Kimura, the hit woman within Cameron.
And if he actually managed to hurt her, then Daron would make him wish he was dead. It didn’t help the two of the young men in his program, who were employed by Marquise.
As he closed the safe, Cameron’s question about Bishop’s letter popped into his mind. He retrieved the thick white envelope and tore it open.
Daron sank into the leather chair as he absorbed the words. He couldn’t believe the contents but at the same time, he couldn’t deny the truth. Pulling out his cell, he snapped a picture of the last two pages, then folded the papers and stuffed them back into the locked space. It wouldn’t be wise to have them in hand if Cameron were to make an appearance.
He stared at the colorful abstract painting that hid the safe, trying to process that people had been hunting for one of Cameron’s aliases ever since she’d gotten shot and almost died several years ago. Prior to Bishop’s death, he had partnered up with an individual who was determined to find the culprit. They’d found a possible connection to The Castle. He was all for Bishop’s request to watch over Cameron but the secrecy could put an end to their relationship. But learning this reinforced that he’d made the right decision to participate and be a part of Khalil’s alliance to change the direction of the Castle.
Daron reviewed the list of people the two men had taken down in an attempt to get closer to the real person pulling the strings behind the curtain.
“Daron,” Cameron called out. “Are you going to make me come get you? If I wanted to watch a movie alone, I’d be at my house.”
“Here I come.” Daron glanced around the office. He did something that he hadn’t done while in the house. He set the alarm on the painting covering the safe. If Cameron entered, he would know.
She couldn’t know what was in that letter. Ever.