Craving Justice (Sons of Sydney Book 1)

by Fiona Archer

  Zach nodded. “I’m in.”

  Heath glanced at Zach, who met his stare in silence and then to Seth. “Happy to be proved wrong, Seth. I’m in, too.”

  Seth glanced out his office door. Adam was hunched over a spare desk, clicking on his laptop and still talking on his phone. “We’ll leave Adam for now. Let’s see if Dillon’s back in. Lord knows he was the one arguing last night that we had things arse over tit and Harper was innocent.” He rose from his desk and strode out of his office to Dillon’s. The door was open.

  He moved closer to Dillon’s desk, making room for his brothers to follow. “I’ll call him, see how far he’s out.”

  “Wait.”

  Adam’s urgent command from the doorway of Dillon’s office had all three men turning to face him. The commando’s face was set in a hard mask.

  “We’ve been had.”

  “Look, we’re going to talk about Harper, but—”

  Adam waved his hand in an impatient swipe. “No, Seth. That call I had was from a contact I’ve used before, he was checking something that didn’t make sense in the tracking of the host servers of the earlier posts.” The men remained silent as Adam let out a harsh sigh. “Seth, the Facebook attack on Harper and the chat room post about me, they came from your server here at Shazad.”

  Seth shook his head. “No, Dillon already checked our servers, spent days combing through our data. We’re clean from this end.”

  Adam’s voice turned glacial. “He lied.”

  “You sure?” Heath asked.

  “I asked my contact to triple check. This guy knows his shit. There’s no mistake. And there’s no way Dillon could have mistaken what he reported.” Adam clenched his hands, the skin going white at the knuckles. “I trusted him. Took what he said at face value.”

  Dillon lied about his findings? To all of them? But that meant… Seth stared at Adam, feeling guilty even thinking his next words. “You’re saying Dillon’s in some way connected to whoever is behind these posts?”

  Adam swept his gaze over his three brothers before answering. “At the very least.”

  “Motherfucker.” Zach kicked a chair. The black leather chair fell backward, landing with a dull thud on the carpet.

  “Why?” Seth looked from one brother to another. “What would make him do this? He’s our brother.” Dillon had worked beside Seth for years to build up the company. Bloody hell, Seth wouldn’t even be in a position to sell Shazad if it hadn’t been for Dillon’s guidance and help. And the years before that as they had developed a bond as brothers? “None of this makes sense.”

  “We’ll find out why as we dig deeper, but Seth,” Adam’s voice turned steel hard. “My contact made absolutely sure of his findings. I double-checked. Dillon’s involved.”

  Heath moved around Seth to stand behind Dillon’s desk. “Jesus. Look at this.”

  “What?” Seth made it halfway around the desk and froze.

  A blue-green colored notebook decorated with silver squiggles sat in the middle of Dillon’s cleared desk.

  Harper’s journal.

  Cold fingers of dread trailed a sickly path up Seth’s spine. A post-it note was stuck to the journal’s front cover. In Dillon’s precise black script were two words:

  LET’S PLAY.

  Seth stared at the words, his mind racing at the implication.

  “How did he get—”

  Heath cut him off. “The night of the break-in at Harper’s. He came over. Did a walkthrough of the apartment. He packed extra things for her in another bag.”

  “And helped himself to her journal,” Zach added.

  Seth scrubbed a hand over his face. “The necklace. Her top.” All the items he and his brothers had counted as proof of Harper’s guilt.

  “Let’s play.” Heath’s head snapped up. “He’s about to make his next move.”

  Zach grabbed his phone from his back pocket. “I’m the only one he hasn’t targeted yet.”

  Milly. Seth stood straighter, his body tense.

  Dillon had always doted over her. But then, what the hell could Seth assume about his brother now?

  Zach tapped his screen and held his phone to his ear. A few seconds later, he spoke. “Knox, is Milly close by?” His shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Good. Don’t let her out of your sight. Dillon’s the hacker, man. The fucker’s either been behind this or working for the bastard who’s in charge all along. I don’t know when I’ll get back. Things are kicking off here.” He nodded. “Thanks, man. Tell my girl her daddy loves her.” Zach ended the call.

  Seth searched his phone’s contacts list and tapped the screen. “I’m calling Harper.” The call ring tone sounded in his ear. He heard her say hello and started to speak, only to realize it was her recorded voice asking him to leave a message. “Harper, it’s Seth. Call me. The hacker is Dillon. We don’t know all the facts yet, but if you see him, get safe and call the police, then one of us, or Nitro.” He wanted to say so much more. But he didn’t have long. “I’m sorry, sweetness. So bloody sorry for not believing you. ” The beep sounded, timing him out.

  “I need to check in with the station, keep them updated.” Heath walked out of Dillon’s office.

  “I’m calling the café.” Adam had his phone to his ear. “Nitro, it’s Adam.” Seth could hear Harper’s friend yelling at his brother. Adam glared at the ceiling. “Shut up and listen. Dillon’s the hacker and we need Harper safe.” A few seconds passed. Adam closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “When? Just the two of them? Describe the vehicle.”

  Seth held himself still, but with each statement from Adam, the muscles in his chest constricted. He felt Zach get closer.

  Adam paced across the room. “Yes, I’ll call on your personal phone. No. Stay there. I need someone at the café. Right.” He ended the call and faced Seth. “Dillon messaged Harper. Told her he thought she was being framed and they should meet. He picked her up outside the café ten minutes ago. Nitro went out with Harper. Dillon assured him he believed she was innocent, so Nitro let her go.”

  “Jesus fuck!” Seth closed his eyes.

  Dillon had his coffee girl.

  And the bastard wanted to play.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “This is so good of you, Dillon. Once we get to that café in West Seattle, the waitress will know I’m not the same person she served in that video.” Harper glanced through the windshield of Dillon’s SUV as he drove through downtown traffic. She blinked as her gaze blurred for a second. Must be from all that damn crying earlier. “The fact you brought me coffee for the drive is too damn cute.” She sipped from the Styrofoam cup’s plastic lid and lowered the drink into the cup holder.

  “Hey, you’re worth the trouble.” Dillon steered the car down a series of small streets, leading out of downtown.

  After five minutes, she glimpsed the tops of the orange cargo cranes from the Seattle Seaport. Older, grungier buildings—warehouses—lined the streets. “This isn’t the direct route to West Seattle.”

  “I’m not taking you to the café, Harper.”

  “But...”

  She turned and her head lolled to the side. What was wrong with her arms? They felt so damn heavy. And lifting her head was a herculean task. “What?” She tried to lift a hand, but her arm got half way and fell back down to her side. “Dillth?” Her mouth and tongue no longer worked as a team.

  “We’re going to have so much fun, Harper.” Dillon reached over and stroked his index finger down her face. The sharp edge of his fingernail scratched her cheek.

  She winced.

  He laughed.

  If she could, Harper would have screamed at the cruel viciousness shining in Dillon’s eyes before blackness claimed her.

  ****

  “Anything?” Seth asked Heath as he paced behind his desk. His office was crowded with two FBI Agents, McNally and Randall, who had been liaising with Dillon, as well as his brothers.

  “Not yet,” Heath said as he ended a call. “That call was from a u
niform. We can rule out the house in Queen Anne. Nobody’s there. I’ve requested a BOLO for Dillon and his car.”

  It had been only twenty minutes now since Dillon had driven off with Harper, but it felt like weeks.

  Adam turned away from where he was showing the cybercrime guys his new findings. “What about that girl he was seeing? The architect?”

  Seth scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Megan checked for me. Joanne didn’t come in today.” The woman’s absence left them with more questions than answers.

  “I’ll get her details and send officers to her house.” Heath walked toward the door of Seth’s office. “Besides, she may be able to suggest a place he’d go.”

  Seth glanced out the window, but ignored the view as he prioritized the actions needing completion.

  Find Harper and get her safe.

  Then find out what twisted thinking had warped Dillon’s brain.

  And neither of those objectives could be achieved until either the cops pulled off a miracle and found Dillon, or his brother contacted him.

  “Does he own other property besides the house?” Zach asked.

  “If he does, it’s not in his name.” Adam looked up from his laptop. “Already checked. I’m calling Tollison.”

  Adam had called his friend last night with the news they suspected Harper of making the most recent posts. The DHS Agent had planned to meet them later this afternoon. Chances were high Seth would now see him sooner.

  “Fox stays in the dark for now, agreed?” Seth glanced around the room. The man was an ‘A’ grade bastard, and Seth didn’t trust him.

  “Agreed.” McNally, the younger of the two thirty-something agents nodded. “We don’t know to what degree he’s involved in any of this mess.”

  “Let’s not forget this isn’t a man who’d give his life for his child.” Zach’s brows drew into a harsh line, as if the very thought disgusted him. The comparison Seth drew between Fox and Zach and what they’d sacrifice for their respective daughters couldn’t be more stark.

  “Good point,” Seth said as Heath rejoined them.

  Time was running out to gain any advantage on Dillon—a meticulous planner who thrived on detail.

  His phone rang. Seth caught “Unknown caller” on the screen as he swiped. “Hello.”

  “Seth, it’s Lincoln.”

  Shit. He didn’t have time for this. “Lincoln, I can’t talk right now.”

  Zach, Heath and Adam turned to face him.

  Lincoln ignored Seth’s brush off. “At the risk of alienating you further, hear me out. I was parked across from Harper’s café around noon. I just wanted to make sure she was okay after yesterday. Dillon pulled up out front. I saw him put some powder in his coffee, and make a phone call. Thought nothing of it. Then Harper got into Dillon’s car. I got curious and followed. Saw her start to drink the coffee. Something seemed off, but I wasn’t sure.”

  Seth switched the phone to speaker. “Lincoln, are you still following him?”

  “Followed. He’s at an old warehouse near the cargo terminal. Drove straight in via an automatic shutter.” Lincoln gave an address that Adam typed into his laptop. “I’m scouting for entry points as we speak.”

  Seth ran out of his office, his brothers behind him, and the agents calling out as they followed. “Dillon’s the hacker. We found out less than an hour ago. He tricked Harper into getting in his car.”

  “Then you’ll need me to speed up my recon.”

  No time to wait for the elevator. He ripped open the door to the fire escape and took the stairs two at a time as the sounds of many feet thumped on the concrete behind him. “We’re just about to our cars now. Keep your line open and expect a call from Heath.”

  “Done.” Lincoln hung up.

  Seth climbed into Heath’s SUV. No way was he fighting traffic when his brother had a flashing light and police siren on hand. Zach jumped into Adam’s SUV. The two detectives had exited via the lobby and would follow with orders from Heath to cut their siren a few blocks from the warehouse.

  As Heath weaved around cars and cursed at drivers who were either deaf, blind, or had their car radios up so damn loud they couldn’t hear the siren, Seth remembered he hadn’t thanked Lincoln.

  If it wasn’t for the man’s determination to hang around and get to know him, Seth would still be in his office with no leads or hope of locating Dillon.

  Maybe he and his younger brother had more in common than DNA. If pig-headed stubbornness counted for anything, Seth was ahead of the crowd, and it seemed Lincoln was of the same design.

  Right now, Seth would take any advantage he could grab.

  Keep strong, coffee girl. I’m coming to get you.

  ****

  “Time to wake up, Harper. It’s no fun waiting.”

  A hand smacked her cheek hard enough to sting.

  She blinked as her gaze slowly focused on her surroundings.

  Gray cement block walls and dirty brown metal doors. Gradually, more details emerged. Chains and pulleys hung from rafters high above. Windows. Along the top, way up high.

  From somewhere behind her, in another room from the partially muffled sound, loud music, heavy metal, played.

  Her body felt…sluggish. She was sitting in a chair. Hard. Wooden. Her hands were cuffed in front of her. A wide leather strap across her chest kept her from falling forward.

  Back about six feet and directly in front of her stood a tripod, on top of which rested a laptop.

  “You’re a lightweight when it comes to sedatives. Been out for forty minutes. I should have used a smaller dose.” Dillon appeared in front of her. “Maybe this will help you wake up.” He threw a bucket of water at her face.

  She spluttered, water going in her mouth and eyes, but most of it landing in her lap, soaking the front of her apron. Shaking her head, she blinked as tiny rivers of moisture ran down her throat into her bra. Her black cotton shirt stuck to her shoulders.

  “Wide awake now?” Dillon threw the metal bucket to the side. It crashed into a stack of discarded wooden pallets. Cold, emotionless eyes studied her. She tried to hide her shiver, but his wide grin showed her lack of success. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to be alone with you, Harper.” He looked to the side and gave an overly dramatic sigh. “Of course, initially I’d planned a more romantic scenario, but then you met Seth, and he decided you were his.”

  A more romantic scenario? She’d never even guessed. “I liked you, Dillon.”

  He lunged forward. “Liked me?” His thunderous voice echoed around the warehouse. “That’s all. And Seth gets the love, the attraction.”

  She shrank against the wood at her back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you felt that way.”

  “I didn’t get the chance to tell you, because boy wonder stepped in and assumed ownership.” Dillon stepped back. He gave a dry laugh. “Seth wanted you the moment he laid eyes on you. I could tell.” He stared at her, but his eyes weren’t quite focused, as if he was reliving the encounter. “I knew at that moment I’d lost you.”

  He’d never had her. But she didn’t dare voice her thoughts. This Dillon in front of her was a stranger, an emotionally unhinged threat who had her helpless.

  She needed to escape before he gave in to whatever demons filled his head.

  With small movements, she tested the strap keeping her in the seat. Held fast. Dammit. Maybe if she could reason with him? “Dillon, why don’t we—“

  “No. It’s too late now. Too late for you to act like you care. You had plenty of chances to feel that way before you met Seth.” He took several steps back, ending up beside the laptop. “Each morning you’d smile at me, ask me how I was. I mattered. At least I thought I did.”

  “You do.” She stressed the last word.

  “No. Not since that summer.” His voice was toneless, flat. “When those fucking bastards came into our lives, they changed everything.”

  She tried for a calm, even tone despite the sickening fear clawing
at her belly. “I don’t understand.”

  “Oh, but you will. You, Seth, Heath, Zach and Adam.” His mouth twisted in a spiteful snarl. “Especially Adam.” He drew out a revolver from the back of his dress pants. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out one bullet, dropped it into a chamber and spun it.

  Harper stared in horror at the weapon, barely managing to hold back her scream.

  “Good, glad to see you’re keeping it together. If you scream, I’ll grab my Glock and shoot you before the fun starts. That one’s fully loaded.” Dillon used the mouse pad on the laptop and her image flashed up on its screen. She let out a sob, unable to reconcile the woman with matted, wet hair taking shuddering breaths as her.

  He clicked another few keys. “And now we play.”

  Dillon moved to stand next to her as a smaller square opened up on the top right of the screen.

  Seth’s face appeared. His beautiful, handsome face. Her heart clenched. What if she didn’t make it out of here? Was this her last contact with Seth? She fought the tears, so hard, but a hot, salty drop fell down her cheek and onto her lip.

  Seth clenched his jaw. He swallowed once before speaking. “Harper, sweetheart.”

  Dillon punched the side of Harper’s head. Pain flashed through her skull, blinding her for a second. Her neck ached from the wrenching force of the sudden movement. She shook her head, trying to refocus.

  “Jesus, Dillon,” Seth yelled.

  “Like any game, this one has rules. One of them is you address me only, Seth. Any transgression outside of the rules and Harper pays a penalty. Understood?”

  “Yes.” Seth’s murderous gaze stared back from the screen.

  To the side of Seth’s head, Harper caught glimpses of buildings out a car window. Was he looking for her?

  “There are a couple other rules, but it’s more fun for you to discover them along the way.”

  Harper closed her eyes at the implication of that threat.

  Dillon lifted the revolver and placed it against her temple. Harper bit down on her lip to stop herself crying out. “We’re going to play a game of Russian Roulette. The difference here being Harper’s the only one playing.”