“The Flowers have lost my confidence ever since your father died. Look at what happened to your group. I was surprised when Sharryn told me you’re not in jail with the rest of them.”
“I was extremely lucky. I was on my way back to our HQ here when I spotted black cars with people in black attire invading the place. I knew straight away they were the Indie Rebels, so I turned around and left. There wouldn’t have been anything I could have done to save the guys. I was devastated when they were all caught.”
“So the IRs were responsible for that, huh? We weren’t sure. The police claimed it was all their work.”
“I can tell you, Addison,” he said gravely, “it was one-hundred percent the IRs. I saw them with my own eyes. They rounded up all our members then tipped off the police. What exactly happened to Edgar, by the way? I’m guessing the IRs also caught him unawares.”
“Yes, the fucking bastards. So what are you doing now?”
“Pretending to be a professional security consultant and getting stupid people who couldn’t be bothered to check my fake credentials to pay my exorbitant fees.”
Addison laughed out loud. “Let me guess. You have plans to rob those fools later on.”
Bryce shook his head, unable to believe this bastard was Emma’s father. Lucky for Emma she hadn’t grown up with him. “Of course,” he answered in a light tone. “But I need to rebuild a team around me. It’s hard to find people I can trust.”
“I gotta go. I’ll call you back.” Addison hung up.
Bryce sighed harshly. Addison was probably cutting his phone calls when it reached a certain duration for security purposes. He hoped the man would call him back straight away. And he did.
“Hello.”
“It’s me,” Addison said. “I’m interested in this new scheme of yours—working as a security consultant is fucking brilliant. Do you get big clients?”
“Currently, I only have small to medium-sized ones. To enable to target big, wealthy companies, I need resources behind me. I don’t want to contact our old partners for fake IDs. The police might be monitoring them. I have to watch my every step and I don’t even dare try to reach out to any of the Flowers. I heard the cops are paying very close attention to anyone who so much as expresses interest in visiting them in jail. But to get into the large businesses with seriously good assets, I need the works.”
“So how do I know I can trust you?”
Bryce’s heart beat faster. This was his chance. Childishly, he crossed his fingers. “You only need to say the words.”
Addison was silent for a long moment. “Five fingers.”
Bryce let out the breath he was holding, relief flowing through his body. “But there are only two Fs.”
Addison chuckled. “So your dad handed it to you.”
“Yes. I’ve wanted to connect with you and get the opportunity to let you know that despite what happened to our syndicate, I’m still a very good friend of the Fixers.”
“Well, I have been thinking about you ever since your dad died. But because of my little issue with Fleur…”
Bryce laughed dryly. “I think I know why you haven’t helped Fleur with her loan request. It’s because she doesn’t know the code, right?”
“Yes. And I hadn’t been happy with many of her decisions regarding the Flowers, even before it fell.”
“I’m with you on that. We’ve had plenty of fights, Fleur and I.”
“Well, I remember how the two of you were never warm to each other every time I visited Shallow Waters. What I want to know is why you didn’t make a play to be the Flowers’ leader after Doug passed away. I was disappointed you didn’t fight Fleur for the leadership. I know that your dad had groomed you for the job for many years, so you might have been able to save the Flowers.”
Bryce’s brows rose. His father had said that to Addison Fern? Doug might have wanted to groom him, but Bryce had never cooperated.
Then again, he wasn’t surprised that his father had kept that particular issue in-house. It was a matter of pride for Doug Green, as well as unceasing hope that Bryce—his son—would somehow grow to love the syndicate despite Fleur kicking up a stink every time Doug brought up the topic.
Bryce searched his mind for a suitable answer. “To be honest, most of the high-ranking leaders were still loyal to Fleur. She was exceedingly generous to them even if they hadn’t done anything to deserve it, to the detriment of the syndicate’s bottom line. I had been planning on ways to topple her, but it’s a moot point now. My whole syndicate’s gone.”
“It’s a fucking shame. Fleur was a poor leader.”
“Fleur actually wanted me gone from the syndicate because she knew I was after her role. So she’d made up stories about me that put me in a bad light. I don’t know if you’ve heard any of her concoctions.”
“No,” Addison said readily. “Frankly, I doubt many people would believe her. While your dad was well-respected in our circle, people didn’t have the same regard for Fleur. In fact, most of us believed that she was your father’s one and only weakness. Doug was great in every other way, except that he tolerated Fleur’s attitude too much. Look at where that led the Flowers.”
“Yes,” Bryce said, curling his mouth to one side. Thankfully, Addison didn’t seem to know about Doug Green’s other—and, perhaps, much greater—weakness. Bryce. Clearly, Doug had not revealed to anyone outside of the Flowers that Bryce had been an insubordinate, totally refusing to be a loyal team member.
A pang of sadness hit Bryce. Even if he didn’t want to fully acknowledge it, Doug Green had loved him in the only way the crime leader knew how—by giving him freedom on the inside while keeping him a prisoner.
And lucky for Bryce, Fleur’s reputation was helping him right now. “This might sound disloyal to the syndicate my dad had established, but I have to say I’m not sorry Fleur’s behind bars. She was already running the syndicate to ground because of her wastefulness, and her eyes were always on the money, forgetting about the security aspects. I wish I’d had enough time to make my move against her. I do feel sorry for my other team members who were sitting ducks when the Indie Rebels struck.”
“Well, I’m glad you found us. I want to talk more about business when I come back from this trip. Right now I don’t have the time.”
“That’ll be great. I have to admit it’s been lonely being a solo operator.”
“Good. I’ll contact you when I’m back in the country. But listen to me, Bryce. You must not talk to Emma regarding the Fixers or the Flowers.”
“Any particular reason?”
“Yes, but I’m afraid it’s none of your business.”
Bryce smirked. “Right.”
“Now, I don’t mind you dating her, but Emma’s going to have personal security. His name’s Kallan Keegan. I’ll tell him he’ll be seeing you visit Emma a lot, but please don’t get in his way while he’s doing his job.”
“Kallan might not be needed since I’m around.”
Addison snickered. “No. I have a reason for using Kallan.”
“May I ask what that reason is?”
“Nothing that concerns you.”
“Are there any specific threats against Emma?”
“None, but the IRs definitely have me in their sights. I want to make sure my family’s equally safe.”
“Right. Anything I can help you with regarding the IRs?”
“We’ll talk about that face-to-face. In the meantime, don’t discuss anything syndicate-related with Emma. Not one thing. And if you hear that Sharryn has told her something that’s not accurate, you just go with the flow. Don’t ask Emma any questions. Direct them to me or Sharryn. As far as Emma’s concerned, you’re the same guy she met at Plank Island two years ago. No more, no less. Understand?”
“Yes. I take it that Emma doesn’t know you used to visit our HQ at Shallow Waters?”
“Save all your questions for later. I have to go.”
“Okay. I just want to make sure I don’t
stumble about, since I don’t know what exactly I’m supposed to be hiding from her.”
Addison let out a breath. “I’ll try to talk to her as soon as I can about things she needs to hear from me directly. Once I’ve done that, you’ll be free to talk about most things, bar the information that’s only available to those with a certain level of leadership.”
“Right. That’s clear enough.”
“Good. Unfortunately, if you break that order, you immediately become my enemy. I’d hate for that to happen, Bryce.”
Bryce’s brows rose. Well, that was a pretty serious threat. “I’m curious. But I understand your orders perfectly.”
“Good. And keep your curiosity in the bag.” Addison hung up.
Bryce slipped his phone back in his pocket, relieved that he was a step or two closer to infiltrating the Fixers. He was making good progress, but more needed to happen. Jester had to be found and neutralised, at the very least. Then all of the Fixers had to be rounded up for the police.
He surveyed the surroundings, looking for a place where he could wait for Emma to leave for her dinner. It’s highly unlikely he’d discover anything new tonight, though. The four would most likely be having dinner in someone’s private property, perhaps Sharryn’s.
His gut twisted at the thought that Emma would be spending a few hours alone with scheming, manipulative goons. And he wished he hadn’t been right about Addison wanting to rope Emma into the Fixers. But it looked like he was.
The questions still remained. Why? And why now?
Most importantly, how could he protect Emma from her own family while, at the same time, trying to endear himself to Addison?
Chapter 10
Emma strolled through the departure area of Sydney airport, trying to spot Myra and Jill. She hadn’t planned on seeing them off, but she already missed Jill. After babysitting her sister for a few hours all by herself yesterday, she’d become sadder that they wouldn’t see each other again for a while.
Sure, their father had promised Emma that he’d arranged for him, Jill, and Myra to visit her in Brisbane. But knowing how her dad’s business constantly called him away from the country, Emma didn’t want to look forward to their visit until they were literally on the plane flying over to her. She didn’t want to set herself up for disappointment.
A well-dressed lady and a little girl in pigtails stood out in the crowd for her. There they were, leaving the check-in counter with Roger in tow. She hurried to them.
“Jill!” she called out.
The three looked behind them.
“Emma!” Jill ran to her.
Emma hugged her sister and grinned at Myra and Roger.
“What are you doing here?” Myra asked, her eyes round.
“I thought I’d see you guys off.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I tried to, but you weren’t answering your phone. So I thought I’d try my luck—and surprise Jill—since you mentioned yesterday what time you planned to get here.”
“Oh. Well, we were gonna go have a snack. So good timing.”
“Are you coming with us, Emma?” Jill asked, gripping her hand tightly.
“On your trip? No, sweetie. I’m only here to say goodbye.”
“I want you to come with us on the plane!”
“Remember we talked about it last night? You and Daddy and your mummy will visit me at my home when you get back.”
“Okay,” Jill said with a pout.
“Let’s go,” Myra murmured, glancing at Roger, who’d turned his back on them to talk on his phone. She grabbed Emma by the arm and hurriedly led her towards the eateries.
Jill skipped along with them, happy to hold Emma’s hand. But Emma was surprised at Myra’s actions. Her future stepmother seemed to be keen on leaving Roger behind.
See? This proved that having a bodyguard could be tiring and restrictive. Emma bet that Myra simply wanted to relax without Roger’s constant presence.
“I see Kallan hasn’t started to work with you yet,” Myra said.
Emma smiled. “He has other business to tie up first, so he won’t be starting till Monday.”
“I take it neither he nor Sharryn know you were coming here today?”
“No. But I made sure no one was following me, and I took the train so I’m with heaps of people. I thought I should be safe in public areas during the day as those Indie Rebels tend to only work at night when no one would notice them commit criminal acts, right?”
“Yes. You’re pretty safe. You really shouldn’t need a bodyguard.”
Emma brightened at Myra’s words. “I know! I mean, why would those IRs want to use me for their shenanigans when it would be hard to pin anything on me? I can understand why you and Sharryn have bodyguards. She works in the Fern business and you’re Dad’s partner. Not that I want anything to happen to you guys—I pray to God you remain safe—but I think the IRs are likely to set you up first before they even consider me.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Myra said in a low voice. “Look, I know you’ll have a hard time convincing your dad. But as much as you can, try to hold off on Kallan starting. It’ll be the beginning of something I’m sure you won’t want.”
Emma sighed. “Is it really that bad having a bodyguard?”
“So what do we want to eat?” Myra asked in a much lighter tone, squeezing Emma’s arm.
Emma furrowed her brows at the abrupt change in topic. Then she saw Roger catching up to them. “You know what? I’ve been craving chocolate pancakes. I’ll be happy with that, if there’s a place serving them in here.”
Myra turned to Roger. “Decision made, Roger. We’ve settled on chocolate pancakes. Where can we go for that?”
“Chocolate pancakes!” Jill said, skipping more enthusiastically.
“Over there, I think,” Roger said, pointing to a café up ahead.
Emma felt Myra take a deep, silent breath, her future stepmother still clinging to her arm like they were best friends. Was Myra scared of Roger? Emma hadn’t noticed it before.
Nah. While Myra didn’t appear to be on friendly terms with Roger, she’d never acted subservient around him. Myra probably just didn’t want to offend her security detail, even if she wasn’t crazy about having one.
The café to where Roger had led them was packed.
“Oh, shame,” Emma said.
“Shame,” Jill echoed.
“There’s a family leaving,” Roger said, pointing to a table being vacated by a couple with two very young children. He rushed inside, ensuring no one else claimed the table.
Emma started to walk in, but Myra held her back.
“Your friend Bryce—he seems like a nice guy,” Myra whispered in her ear.
Her heart skipped at the mention of Bryce’s name. “Yes, he is.”
“Are you dating him? If he’s around a lot, you shouldn’t need Kallan. Convince your dad of that, but don’t tell him I gave you the idea.”
Emma smiled. “Thanks. I might try that, although I’m not sure where Bryce and I are at. We’re having dinner tomorrow tonight, though.”
“Great. If you can manage not to have a bodyguard until you go home, then you can make it harder for your dad to convince you to have one in Brisbane. If you were safe here by yourself, you’ll be safer there, right? At least, you have a reason to keep being stubborn about it. Just never give in,” Myra added with urgency.
Emma frowned. “You didn’t get the chance to answer before, but is it really that bad having a bodyguard?”
“Your life will never be the same, Emma. Just don’t agree to it.”
Emma opened her mouth to ask more questions, but Roger was motioning for them to go inside. Ah, damn. This was probably one example of why Myra hated personal security. She could never have a private conversation with anyone.
Kallan had assured Emma last night that he wouldn’t intrude on her privacy unless it was necessary for her safety. That could be subjective. What if Kallan decided he neede
d to be around when she and Bryce were on a date? Ugh. She should have been more specific during their discussions.
Perhaps she should take Myra’s advice—keep trying to convince her dad she didn’t need a security detail. Hadn’t Addison himself admitted he was only being overly cautious? She appreciated that he cared so much, and she didn’t want to minimise his concerns, especially when his own brother had been the target of malicious acts. But it would be beneficial for Addison too if she were to put her foot down. She’d be saving her father some money.
Soon it was time for the three to go into the customs area.
“Hey, call me when you can okay?” Emma said to Myra as she hugged her goodbye.
Myra returned her embrace tightly, whispering in her ear. “Don’t tell anyone what I told you, please.”
“Uh-huh,” she murmured under her breath, not letting her lips move. Roger was right in front of her.
“Bye, Emma. I love you.” Jill gave her the tightest, sweetest, hug.
“I love you too, sweetie. I can’t wait till you’re back. You enjoy yourself on your trip, okay?”
Jill nodded, blowing her a kiss.
Emma waved as they disappeared behind the door. She could only hope that Addison would keep his promise that they’d all visit her when they were back.
Anyway, she was glad she’d come to see them off. She wouldn’t have had the chance to talk to Myra, however briefly.
She could definitely see the merit in telling her dad that Bryce was all she needed. Bryce, after all, was an experienced security personnel who could make plans for her safety even during the times he couldn’t be physically with her.
What would Bryce say about that, though?
She sighed. Honestly, she didn’t want his protection. She wanted his heart.
Chapter 11
Bryce took out some wine from the fridge and placed it on the dining table. His brother Jaxon, Jaxon’s fiancée Holly, and Aidan were already digging in on the pastries Bryce had bought for their meeting here in his apartment.
Bryce: The Project (Indie Rebels Book 3) Page 9