“Hey, Prez, did you see this?” Batta asked, pointing at something on the nightstand.
I walked over to find a business card with Luke’s contact information on it. “Well,” I sighed, “I guess we know who told him about Aim.”
Without hesitation, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed the number on the card.
“Johnson,” he answered gruffly.
“Where the fuck is she?” I demanded.
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. You’ll have to be a little more specific.”
“Cut the shit, Luke. Tell me where Layla is.”
“Ah, Copper. I’ve been expecting your call. I’m not telling you where she is, though.”
“And why the fuck not?” I growled.
“Because I’m not at liberty to share any details related to an active case,” he replied automatically.
My grip tightened around my phone, causing the plastic to creak. “Luke,” I warned.
“Look, man, she’s safe, and that’s all I can tell you. I’ve gotta go,” he said and disconnected the call.
Judge returned to the room. “Looks like she voluntarily left around midnight. She walked to the gate carrying a bag and got into a black SUV.”
I held my phone up and shook it. “Yeah, I just got off the phone with Luke. He knows where she is. The fucker won’t tell me shit, but he says she’s safe.”
“Whatcha want us to do, Prez?”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing we can do, not about her anyway. Let’s get back to work on finishing the repairs. We’ll also need to stay extra-vigilant now that Asp doesn’t have anyone to answer to.”
I left the room and walked back to my office. I needed a few minutes alone to process what had just happened and to get my anger under control. Closing the door behind me, I turned and stopped dead in my tracks.
“Have a seat, little cousin. I think you and I need to have a chat,” Phoenix said from the chair behind my desk.
Fuck me. He was obviously pissed, but I didn’t know if it was about Coal, Layla, Aim, or something else. I took a seat and carefully studied his face. Unfortunately, his expression was giving nothing away, other than irritation. I crossed my arms over my chest and asked, “What’s this about?”
Phoenix straightened in my chair and glared at me. “You really want to play dumb? Fine. I don’t have time for this bullshit back and forth, so I’ll lay it out for you. It’s about you keeping shit from your President, your brothers, and your family. I know about Layla’s kidnapping, and I know she called Luke for help. Hell, I even know where she is right now.” I opened my mouth to interrupt, but he held up his hand, and the look on his face told me it would be in my best interest to let him finish. “I know all about Aim—his real name, his fake name, his undercover work, everything. And, I know about Coal asking you to patch over. What I don’t know is why you kept all that from me?”
I looked to my feet and took in a deep breath before I started explaining. “Let’s start with Coal. I didn’t tell you because that’s not how we do things, which is exactly what I told him. I said I understood why he came to me first, but I told him he had to talk to you, get your approval, and then ask me. He said he would speak to you as soon as he got back to Croftridge. I don’t really see how you have a problem with that.”
“Never said I had a problem with it. Keep going,” he said gesturing with his hands.
“I didn’t tell you about Layla, because I haven’t had a chance to. Honestly, I just found out she called Luke and asked for his help before I walked in here. I didn’t intentionally keep the kidnapping from you, but it was one thing after another from the moment we found out she was taken. Now, Aim, yeah, I did intentionally keep that from you. I didn’t want to, but he argued a good point. I did it for Annabelle’s and Layla’s safety. He said they would be in serious danger if Asp found out they were his sisters. He said—”
I was cut off when Phoenix got to his feet with a roar and cleared the top of my desk with a sweep of his hands. “The fuck did you just say?”
“Uh, he’s their half brother, younger than Annabelle, older than Layla,” I said carefully. I thought he said he knew everything. “You didn’t know?”
“No, I didn’t fucking know! I was talking about his involvement in the undercover operation. How do you know that’s true?”
“I don’t know for sure. It’s not like he had the documents on him to prove it, though he did claim to have that documentation, but I didn’t think he was lying. He was livid when he found out Asp had taken Layla, and he was genuinely concerned about her well-being, Annabelle’s, too,” I explained. “No one besides me knows he’s their brother, and only my officers know he is working undercover.”
“That’s not entirely true anymore. I know, as well as my officers. And Luke will know in the very near future if he doesn’t already.”
“What? How did you even find out?”
Phoenix smirked. “Did you bother to ask who he was working with?”