Chapter 26
Zachariah
I ran my hand down my face, letting a long drawn out sigh pass my lips. I was fed up with the numbers. I had been looking over them way too fucking long. The numbers weren’t adding up right, which meant that someone had taken out money without leaving me a receipt.
There were a handful of my men that had access to this account. I didn’t mind that they used this account for normal everyday purchases such as food and gas, or even little odds and ends. That was fair, and I was glad to see that my men felt comfortable using it. I only required to have every single receipt.
The issue I was finding was that there was an undocumented amount of over five grand missing. Five fucking grand!
I had a good inkling on who had done it, and unfortunately, that person was already rotting away somewhere to never be found again. The question that plagued me was why. Why did Shemoli take the money and for what? I wasn’t sure I’d be finding the answer anytime soon or at all for that matter.
Was it something to do with Avidya? He was one of the two men that were behind her kidnapping less than a year ago. I knew that Gemini wasn’t stupid enough to take out cash; he wasn’t smart about many things, but that was not something he’d ever do. That, and the timing was off.
“What’s up?” Travis asked, seeing me as he entered my office.
“Same old crap,” I answered grumpily. “Swear, Shemoli is fucking me from his grave.”
“Oh? Why’s that?” he asked, helping himself to an empty chair.
My office was in need of a new coat of paint on the walls, some new furniture, and some much-needed organization. This office wasn’t meant to be one of comfort, though. The leather chairs had certainly seen better days, but they were still holding on. For now.
“He took out cash,” I stated flatly.
“Makes sense,” he replied. “Or was he covering for someone?”
“I don’t think so,” I answered, my anger at the stupid numbers getting the better of me. “I’ve looked back four months, and even compared everything to the bank account. This was all on his end.”
“So, what will you do?” Travis asked.
“Since the fucker’s already dead, I’ll dig him up and hang him by his balls after I drag him from Hell,” I growled out.
“That’s not possible,” Travis stated as though I didn’t already know that.
“I want to rip him apart piece by piece,” I stated, seeing myself do just that in my mind. I’d take time, making him cry and beg for death as I pulled out every single bone in his body away from his body.
“Don’t we all?” Travis laughed deep in his throat. “Anyhow, how’s my little sister doing?”
“Good,” I answered, halfway glad for the change of topic and to get my mind off the current situation. “Won’t hardly leave the house, though.”
“Can you blame her?” Travis asked in return.
“No,” I answered with a shake of my head. A soft smile pulled at the corners of my lips at the thought of my wife. “She won’t leave the house on her own.”
“Well, with the way that Cody had her practically caged in that house without having any leeway, I’m not surprised that she’s not really up to going out and acting her age. It probably hasn’t sunk in that she can do that stuff.”
“I think it’s just who she is,” I said. “She’s not into shopping.”
“Never has been,” Travis agreed with me.
No, that she certainly never had been. I just knew it wasn’t healthy to stay in the house day in and out.
“You should take her out for lunch,” I said. “Maybe that will help her get out and see some of the world that has been hidden from her for so long.”
“Do you think she really will?” Travis asked.
“I hope so,” I answered. “I know she’ll be safe with you.”
“I’ll give it a try,” Travis replied, pushing himself up on the arms of the chair. “Oh! Would it be okay if I mentioned talking with Kenna sometime soon?”
“Go for it,” I answered with a nod, liking that idea more than I should. With Kenna most likely becoming a big part of Travis’s life, having the two get together would be a wise choice on both their parts. Not to mention, Kenna was a Domme, and she could possibly give Avidya some sound advice on the Dom/sub relationship. It would greatly help her learn more.
“Thanks, man,” Travis said. “Oh, another thing. Have you thought about collaring her yet? You know, staking your claim on her that way?”
“I have,” I said slowly. I knew just what to do, and how. It was only a matter of finding the perfect piece of jewelry to do so with.
“Alight,” Travis said before making his way out of the office.
Turning back to the computer, I groaned. I didn’t want to figure out where the missing money was, but I had no choice. I had to reconfigure where some money would be going, and what to do to bring in lost money.
It wasn’t an hour later when Avidya’s text message came through, letting me know that she was going out for lunch. It was a welcome distraction as I became more frustrated by the minute. I was happy that she was willing to go to lunch with Travis.
Her brother had always been there in the shadows, even if she didn’t know who he really was until just recently. She needed someone to talk to, and I hoped that Travis and Kenna would be the ones that would bring her out of her shell just a bit more.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved Avidya and everything about her. I had since that first time I saw her. She was opened minded about a lot of things, but I could see that she was still hiding part of herself away from not only me, but herself. There was so much of her that had yet to surface.