Bleeding Edge: Elliot Security (Elliot Security Series Book 2) by Evie Mitchell (books to read for beginners TXT) 📕

fidget of movement as he twisted the chair from one side to the other.

“My team have worked backwards, using the time line Ms Franklin provided. It’s been time consuming and data intensive, but we now have concrete links to at least three of the group.” Annabelle frowned. “If we can find them.”

“Do you have anything on that front?” Brean asked.

“Nothing. They’ve hidden themselves well.”

“So your best lead is Emmie,” Sawyer said, halting his chair.

Annabelle nodded. “It’s only a matter of time before they make a move. We just need to be ready to go when they do.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, thinking. “What –” I coughed, clearing my throat. “What is the… the child abuse statute of limitation in Western Australia?”

She didn’t miss a beat. “There no longer is one.”

I hesitated. “If I have proof of-of my abuse, can it be used?”

“Of course.” The room went wired, the air surprisingly heavy. Annabelle didn’t look away, her face didn’t shift. I was grateful to see not one ounce of pity, just calm understanding.

“You have proof?”

“I took pictures,” I whispered. “And I kept the clothes.”

Luc stiffened beside me.

“They have DNA?” Annabelle clarified.

I nodded, my eyes determinedly on hers. “Blood.”

“His or yours?”

“Both. I bit his hand, and he smeared it on me when he…”

“Anything else?”

“No. I didn’t have time to wash or collect a swab of semen or anything. I had to leave in a hurry.”

“But you took pictures?”

I nodded. “They’re dated. I have backups as well.”

Annabelle gave me a nod. I think I caught a glint of respect before she looked down, making notes. “We’ll need the evidence.”

“It’s in a storage box. I can get it.”

“Today.” Luc reached over, giving my hand a squeeze. “We’ll drop it off today.”

“That handles one matter, as for the rest” −Annabelle’s sharp eyes moved around the group− “we’re going to lay a trap.” She leaned forward, knitting her hands on the table, gaze finally settling on Paxton. “And Ms Franklin will be our bait.”

“Absolutely not,” Luc barked. “We’re not–”

She lifted her hand, halting Luc’s protests. “Ms Franklin has insight into their operating practices.”

I frowned, a wisp of something tickling at the edge of my conscience. It whisked away as I tried to grasp it.

“I haven’t been a part of the group for a long time. They’ve likely changed.”

“I find people to be creatures of habit. While they think they’ve innovated, people revert to what works best. In this instance, they’ve operated without any interference, without any risk of prosecution for so long I’m tempted to say they’ve gotten cocky. That’s their weakness.”

She reached for her folder, pulling out three sheets of paper, passing them across to me. “Tell me about this.”

I flicked through the papers, frowning. “Where did you get this?”

“We have our ways. Tell me what you think it is.”

They were financial reports. The pages showed transfers from an account, I couldn’t see the account number or the banking institution. The account had money coming in and small amounts being transferred out regularly.

“It’s an account. The amounts transferring in are huge though.” Upwards of tens of thousands of dollars.

“Does anything about it look familiar?” Annabelle watched me closely.

“Should it?” I handed the sheets to Sawyer.

“This is an account we set up in a small bank. They’d reported thefts to us, and we saw an opportunity to track. The money out, we believe, is being filtered by the Patriots.”

I frowned. “You could trace it?”

“We traced the money to an offshore. The only way we could connect back to them was through matching financial transfers into Australian accounts held by members.”

“They didn’t cover their tracks?” Sawyer asked.

“No. It seems they got cocky.”

Sawyer scoffed. “Idiots.”

“English?” Brean asked.

“Normally you take amounts of money, pool it offshore, then transfer the money either to another offshore, or to somewhere you can access it. But you never transfer the exact amount. It’s too easy to match,” I explained.

“They didn’t do that. The account has been in place for years. We’ve been tracking this for the last eighteen months.”

“This explains how they could afford the solar panels.”

“West Investments,” Luc murmured.

“What?”

He turned to me, frowning. “West Investments. You said you knew the code. You sorted it in less than twenty-four hours.”

I blinked, the puzzle clicking into place. “Crap.”

I surged up from my seat, heading for the door. “I missed it. Crap!”

Together we ran to the bank of elevators at the far end of the basement. I smashed a finger to the button, jumping nervously from foot to foot.

“Damn it. I missed it. How could I have missed that?”

“You couldn’t have known.” Luc paced. I could see his mind racing as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

“But–”

“No.” He cut me off. “Let’s think this through, what information does this give us?”

“Umm… guys?” The elevator dinged as we both turned to see half the team clustered in the walkway behind us. “You want to fill us in?” Kel asked.

Annabelle crossed her arms, one finger tapping on the apex of her elbow. She knew.

I shook my head. “No time. Just… Sawyer? Max? I need…”

“On it.” They shoved past, crowding into the elevator with us. Luc grabbed me, brushing a kiss against my lips.

“I’ll brief them, see you up there.”

I nodded, mind racing.

“We’ll get them, Emmie. This is their mistake.”

I nodded again, unable to speak past the lump in my throat. He let me go, stepping back as the doors closed.

“Em?”

“Right.” I took a deep breath, turning to look at the men beside me. “Shit is about to get real, gentlemen.”

They both grinned. Sawyer looked up at the camera in the corner of the elevator.

“Pete? Tell Addie I’m gonna need a six-pack of Red Bull and a packet of Red Frogs.” He rubbed his hands together. “We’re going to be like Captain America, only more attractive.”

The elevator hit our floor, and we tumbled out, heading for the computers.

“Plan of attack?” I called, logging in.

“We hit small businesses. Banks, financial institutions, investment companies. Any Ma and Pa organisations with shitty security. We run the program we did