Chapter 8: Plan of Action

After straightening his newly changed button down shirt, Jamison left his private room and headed for the office doors. The conversation he had with Maya just a short while ago was already starting to push out of his mind as he focused his gaze on the careful craftsmanship of the office door. They had serious business to get to and a lot to consider after both the meeting and the ambush. Jamison didn’t have time to allow his mind to be weighed down by any doubt. Not now.

Knowing that Kade was on the other side of the door this time, Jamison gave a knock on the solid wood door before he entered. Falling back into his routine would be easy since he had done it for so many years. So, he was able to stride through the door without any hesitation, allowing it to fall gently closed behind him. Then, he set his eyes forward on the desk.

Kade was at his desk as he promised he would be, absorbed in whatever it was he was looking at. The clothes he wore were still the finely tailored suit he decided on that morning for the meeting. Now, in further disarray since the ambush. So much so that Kade had removed his tie all together and draped it over the corner of the desk.

The buttons that Angelo had popped open were still left open, exposing a flash of his bare chest beneath. Kade’s usually perfect braided chocolate brown hair had been ruined from the struggle in the ambush. By the time Jamison entered his office, he abandoned the braid all together. Wavy, brunette hair was left to sweep down his shoulders and frame his face. It only proved to make a perfect depiction of his features.

His face was pale and young-looking with high cheekbones set with a perfectly sculpted jawline. A pair of dark, curvy brows were set at a slight incline over his golden-brown eyes which only scanned over the work he had occupied himself with. Jamison couldn’t help but to allow his gaze to drop to the soft pink lips which seemed to have the perfect cupid’s bow dip. They were pulled into a small frown, even as Kade finally raised his eyes to meet his.

That disapproving expression he wore moments ago softened the second their eyes met and left Jamison frozen in place. “All patched up? I hope it was nothing too serious,” Kade said. Despite the heaviness of what would come next, his voice was gentle and pleasant.

“No…No, I’m fine. Like I said, it was only a gunshot wound,” Jamison replied, nearly stumbling over his words.

“Are you sure? You seem a little shaken,” Kade commented with a glance over him.

Maya’s words echoed intrusively in his ears. So much so that he felt he needed to shake his head to regain his composure before he answered. “No, I’ll be alright. We should start figuring out what our next move is.”

“Yes, of course. I meant what I said when I told Mr. White we would be investigating his territory first,” Kade said with a nod, and motioned to the papers he had spread out on his desk.

Jamison had to force himself to move forward. His body felt like it was made of concrete and every step took some effort. Like with most things though, he didn’t allow the struggle to show in his expression. He wasn’t even sure if he felt heavy because of his wounds or because he’d been stunned by the sight of Kade. The latter wasn’t something he wanted to think too much on, regardless.

The paperwork that Kade had gestured to, Jamison realized once he got to the front of the desk, were lists of names and locations. It seemed like Kade had done some digging while Jamison was getting treated for his wounds. No doubt he was able to find out some of the information through the lists that Kit had provided him that morning.

“I’ve compiled the names of everyone who reports to Mr. White and the locations they frequent or have connections to within their territory. It should make it easier to watch from afar or gain information this way. That’s where I’d like to start,” Kade explained.

Jamison crossed his arms over his chest and winced as he did. “So, what about our assassin then? You don’t want to focus on getting answers from her first?”

“Tiago and Kit will get her to give us some clues, but in the meantime, I think we should press forward with our investigation. In the event she’s one of the traitors, we could use that to our benefit,” Kade replied. He spoke calmly and more sternly than he had before.

“With all due respect, I think it would be a good idea for you to lay low. You were just attacked, almost twice today. We don’t have confirmation the two were related yet and until we do, you shouldn’t be out in public,” Jamison protested. His own tone had gone stern and his expression became like stone.

“I refuse to let my father’s killer slip away,” Kade replied, glancing up at Jamison with a fierceness in his eyes.

“You’re not the only one who wants to avenge his death. But we still have to play the game the right way. Send Maya and Kit to get information, they’re more than capable to handle that sort of thing,” Jamison countered, standing his ground.

Kade was silent for a long moment and the two of them just stared at each other. Jamison normally didn’t defy the orders given to him by his boss. But he felt that this was critical because of the experience they both just had to endure. Besides, he felt that there was no one better at gaining intel on something other than the two that specialized at it. It would also give them both a little time to recover, Jamison more so than Kade.

Finally, Kade sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Very well, we will do it your way.”

“I'll trade out with Kit and let Maya know, so you can go over arrangements with them,” Jamison said with a nod.

He turned to leave the office after that, only hesitating a second at the door while he resisted the urge to look back over his shoulder. When the temptation passed, he exited without another word. There was a lot of work that needed to be done. Jamison felt relieved though as he left Kade’s office. Relieved that he had taken his word this time and hadn't pressed the issue any further.

Jamison found Maya in the foyer. She was standing at a small table just in the entryway and was sifting through a handbag. His guess was that she was just about to leave the manor. It was lucky then, he thought, that he had left the office when he did. A message could have been sent to reach her, but it would go smoother if they didn’t have to wait for her to arrive. He knew Kade was itching to press forward.

“Maya, before you go, Kade needs you in his office,” Jamison said just as he stepped off the last step.

She looked up from what she was doing. “Does he? You must’ve said something to him,” she mused, and gave him a smile.

His gaze met hers in a cold glare meant as a warning. “I’ll be sending Kit up with you in a moment. Don’t keep him waiting.”

He didn’t bother to wait for her response and turned his back to her. There was too much going on for him to be standing around and taking her teasing. Not that he ever really tolerated it in the past. She just had new ammunition now to use against him. His glare had been a warning for her not to carry on with the subject once she met with Kade. Maya didn’t have to pretend to be interested in gossip, it was one of her flaws in his mind.

Jamison came out of his thoughts when he reached the door to the cellar. He didn’t have to guess this was where they’d taken their captive because he already knew. The cellar was designed to hold anyone that was deemed a prisoner and might be useful to them. Every time they captured someone and brought them here, they would enter the cellar and not come back out.

Something was wrong though and he picked up on it the moment he pulled the door open. It was far too quiet at the bottom of the dark staircase. Jamison didn’t even pick up on the faint sounds of voices or pleading as he often did.

In fact, there wasn’t a sound that left the cellar. That silence had him drawing his gun without a second thought before he descended the stairs. He wanted to be prepared for what might be lurking in that darkness.