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Bree ignores the two men bickering on either side of her, fixing her penetrating gaze on me in such a way that I squirm under the intensity. “Do you think you’d be able to recognise him if you saw him again? You are probably the only person we know that’s ever seen him.”

I don’t even have to think about it, I nod instantly. “It’s not a face I’d ever forget. I don’t think I’ll ever forget anything about that night.”

Kellan looks up from his computer, smiling like he’s had an idea. “If that’s the case, why don’t we find someone that you can work with and have them sketch him based on your description? I can then digitalise it and use that in my facial recognition software.”

Fuck, why had I never thought of that?

Before I can respond, Liam cuts in. “She hasn’t seen him in almost nine years. How do we know he doesn’t look different now?”

Kellan waves him off. “She can do the sketch based on how he looked then, and I’ll use software to age it. I can try several variables until we get the right one, but as we know he meets Gregg regularly, using facial recognition on people who are seen with him will narrow down our search pool significantly.”

Marcus clears his throat. “I know someone who could do the sketch.”

Both Miles and Jake turn to face him, wearing matching confused expressions as Miles says, “Who?”

Marcus shuffles in his seat, looking uncomfortable. “Jenny Osbourne.”

Jake’s brows shoot into his hairline as his eyes grow almost comically wide, whilst Miles’ expression darkens. “Isn’t she the sister of Benny Osbourne?” Jake asks.

Marcus nods in confirmation as Kian asks, “Why does that name sound familiar?”

Miles growls, “Because around five years ago, Benny tried to kill Marcus in an attempt to seize power. We killed him.”

Liam nods as he says, “I remember that. You were in the hospital for a while, if I remember correctly.”

Marcus nods again, remaining silent as Kian says, “Sorry if this is a stupid question, but why the fuck would we use the sister of one of your enemies?”

“Surely she’s pissed you killed her brother?” Kellan adds.

“Not everyone is close to their family,” Marcus responds, sounding harsher than I expected.

Kellan snorts with a smile on his face. “That’s the fucking truth. I have a mother I can’t fucking stand, and I’ve only recently started to tolerate the woman who gave birth to my daughter.”

Liam turns to Kellan, shaking his head with a glare, though there’s a smile on his face at the same time. It’s clear when the two men look at each other that they have a close bond.

Marcus ignores Kellan’s outburst and continues with his explanation. “Jenny hated her brother. After their father died, he became very controlling of her and put her through a lot. When we killed Benny, she came to see me after I got out of the hospital. She apologised for what her brother had done, and asked not to be punished for the crimes her family had committed.

“She’d just won a scholarship to the local art college, and she was worried I’d kick her out of Blackthorn. I was skeptical, butagreed to a trial period. She could stay, as long as she stayed out of trouble. In five years, she’s never gotten in trouble once.

From what I recall, she’s very talented at sketching people, particularly facial features, so I’m sure she’d be great at this.”

Bree nods, like that’s enough of an explanation for her, but Liam doesn’t seem convinced. He turns his piercing gaze to Miles. “Do you know of any reason why we shouldn’t trust her?”

Miles pauses for a second, and I can feel how taut his muscles are beneath my fingers. He lets out a sigh as he seems to reluctantly shake his head.

“Honestly, no. I’ve always remained weary of her, and I’ve never hid that I wasn’t happy with Marcus’ decision, but I’ve kept a close eye on her, and she’s done nothing to spark alarm. She graduated from art school, and has her own art studio now, teaching others, including kids. There’s no reason, that I know of, not to use her.”

Bree smiles as she says, “Well then, it’s settled. I’ll leave you to sort that, Marcus.”

Marcus nods in agreement as Jake clears his throat, drawing everyone’s attention over to him as he shuffles awkwardly in his seat. Although he seems nervous, there’s fire in his eyes, and I can tell whatever he’s about to say is important to him.

“When we locate The Count, do we have permission to take him out?” he asks, sounding more dangerous than ever.

“Gregg the cop, too. He has to go,” Miles quickly adds, spitting Gregg’s name like it tastes bad on his tongue.

Bree turns to her husband, and once again they look like they’re having a silent conversation between themselves. Bree then turns back to us, grimacing. “I really wish I could say yes, but I can’t.”

“What the?—”