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“In exchange, as well as the information you have given us, you’ve also promised to remain under the radar. You will not engage in any criminal activity of any kind. You will not make contact with anyone who knows your real identity. And you will never hurt another person ever again.

“If you break your part of the deal, I will not hold up mine. I will hunt you down, I will find you, and I will kill you in the worst way imaginable, dragging it out for as long as I possibly fucking can. Those are the terms of our agreement. Do you wish to add or amend anything? Or do we have a deal?” Bree asks, pacing slightly in front of Whitlock while she waits for him to reply.

“When you say a small amount of money, how much are you referring to?” he asks.

Kellan growls beside me. “Out of everything she just said, all he’s interested in is the fucking money.”

Liam, on the other hand, lets out a little chuckle. “That’s a good thing, bro. While he’s worrying about that, he’s paying no attention to the loopholes my wife just threw into the deal.”

Bree groans in the other room, pulling our attention back as she plays her role perfectly. “Kellan has set it all up. But I imagine it will be enough for you to exist.”

“No, that’s not good enough. I want a specific figure,” he snaps.

Bree turns to the glass window, a smile on her face as she looks at where she knows we’re all watching. “Kellan, would you come in here, please?” she asks.

Kellan moves to the door, looking very much like he expected this to happen, though nobody else—Liam included—did. In fact, Liam places his hand on Kel’s arm just before he opens the door, stopping him in his tracks. “You don’t have to go in there.”

He turns to look at his brother, who is also his best friend, and holds his head a little higher. “I do. I asked to do this. For Mia.”

As he says the last part, he looks over at me, the hint of a smile on his face, and I give him an approving nod. Liam removes his arm and pats him on the back as Kel opens the door.

Bree, using her fake airy voice, greets Kellan. “Thank you for joining us, Kel. Mortimer here would like to go over some specifics of his release.”

Kellan ignores Bree, his stern glare fixed straight on Whitlock, who cowers slightly under the intensity of his gaze. “What do you want to know?”

“How much have you given me?” Whitlock snaps.

“Because we want to know where you are at all times, instead of giving you too much cash, we have done alternatives. You will be given a house and a car in Croatia. You will be given a matching passport and driving licence that gives you permission to live there, but you are not free to travel internationally. You will not be able to cross the border—their border patrol is very aware of this.

“The only outgoings you will have are your bills and any personal spending. So, we figured, you don’t need much. The account has one hundred and fifty thousand Euros in it, and I think that is more than generous,” Kellan snaps.

Whitlock’s mouth opens and closes like a fish, as he struggles to find the words. “That’s nowhere near enough.”

“You can always get an honest job,” Bree adds, a smirk creeping up on her face.

“I demand more,” Whitlock snaps.

“There is no more. All your other funds have been relocated, including the secret offshore accounts you think I don’t know about. We are using your money to help support your victims,” Kellan replies calmly, even managing to avoid sounding smug, which I think is a great achievement.

Whitlock’s cheeks begin to turn purple. “No! I want more money,” he shouts.

Bree just waves her hand like he’s a toddler having a tantrum. “There is no more money, Whitlock. Now, you can either agree to the deal as it is, or I can kill you right now, which I will be very happy to do, if we don’t have an agreement any longer.”

Whitlock’s jaw clenches, and his eyes narrow as he realises Bree has him over a barrel. “Fine, we have a deal.”

“Are you certain? If you make this deal now, it cannot be amended or adjusted at any time. It’s a binding contract that we both must honour. If something has not been mentioned, it cannot be added at a later date,” Bree states hesitantly.

“Why is she saying that?” Evan snaps beside me, standing so close to me our arms are touching.

“So that when he hangs himself with the long rope she’s giving him, she can say it’s all on him,” I reply, and Liam nods, agreeing with me.

“We have covered everything. We have a deal. Now, when can I get out of here?” he asks, and Bree’s face lights up as a bright smile crosses her face.

“You should have specified a time to be released in our deal, if you had one. As I said, nothing can be added now. Kellan, I believe you have something further to add, now that the deal has been struck,” Bree states, holding her arm out to Kel, so Whitlock changes his attention over to him.

“Are you aware you made no mention of your wife in the deal you just made?” Kel asks, and Whitlock’s eyes widen almost comically.

“We had already agreed she was to come with me,” he splutters, the words tumbling out quickly.