Page 123 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two

Aubrey pulls a flash drive out of her pocket and hands it to me. “I came prepared. Everything I gave to Sparrow is on there. Notes, a couple audio clips of conversations I recorded, random pictures of papers I found, the works. There’s also a blueprint of his mansion, which I figured would be useful.”

“Definitely. Thank you.” I hand the drive to Rhett, who already has his laptop open. He must’ve grabbed it when I helped Wren with her dress.

“Be careful with it,” Aubrey says. “Other than the copy Sparrow has, there aren’t any backups. I didn’t want to risk getting caught.”

“Makes sense. I’m sure this felt risky enough.”

She nods solemnly. “I’ve got more than what’s on that drive, too. Stuff that feels extra important that I didn’t record anywhere.”

“We’re all ears,” Rhett says. It’s a miracle that only a hint of impatience comes through in his tone.

“As I mentioned earlier, Ludo hates technology,” Aubrey says. “Obviously he can’t get away from it completely, but he treats every device like it has a mind of its own and will betray him the second it gets the chance to.

“Because of that, he doesn’t keep records around. Not of his criminal activities, that is. I overheard a couple of his men complaining about how they think it’s overkill. If you were to search any of his properties, you wouldn’t find a shred of evidence of illegal activities. Unless you know where to look, that is.”

At that, Oliver raises an eyebrow. “And you do?”

“Purely by accident,” she replies. “Ludo has a private billiard room that he uses for meetings and relaxing. It’s got the works—a pool table, a full bar, expensive leather couches, et cetera. It looks like something out of a movie.

“When I first moved in with Ludo, he told me I wasn’t allowed in there. So of course, I snuck in once or twice. I thought it was like his man cave or whatever, and he was just protective of the space. But the second time I was in there, I realized that wasn’t it at all.

“I was pouring myself a drink behind the bar when I dropped the cap to one of the bottles. It was pure luck, but as I was bent over to pick it up, I heard the door open.

“Obviously, I didn’t want to get caught somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be, so I stayed out of sight. But I managed to peek around the edge of the bar and watch without Ludo realizing.

“He has a hidden safe behind one of the paintings that’s up on the wall. I didn’t get a chance to see the contents—just what he put inside it, which was a small hard drive.

“After that, I started keeping a closer eye on the room. I can’t always tell when he’s taking the drive out of the safe because he knows how to be discreet, but I’m pretty sure he updates the contents once a week.”

Oliver has been peering at Rhett’s laptop, but now he moves his gaze to Aubrey. One of his legs is bouncing. “Any idea what’s on the drive?”

“Considering he keeps it hidden and locked away, I’d say it’s evidence of his crimes that he has to keep around. His books, maybe records of agreements, things like that? But I don’t know for sure.”

“Everything on here is definitely helpful,” Rhett says without looking up from his laptop. “But like you said, nothing horribly incriminating. That drive could be the key to our whole plan.”

“Do you know the combination?” Oliver asks Aubrey.

“No. Wouldn’t matter if I did, anyway. Ludo changes all his passwords, PINs, and codes weekly. Some he even switches up daily.”

Dammit.These security measures make sense for the most part, but how the hell are we supposed to get to the drive?

“Is the room guarded?” I ask.

Aubrey shakes her head. “That would be too conspicuous. I don’t think anyone other than Ludo knows the safe is there, and I believe his plan is to keep it that way. To everyone around, it’s his private recreation and meeting room.”

“Do you think you could sneak in there one last time?” I ask.

“I could try,” she says hesitantly. “But I think Ludo is beginning to realize that I know more than I’m letting on. I’ve noticed some of his men watching me more closely since we got back from Florida, so I’d prefer not to risk it.”

“If he’s acting suspicious of you, there’s no way we’re putting you in a dangerous situation,” Oliver says. “You’ve already helped enough. I’m sure we can manage to get in there ourselves.”

“We’ll need to know more about Ludo’s security,” I say. “And even then, we’ll probably require some type of distraction.”

“Well,” Oliver says thoughtfully, “there’s one very big distraction coming up in a couple weeks.”

I frown. “You mean the wedding?”

Oliver nods.