The Syndicate’s Bride

Chapter 16

Vanessa

What the hell just happened?

I looked around the table, brows furrowed in confusion at the empty seats before looking at the door where my two companions had hurriedly exited through.

There was a noticeable tension between the two men when they first met in the garden, mostly initiated by Ryan’s grumpy personality, but I had easily brushed it off, concluding it was just Ryan being Ryan.

But at the table, when he suddenly got angry and sent his cutlery flying, I realised it was something I shouldn’t have just overlooked.

Even the way he looked at Owen detected a certain level of annoyance at the guard, like he was annoyed by his presence and would immediately feel better if he left and never came back, which honestly confused me.

Owen had done nothing but interact with me, merely acknowledging him or glancing his way, so what reason did he have to be angry?

Maybe he’s jealous? The voice in my head suggested and I chuckled. There was no way in hell. Yes, Ryan and I had had more tolerable moments than not in the past few days but me merely interacting with another man wasn’t enough to suddenly spark jealousy in him.

Plus, why would he be jealous when we weren’t exactly together? He was my nominal fiancée, our engagement was nothing more than an oral business agreement and at this point, we were just business partners and nothing more.

And nothing more, right?

Right?

A few minutes past and when none of the men had returned, I ordered the servants to clear the table, declaring an end to breakfast. Bored at the idea of staying indoors, I quickly got dressed and headed for the underground racetrack.

The track was as quiet as it could be with only a few staff bustling around the arena. I nodded in satisfaction as I inhaled the fresh breeze, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin.

This was a perfect time to finish my latest project.

Entering the garage, my eyes fell on the incompletely assembled parts of a white car standing in the centre of the room, and my lips stretch into a satisfied smile as I admired my work. It had taken me only a few days to go this far, Ryan’s temporary absence after his injury being the most helpful element for my swift work. But since he came back, I hadn’t had the time to complete it but today was definitely a good time.

Taking my tool box from the back of the room, I immediately got to work screwing, removing and replacing, and by the time the sun had gone down, I was looking at a completely new creation, designed only to suite Ryan’s daring riding style.

“You’ve done it again, V,” I said proudly. Sweeping my hand over the car’s shell, I nodded at the durable feel of the aluminium.

At the lab, I had run some test to combine the most durable materials for a race car and ended up creating something far beyond my imagination. The combination of advanced high strength steel, aluminium alloys and carbon fibre birthed a very light yet high impact resistance. After reviewing Ryan’s previous races, it seemed the most compatible with his race style – light enough to easily zoom past his opponents but secure enough to ensure safety precautions in case of a crash.

I grinned, giddy from the success of my hard work. I hope he could test drive it later.

Now exhausted from the day’s work, I decided to call it a day and head home. Exiting the garage, a crowd stood gathered around the announcement board, chatting loudly and inaudibly.

Curious, I approached the board, straining my ears slightly to make sense of their discussion. Finally close enough, I began to understand them.

“It’s a mysterious bet,” a ginger haired middle aged man said, basically screaming at the top of his lungs to be heard over the chatter. He turned back to the board, reading the terms and conditions. “For the purpose of this race, there are four bet types; win, place, exacta and trifecta.” He paused, reading down the instructions and gasping at the board as his fingers skimmed across the word ‘stakes’. “That’s what I’m f*****g talk about! A million dollars?” He turned to his friend. “We’re gonna be f*****g rich.”

I looked past them to the board as the man’s friend jumped in joy, matching his excitement. My eyes scanned the board for the list of drivers and I nodded when I spotted a familiar name on the board. Without giving it much thought, I immediately decided to bet on him.

Having worked in the underground race track for years, this was my first time participating in bets. The thought of bets and stakes never really intrigued me, plus, I was way too busy with work to be enticed by the activity. But seeing Ryan’s name on the list of drivers was enough to stir my mind.

There was much I didn’t know about the man but one thing I knew for sure was how much he honoured a good game. It offered him a good sense of integrity, giving him a name that people wouldn’t think twice to chant to victory, and a sense of trust among his fans. It was no surprise why people liked this side of him. He really was a good sportsman.

Maybe that was why I confidently walked to the betting operator who stood behind the counter, waiting patiently for everyone to make their decision.

It was my first act of trust to him.

“Hello, I’ll like to place a bet on Ryan.”

He stirred tiredly like he would rather be anywhere else. “I hope you know the terms and conditions.”

I went to say yes but stopped, remembering I knew nothing more than what I overheard those two guys talking about. “Not really,” I said with a nervous chuckle.

He sighed and began typing on his computer before turning to me. “The rules are simple,” he started, “you will first need to chose between the four betting options, win, place, exacta and trifecta.”

I blinked. I had no idea what any of those terms meant but to not come off as completely blank to the operator who already seemed tired of me, I latched on to the word I knew.

“Win?” I asked unsure, “I want to bet on him to win.”

“Of course,” he said dryly, typing in some words on the system. “That means if Ryan wins the game, you get the price money and the anonymous price attached to it, and if he doesn’t, you lose your money. There’s no refund,” he said as he handed me a form to fill.

I frowned. “What’s the anonymous price?”

“Now it wouldn’t be anonymous any more if I told you, would it?” He sighed tiredly. “it’s all part if the game. If your player wins, as he normal does, you’ll find out eventually.”

It was fishy, that much I knew but I’d only be lying if I said it wasn’t enticing. How bad could the anonymous price be anyway of it was attached to a million dollars? It birthed a curiosity in me, and with my mind already made up to bet on Ryan, nothing was going to change it.

“I’m in.”

“Great,” he said sarcastically, “betting starts at seventy-five dollars.”

After successfully placing my bet, my eyes met the board again as I walked past it to the arena’s exit. Below Ryan’s name were familiar names registered under the Logan group that I only just noticed. I shrugged. Who cares? Father was probably going to place bets on them either way and if he didn’t it was none of my business.

Tearing my eyes from the board, I exited the track and left for the Manor.

As soon as I got home, a wave of exhaustion hit me like a truck, sinking deep into my bones. As I usually did, I subtly glanced around the house, making sure I wasn’t being watched. Satisfied at finding no prying eyes in the moment, I started walking freely to my room when the sudden emptiness of the house dawned on me.

Confused, I called for a passing maid who regarded me with a polite bow and stood quietly awaiting the reason for my call.

“Did you see Owen and Ryan after breakfast today?”

She shook her head. “No ma’am. None of them have been seen since after today’s breakfast.”

I frowned. Something’s not right.

Owen

“The number you have dialled is not available.” The robotic voice said, just like it did when I called my other four subordinates who had gone to investigate Ryan.

After leaving Ryan in the garage, I left the Manor and went straight to my fellow tKavand guards, seeking their help with the investigation.

Having gained their respect from being the strongest guard, they agreed, promising to go to the Winchester estate directly to investigate, and report back to me in an hour.

That was four hours ago.

Now none of their numbers were reachable and all their trackers were disconnected. It was like they had disappeared from the face of the earth without a single trace.

It was beginning to feel like they had seen something they shouldn’t have.

Something was definitely not right with the Winchesters.

Tired of waiting around hopelessly, I assessed the backed up information from the disconnected trackers and left for the last location the last guard was seen.

It took me into the woods some miles away from town where nothing but trees lined the eerie surrounding. I turned on my flash light, taking light easy steps, cautious to not alert any unnecessary unknowns.

Why had the guard taken this part? I wondered. There was nothing in these woods, nothing but long trees and an eeriness that seemed to be straight out of a horror movie.

That was what I thought until I saw it.

A large dark building stood tall under the full moon, just outside the surrounded trees and the eerie atmosphere. From its size, it seemed to be some sort of mansion belonging to a rich man who had some sort of weird fetish for hanging out in eerie woods.

But as my little touch flickered on the building, a rectangular shaped wood with the owner’s name inscribed in it told me otherwise.

And I recoiled in disbelief.

“Winchester?” I whispered.

Just then, a loud warning growl to my left startled me making me snap my head to the sound.

A wolf moved slowly to me, bearing its fangs in intimidation. Around it were body parts I hadn’t noticed before, looking as if they were ripped into pieces with no mercy.

“What the actual f**k?” I muttered.

Having a little understanding of the situation, I started taking cautious steps back, keeping my eye on the prowling wolf, when another growl was heard from my other side, flowed by another, and another, until the moon light illuminated over a pack of wolves. I froze.

I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing.

Beyond the pack, a few distance away, stood a tall man whose face I couldn’t make out but had an air of command about him seeing as some of the wolves circled around him as if protecting him.

His stood bare chested, his arms glowing in blue light. By the next second, his body twisted violently to the side, the sound of snapping bones audible in the darkness. His body jerked violently, twisting and turning at intervals, until in his place stood a large black wolf.

I was frozen in disbelief but willed my legs to move. I took cautious steps without turning around, refusing to bare my back to the pack.

Just when I thought I was going to escape, the back of my thigh collided with one of the wolves nuzzle, earning a warning growl from the animal. That was when I looked around me and finally noticed I was surrounded with no place to run.

Fuck me.