For the third time since we’d met each other in the car park and walked in, he checked his watch. As much as I wanted to be elsewhere, tracking down Emersyn or at least why she had left and who the hell Lainey was, I knew where the Sharpes lived. I knew where all of their properties were. At least all of those on the public records, and two I’d found that weren’t.
One was actually in her name, but I somehow doubted she bought a chalet in Switzerland. Probably the parents were just hiding assets in her name. It wouldn’t be the first time a wealthier parent did that. My own had done something similar and I’d tucked nest eggs away in Rome’s name.
If anything happened to me… well, I’d taken care of things for him. I didn’t want him to worry about his next meal or anything else. Still…
Her uncle had put the bounty out on her. He was the reason the goddamn bounty hunters had been all over the city. The asshole may have been trying to find her, but he put her in harm’s way. It told me he was probably also behind the photos sent to her. So, he’d used us as leverage.
Dislike filled me. Her uncle needed to learn now that he did not get to use us against her. While I understood the idea she’d left to protect us, I might spank her ass red for not telling us first. Freddie counted, but not enough. She’d called the one person she thought wouldn’t try to stop her.
Still, in the days since we’d made the discovery, Rome and I had been split on how to handle it. The fact we were so divided didn’t sit well with me. The only reason he hadn’t gone after her yet was because we weren’t sure which of their properties she was at. If we risked an incursion, there was a chance they’d close ranks around her.
Admit it. A nasty little voice inside of me whispered. You don’t want to get there and find out she did want to leave us, and she doesn’t want to come back.
I closed down that line of thought and leaned back against the wall. The fact we were meeting in the empty offices of Pocket Arc Financial said this was all business. We’d been summoned to offices only twice in my recollection.
“Goddammit.” Adam kicked a small trash can across the room and it chipped the drywall when it impacted. I spared him a look. While I sympathized with the agitation, he knew better. In fact, he was the one who told me to never reveal a weakness.
Ever.
When he glanced at me, I just raised my brows.
“Fuck off, O’Connell, what did you do?”
“Can’t fuck off and answer at the same time,” I told him with a wry smile and a half-shrug. The more restless he seemed, the calmer I became. Not revealing our cards was a part of the job. For Adam to be showing his hand this early, suggested there was more going on than I knew.
Yet.
With a dark glare, he took a step toward me. His hands curled into fists. A muscle in his cheek jumped and I swore I could almost hear the grinding of his teeth. Honestly, I wished he’d just go for it. Come at me.
I needed the fight.
I’d been avoiding the pits all week, while we tried to puzzle out what the hell was going on.
“Why are we here?” Adam asked, not moving beyond his single step.
I shrugged. “No clue. I got the call, same as you. Or at least I assume you got a call.”
Why else would he be in Braxton Harbor? He and Ezra both avoided the town. I preferred it that way, personally. This was my territory and I’d marked it as such. The other Royals had their own enterprises and assignments, none of which came through Braxton. I’d made damn sure of it.
He blew out a breath, then stalked away toward the window overlooking the city. With the exception of being ridiculously empty, the whole floor was set up just like any regular corporate office. Yes, you needed a keycard to get to this level. And no, no one else worked here, there were computers, desks, plants, a lobby waiting room, and even a fish tank.
The fish tank was fucking weird, cause the fish were all alive and clearly thriving so someone else came through here, but never when I was present. Not that I spent a lot of time in this corporate office. It was a front. A place to funnel money, to serve as a corporate distraction for activities we didn’t want anyone looking too closely at, and to host meetings like the one we didn’t appear to be having.
“Five fucking minutes more,” Adam snarled without looking at me. “Then I’m leaving.”
When the king called, you didn’t ignore him and you didn’t blow off his orders. Adam was the one who told me that all those years ago. The one chance to turn him down was when you were offered a place, after that? Well, it was your life. If that was how you wanted to waste it.
I’d never turned down a job. Never missed a call. I’d given them my blood, sweat, and time. The one time he’d demanded I throw a fight, I’d done that as well. I still had scars from that fight. It was the only time he’d ever asked it of me, and he’d never done it again.
Still… all this time later, as far as I’d come and I was no closer than when I’d been in school. Maybe it was time to cut our losses with this project. I knew the layout of the operation. I knew the names and the places. I had a lot of information. I could do a lot of damage.
My phone vibrated with the arrival of a text. Adam’s must have too, because he pulled it out of his pocket.
Two words on the screen.
Conference Room.
Adam strode ahead of me and through the doors into the main offices. I trailed him, more interested by the second at his level of agitation. Something was going on with him and he needed backup. Maybe I should send a message to Ezra.
The door to the conference room slammed back with a crash. Those doors were weighted.
“Man,” I said, keeping my voice down. From the moment we arrived there was a high percentage chance we were under surveillance. This loss of “cool” was not like Adam at all. “Dial it back.”
He didn’t glance in my direction much less say anything. As soon as I cleared the door to the conference room with its oblong table, six chairs and an eighty-inch plus screen on the wall, the screen flashed on, then went blue for a moment, before resolving into the shape of a man.
No distinguishable features were visible. In fact, despite the screen’s incredible clarity and high definition, the man was one unrelieved shadow.
“Gentlemen,” the king said. I’d know that voice anywhere. “Thank you for joining me today.”
Not that he’d given us a choice. Adam mirrored my stance on the opposite side of the table. We both stood, arms folded, staring at the screen. “Your Majesty,” I said when Adam made no move to say a word and inclined my head. The fact I had to chew over those words in every single interaction did not make them more palatable. “What can we do for you today?”
If I’d thought the question would distract him from the fact Adam glared at the screen, I was mistaken. Instead of answering my question, the man leaned back in his seat and rested a hand against his jaw as though thinking.
“Is there a problem, Reed?”
“You’ve had me in Braxton Harbor for three days.”
Three days? I didn’t look at him.
“And?” the king replied. “You go where I want you, when I want you there.”
A flash of movement I barely caught from the corner of my eye was the only indication that Adam had curled his fingers into a fist. “Of course,” he said. “Your Majesty.”