As soon as Asia knew the name of the man she was scheduled to meet, she’d begun researching his background and credentials. There weren’t many pictures, but the tall shadowy figure entering the front of the warehouse was obviously someone other than the good professor. A fissure of fear moved through her a split second before Franklin’s voice thundered through her thoughts.
Cara, open your mind, let me see what you’re seeing. She heard a note of panic in his voice, but there was also a thread of frustration—not surprising since she hadn’t followed his advice to wait. It wasn’t advice—it was a fucking command. Her first inclination was to protest, simply because she was still monumentally annoyed with his highhanded behavior back at the estate. She’d had a few days for her anger to cool, but the sting of disappointment and regret for what could have been was still too raw to let go.
Now, Asia.
Pushy bastard.
You have no idea. Now. Let. Me. In.
Opening her mind was easier than she thought it would be—perhaps because Israel had been stepping into her head since they were kids. Not that she planned to confess that little tidbit.
No need. Glad to know being a pain in the ass paid off. Since you didn’t press the panic alarm on the bracelet Cat gave you, we set it off from here.
Before she had time to take another breath, a hideously scarred man stepped into view, and Asia felt her heart skip several beats. His face was hideously distorted, but she knew instinctively who he was—Carl Braun.
“Ms. Adler, it’s wonderful to meet you. I didn’t mean to startle you. It seems you weren’t informed about my appearance.” When she didn’t respond, he continued while she worked to control her expression, breathing, and the flush she could feel moving over her cheeks. “I recently had an accident and have yet to complete the reconstruction phase of my recovery.”
He studied her intently—more focused than he’d been when he first walked in, but nowhere near as perceptive as the various judges presiding over cases she’d tried. And he wasn’t in the same stratosphere with the Doms in her life, so he could just suck it. I’m too tired for this shit.
The air around her was crackling with energy. Asia knew she wasn’t causing the effect, but she wasn’t sure what or who was responsible. Between the static, she caught bits and pieces of words—just enough to recognize there were two distinct voices. It was impossible to be sure who was speaking, and Goddess knew, she couldn’t understand a damned word of it. Hell, the snapping of powerful energy was so loud, she couldn’t hear the man a few feet in front of her. Mentally blocking everything but the evil standing little more than an arm’s length away, Asia blinked, trying to clear her head.
“I’m sorry, Professor. Could you repeat that? Apparently, I’m still struggling with jet lag. I swear it gets worse with age.” She tried to smile, playing off her temporary disconnection, but she didn’t think he’d been fooled.
“I asked you how you managed to have so many pieces transported so quickly. It’s unusual for artifacts to leave their country of origin without a stack of paperwork.”
He was right, but she wasn’t naïve enough to believe he was genuinely concerned about items of historical significance being taken out from under the noses of the locals. He was putting her on notice. The implied threat he could turn her in made her want to laugh out loud. What a fucking loser.
“Professor, I believe you’ll find my family and friends can be quite resourceful when they are so inclined. Now, I have a very full day tomorrow, so if we could get started, I’d appreciate it.” Pretending to suddenly realize he hadn’t brought anything in with him, she asked if he needed a moment to retrieve anything from his car. He seemed confused for several seconds before realizing his lack of understanding was telling in itself.
“No. I will take plenty of pictures and return to my hotel to compile the report.” She frowned, knowing that wasn’t what Franklin had arranged with the real professor. It was obvious Braun hadn’t taken time to find out enough about his role, adding another layer to her concern for the professor’s safety.
Braun let his gaze move slowly around the room. He seemed to be assessing his surroundings rather than the items on the table—another piece of the puzzle she doubted he’d intended to slip into place.
“Who owns this building?”
“Excuse me?” She wanted to give him a chance to realize the question was so far off topic, it was laughable. Perhaps he would give up and walk out of here if he saw how obvious it was he was a damned imposter.
“Who owns the building?” He turned to her, frowning as if she was the stupidest woman on the planet. Being treated as if she was dim-witted had always been a hot button for Asia. Push it, and she morphed into the biggest pain in the ass you’d ever met.
“I don’t know, nor do I care.” Crossing her arms over her chest, Asia prepared herself for the backlash she could practically feel floating around in his black heart. “You are here to assess the value of the pieces. If you’d prefer to step aside, I’ll see to it you are paid for your time, and we’ll call it a day.” His eyes narrowed infinitesimally, but Asia didn’t miss the small tell. She’d pissed him off. Well, isn’t that a fucking pity?
“If you don’t want to share who owns the building, you simply need to say so. There seems to be an alarming lack of security for such precious pieces.” He was fishing, and she wasn’t going to take the bait. When she refused to respond, he pulled his phone from his pocket and started filming. Laughing to herself at his attempt to live stream the information, Asia stepped to the side, working to cover her smile.
She’d already checked her phone and knew there was no way in hell the live stream video was going anywhere but exactly where Cam Barnes wanted it to. Movement behind Braun caught her eye. Catalina gave her the signal to continue before tapping her ear. Shit, Asia had forgotten to turn on the earbud she was wearing. Hell, no wonder everything sounded weird. Rubbing the back of her hand over her forehead, Asia noted her skin felt clammy as exhaustion threatened to knock her off her feet. Turning on the small unit, she was immediately assailed by her sister’s frustrated voice.
“Holy fucking hell, what’s wrong with you? You never forget anything. First, you can’t remember any details after you boarded the plane on your trip home, and now, you block Franklin and Israel while forgetting to turn on your comm? What the ever-loving fuck?”
“Princess, let’s focus on what we can control rather than the past.” Asia hadn’t known Cooper was looped into the communication network until his calm voice filled her ear. Grateful for his support, Asia’s mind wandered away from the danger in front of her as she considered what it was going to take to get Cat to accept the fact Cooper was her mate. Giving her head a little shake, trying to refocus on the task at hand, the quick movement set everything spinning around her.
“Get her out of there.” Israel’s growled words should have pissed her off, but she knew he had her best interests at heart. “Get someone Braun doesn’t know in there and get her fucking out. Now!”
“Ms. Adler?” Suddenly realizing Braun was standing directly in front of her, Asia felt a wave of rage pulse over her. His expression was well-schooled, but the underlying emotion was impossible for him to mask. “Are you all right? You don’t look as though you feel well. I can finish and lock up behind myself if you need to head home.” His eyes were filled with hope, making her wonder if he’d lost his damned mind.