Page 64 of Devil's Riches

I grimaced. “Great. Now I’m picturing a nude eighty-year-old man tied to an X-cross.”

Nate laughed wryly and pointed to one of the first-floor restaurants on the map. “Let’s start here. We can get some dinner while we’re there.”

“Good idea. I’m starving after all th—” I cut myself off abruptly, eyes widening as something near the reception desk caught my attention.

Nate stared at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you see the man near the reception desk?” I said in a low voice. “He’s with the skinny blonde woman.”

“The short guy with gray hair?”

“Yes. He’s wearing a signet ring.”

“Does it have one of the symbols we’re looking for?” he asked, eyes narrowing as he peered at the man. “I can’t tell.”

I lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. “I can’t tell either. But we should try to get closer so we can check it out, right?”

Nate nodded. “Let’s go and stand behind them. We can pretend we’re waiting to speak to the staff at the desk to get directions.”

We headed across the black and white marble-tiled floor and stood a couple of yards behind the well-dressed couple at the desk, trying not to make it too obvious that we were checking out the man. A moment later, he briefly turned his head to look over his shoulder, seemingly sensing our gazes on his back. He had a thin nose, wide forehead, and sharp hazel eyes.

I stared past him vacantly, acting as if I couldn’t care less about his presence. Nate leaned down to my neck, pretending to plant a kiss there. “I recognize him,” he muttered. “His name is David Rosewell.”

“Friends with your mom?” I asked, pasting on a smile as I pretended to react to the kiss.

Nate nodded. “Yup. Billionaire, too. Definitely a candidate.”

I nodded slowly and squinted at the man’s right hand, pretending I was just yawning. “I still can’t see the pattern on his ring,” I whispered.

“Neither can I, but we can’t get any closer without looking weird,” Nate replied. “Hold on. I have an idea.”

He took out his cell phone and opened the camera app. “By the way, look at this stupid message I got earlier,” he said loudly enough for anyone within a few feet of us to hear. Then he held the phone up as if he were actually showing me something and brought two fingers to the screen to zoom in on the camera app.

I waited with bated breath for David Rosewell’s right hand to come into view again. When it finally did, my stomach fluttered, and my pulse began to race. “Gemini,” I whispered to Nate.

He nodded and made a quick note in his phone before sliding it back in his pocket. “Six down, six to go,” he said, raising a brow.

We turned away from the reception area and headed down the hallway toward the nearest restaurant.

I recognized it from the website photos as soon as we stepped inside. Chandeliers with crystals carved into leaf shapes hung from the ceiling, and the walls were decorated with avant-garde paintings. A gleaming dark wood bar ran through the center of the room, and the tables were set in booths around the edge with colorful velvet cushions on the seats.

Nate and I selected a central table on the right side, as that seemed to be the busier side of the restaurant. A friendly waiter scurried over and took our food orders within seconds of us sitting down. Once he was gone, we peered around the room, inspecting the nearby guests for any sort of jewelry that might match what we were searching for.

Nate stood up a moment later. “I’m going to the bathroom,” he said. “I’ll check out the left side on my way back.”

While I waited, I cast my gaze around the restaurant again, using Nate’s phone camera trick to zoom in on the other patrons. Many of them wore jewelry, but none of it fitted what I was looking for.

Nate returned a few minutes later and leaned across the table to whisper to me. “There’s a man standing at the bar over there,” he said, briefly darting his eyes to the right. “I’m ninety-nine percent certain he’s wearing a tie pin that looks like the Aquarius waves, but I don’t know his name. I need to figure out a way to ask him that doesn’t sound totally fucking weird.”

I flashed him a devious smile. “I’ll do it.”

I headed over to the central bar and stood a couple of feet away from the man Nate had mentioned. Then I leaned over the polished wooden counter, curving my body so that my ass looked as perky and rounded as possible.

I saw the man give me an appreciative look out of the corner of my eye, but he quickly turned his attention back to his tumbler of whiskey. I pretended I didn’t see him at all and ordered a glass of soda water with lemon from the bartender.

While I waited for my drink to arrive, I looked around, affecting a bored expression. When my gaze fell on the man next to me, I widened my eyes and let my jaw drop. “Oh! Hello again!” I said, flashing him a bright smile. “Sorry, I only just noticed you there.”

His forehead wrinkled. “Er… sorry… have we met?”

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