Page 76 of Beast: Part Two

“Who is this?”

A deep chuckle comes through the phone. “This is Dominique Katz. I figured I’d save you and your boys the trouble of planning a visit. How about you come to my office today at noon?”

Not once did we expect Dominique to reach out to us. We knew that word would spread after we met with O’Cleary and Franklin and they both withdrew their names. We still didn’t think it would be this easy to meet Dominique.

“Alright,” Priest says. “We will be there.”

“Good,” Dominique replies. “Oh, and tell Maksim to come with you. I’d love to catch up with him.” Silence greets us on the other end of the phone suggesting he’s hung up.

The entire room glances around at each other.

“That was too easy, right?” Hawk asks. “Do you think it’s a setup?”

“No,” Maksim answers. “Dom doesn’t play games. If he called to set up a meeting, he wants the meeting. But why?”

“Didn’t you say Dominique and Corbyn weren’t friends?” I ask Maksim.

He nods.

“There was a reason Corbyn was searching Pope’s house for that records’ keeper’s information. He didn’t want us to find it. Maybe Dominique is why.”

Maksim leans forward in his chair. “You could be on to something, brother. Dominique has a lot of power in the Royal Crown. He’s someone you would definitely want on your side.”

“Then let’s meet him,” Priest says. “Maksim, Beast, Zel and Many you four are with me. Hawk and Twin, I want you to stay with the women. Twin, check and see if you can break into his camera system. Even though Maksim doesn’t think he’s a threat, I’d still feel comfortable having your eyes on us.”

“I got you,” Lucien answers.

We all climb to our feet. If we were going into downtown Manhattan to meet Dominique at noon, we needed to head out. The others clear out the room quickly.

“Be safe,” Alicia says to me.

I tip my head at her before walking out of the dining room. On the way to the front door, I spot Summer. Her head is down while Maksim is saying something to her. I can’t see her face or hear what they are saying. As if she can feel my gaze on her, she looks up and our eyes connect. Her face is flushed, and her eyes are red. She’s been crying. She looks away from me, saying something to Maksim, she then walks away.

Maksim looks back at me and shakes his head. He doesn’t speak to me as we head to the garage to grab the borrowed Suburban.

We make the ride to Dominique’s office building in good time. It’s not hard to believe with Priest behind the wheel. I doubt he ever drives the speed limit. We find a parking spot a block away and feed the meter for an hour.

“Twin, do you have eyes inside the building?” Priest asks through the earpiece.

“All is clear. He has two guards outside his office door but that’s it.”

We make it to the building, but Priest stops us at the door.

“Is Fem watching the camera?”

“I’m right here,” Albany answers.

“Good. I want you to keep your eyes on Dominique. Tell me if I can trust him or not. Everyone else stay vigilant,” he warns. “I don’t trust these people. When we get in let me do the talking.”

No one was going to argue with that. We all entered the building. The guard at the door took our names and quickly advised us to take the elevator up.

We followed his directions after Lucien told us there was nothing waiting on us on the other side. So far, Dominique has kept his word about this being a casual visit. However, I agreed with Priest. I didn’t trust these people.

When we stepped on the top floor where Dominique’s office was, we followed the directions the front doorman gave us. There was no need to knock on his door. Standing outside the office to greet us was Dominique Katz.

He was tall but not as tall as me. He stood eye level to Zel which makes him 6 foot 2. He was not much older than us. Maybe late thirties or early forties. He was a bit of a pretty boy. His dark brown hair was wavy and long. Not as long as mine or Hawk’s but it fell to his neck. He had a chin strap beard with a goatee. His dark blue eyes were intelligent but shrewd. He smiles when he sees us, but it still doesn’t put me at ease.

“Nathaniel Otella,” he says walking up to Priest with his hand out. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

---