Page 64 of The Lieutenant

“How about Havros? Is he here often? Does he interact with the guests and employees?”

“The brothers alternate coming here. Usually at least one of them shows up every night. Why are you asking?”

“I’m writing an article on kink clubs in Europe. I usually start with the benign questions.”

He folded his arms on the bar. “Then you’ve come to the wrong place. We don’t serve kink.”

“Is that a cover?” I batted my eyelashes.

“You see those cages attached to the ceiling? That’s about as kinky as it gets unless you consider the backroom meetings more to your liking. I should get back to work.”

“Of course. Thank you for the wine.”

“No problem.” He nodded, but I sensed he didn’t like being asked the kinds of questions I’d put forth. There was nothing wrong with being protective, but I had a feeling keeping quiet was mandatory.

Backroom meetings. I’d read and discovered for myself that clubs were often used for money laundering and a place to conduct illegal activities. If the authorities didn’t know or guess, they were dumb and blind. Millions of dollars usually changed hands inside the various establishments. Often drugs were bought and sold through them as well.

I made a mental note of what he’d told me and that he’d been very guarded. My guess was that the employees were vetted carefully. With the wine in my hand, I turned around, surveying the area, once again observing the people dancing and drinking.

A strange realization that I didn’t belong here swept through me. However, I was determined to plunge away from my comfort zone, spending at least thirty minutes inside the club. I’d taken some benign photographs of the corporate offices, but nothing since then. A few of the club wouldn’t hurt. A little extra publicity.

I started taking a few pictures, trying to remain as incognito as possible. A lot of people didn’t like having their photographs taken under the best of circumstances. I moved around the club, managing to take a good one of the bartender behind the bar before shifting toward the dance floor. There were some interesting people inside the club. One caught my eye, a guy who certainly didn’t seem to belong.

While dressed in a suit, he looked more like an undertaker than a man determined to have a good time. He also didn’t appear to be searching for company overnight. He’d all but ignored the two women who’d attempted to flirt with him. Unsure why, I took his picture. It was entirely possible he was another bouncer or a soldier working for the family. But something told me otherwise.

After taking a few additional photographs, I decided to enjoy the music instead of working at my job. The beat was tribal, the mood electric, and even without a dance partner, it was easy to feel even more alive and enjoy myself. After three or four songs, I decided I’d spent enough time. Maybe I wasn’t as adventurous as I liked to think of myself.

Another strange feeling washed through me and I stiffened, slowly turning around.

The hulking bouncer stood with his massive arms folded, a scowl planted firmly on his oversized face. “Miss. I’m afraid you’re going to need to come with me.”

CHAPTER 19

Afew minutes earlier

Havros

“Our stocks have taken a direct hit,” Dimitrios stated as I walked into the office. He’d called the urgent meeting less than thirty minutes before. As expected, he was none too happy to deliver the news.

“As expected,” I told him. The press was already buzzing about Theo’s death. They’d also gotten wind the police had been to our office. The shit just might hit the fan if we weren’t careful. Our company was solvent, stocks now being publicly traded. It had been a decision we’d wrangled over for months, only making it recently.

In doing so, it had made us much more vulnerable to the press and to our stockholders, as well as with the board.

“I’m going to call an emergency meeting of the board. We need to get ahead of this.” Dimitrios was noticeably pissed. I couldn’tblame him. We would be railroaded into certain failure if this wasn’t handled correctly.

“At least we have majority control,” I said as I thought about the fact this had to be all about Bernardi. While he hadn’t made any overt threats, we’d made certain his business had been crushed in the process of killing his son-in-law. The situation had gotten messy and very petty.

“It’s already gone public,” Christos added. “I had a reporter contact me already.”

“Yeah, me too.” Dimitrios closed his eyes. “They know an American reporter gave you an alibi.”

“The fucking detectives,” I hissed. “They want us publicly crucified.”

“Undoubtedly. And my guess is they’ll look up her credentials and she’ll be exposed.”

I fisted my hand, anger sweeping through me. “Great. She doesn’t deserve to be dragged in the middle of this.”

“From what you told me on the phone, she did so herself. She’s aware of the risks, the exposure of your affair.”

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