Page 70 of Cease and Desist

“I’m looking for the blond man. He caught my eye. I think he’s at the very least someone’s security, if not a society member himself. I need to find him again.”

Mitch cut in. “What does he look like?”

“Blond. Over six feet. Slim build. Mid to late thirties. There. By the bar.” Hawk started moving toward a statue on the left to give him cover. He glanced over at Remy. She seemed to be holding her own, which wasn’t surprising. Najeddine was looking at her chest. Hawk fisted his hands. When someone bumped into him, he swung around, ready to address any threat, but realized the woman was just an art lover. When he turned back around, he couldn’t see Remy anymore, but the blond man was moving away from the bar. Where the hell was he going?

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

“I’m sorry. I don’t believe I know you,” Remy said once she found her voice again and pulled her hand from his grasp.

“Come now, you must know who I am.”

“Er, no, sorry. I’m finding that my grandfather had many friends I didn’t know about.”

Najeddine chuckled. “I’m sure that’s true. Well, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Asad Najeddine.”

She nodded. “Mr. Najeddine, how did you know my grandfather?”

“Please call me Asad. Your grandfather and I were in the same social club, I guess we’ll call it.”

Remy tried to look mystified, but it was hard. She wanted to smash the guy’s face in. She also wanted to wash her hands.

“I see, and what club would that be?” she asked with a smile.

He shook his head. “Come now. You know exactly what I’m talking about. You had the key after all. And now I have it.”

The look of triumph in his eyes made her seethe. “Oh, I see. So, it was you who held me hostage? I’m afraid I didn’t see my captor’s face.”

He frowned. “I do apologize for that, my dear.” He offered her a small bow, which was supposed to be respectful, but since his eyes wandered down to her boobs and stayed there, it was hard to find it anything but gross. “It was not I who did that necessary but unfortunate task. I’m sure it was unpleasant.”

“On a scale of one to ten, being dangled by your ankles over the side of a six-storey building is a negative five-hundred. How are your other men from the roof? The ones that didn’t try to drop me off the edge.”Two could play this game, asshole.

“My men are all fine.” His face had gone hard. “Their actions were necessary to retrieve the key. Surely you can see that.”

She shrugged. “You could have just asked. You never know what could have happened.”

Najeddine’s smile was cruel as Alex, masquerading as a server, approached with more champagne. Alex offered the tray to Remy. She put down her empty one—how had that happened?—and picked up a full one. Najeddine did the same. Alex gave her a wink and disappeared back through the crowd with Najeddine’s fingerprints on the champagne glass.

She reached out and touched his arm. “Tell me, Asad, why did you need the key so badly?”

He narrowed his eyes at her as if trying to discover a motive for her question. “I would like a seat on the board.”

“I see. And what does that give you?” She was genuinely curious. “You’re already a member so what is the extra benefit of being on the board?”

He seemed to sense this. “You really have no idea, do you?”

She shook her head. “Why don’t you enlighten me?”

“Power. It is the key to riches and power.”

So Gage had been right. The people after the key were all already members of the society. They just wanted…more. “I see. My understanding was that you are quite powerful already.”

Najeddine smiled. “So, you do know who I am.”

She gave a small shrug. “A woman likes to know about the man who intended great bodily harm to her. But seriously, Asad, I know you’re already a powerful man.” She reached out and touched his arm again. “So, why do you need more power? What exactly does the key give you?”

He leaned in slightly. “It is the power to make decisions and the protection of the society that makes the key so very valuable.” He grabbed her hand and put it over his arm and placed his hand on top of hers. “You see, your grandfather did you a great disservice by not allowing you to join the society sooner.”

“How so?” She moved along with him, taking small steps and watching out for anything that looked out of the ordinary. Lacy was off to her right. She lost Hawk behind some statue. Gage, Mitch, and Logan probably had eyes on her, but she couldn’t confirm without drawing attention to them.

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