AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“A prince?” I say, tongue in cheek, ignoring his concerns, even though he’s not wrong about all of it. “Rafael would be chuffed to hear you say it. He thinks he’s a damn king.”
“Not yet he isn’t. Almost. But not yet.” My father takes a sip of his gin and tonic. “A king wouldn’t be sitting in the back of an SUV in the parking lot. Or at least he wouldn’t allow himself to be spotted.”
Wait a second. “Rafael’s outside?”
My father nods. “My guys caught his reflection in the window when the female guard opened the SUV door.”
For a moment, I’m annoyed he didn’t trust I could handle this problem. But my father isn’t an ordinary problem. He’s the mother of all problems.
If Rafael wanted to control the situation, he could have just told me that it was too big a risk to meet my father, and I probably wouldn’t have come, or he could have insisted on joining us, adding a measure of safety that I could touch. But he let me negotiate the land mine, staying far enough back that I have to do the heavy lifting, but close enough that if my father decides to force me back to London, he can intervene. There’s actually something empowering about it. I try not to smile, but I can’t help myself.
“You’re not going to press me any further about whether he’s holding me against my wishes?”
He narrows his eyes. “Is he?”
I shake my head.
“I didn’t think so. I might be out of my league when it comes to spirited daughters, but I know the measure of a man. I also know you well-enough to know that you’d cut off his balls if he tried something like that.”
“You can count on it. I am your daughter, after all.”
My father’s phone rings while we’re laughing. He excuses himself to take the call, and I send my king a message.
Lexie: It’s all good here. But you’ve been made.
Rafael: I was never trying to hide my presence from your father. You’re not being forced back to London on my watch.
Oh, Rafael. I’m liking this thing with you, whatever it is, too much—way too much.
Lexie: I hope you’ve had a good rest, because the thank-you I have in mind requires a lot of stamina.
Rafael: I told you I’d always be there for you, Angel. They weren’t just words.
Rafael: I hope that thank-you involves you getting on your knees without too much back talk. On second thought ...
46
RAFAEL
Will didn’t try to take Lexie back to London on Sunday, which not only made my night sweeter, but also makes my life a hell of a lot easier. Going to war with him is not something I relish. I didn’t think he’d actually force her onto a plane, but I won’t gamble on anything when it comes to her.
Other than that, not a damn thing has gone my way. Dead traffickers, homemade incendiary devices tossed at the club, and Scott Bancroft pulling shit that he’s going to regret, and the icing on the cake? Accusing Marco of being a thief.
I’m still not sure what to do about that, but it’s been eating at me for days. Every time I see Valentina, I brace myself for an earful, but so far nothing.
“Do we have absolute confirmation that Scott Bancroft is behind the offshore account?” I ask Tamar and Lucas.
“We have absolute confirmation that it initiated with someone at the highest levels of the company,” Tamar replies. “It’s impossible to know who exactly.”
“That’s good enough for me. I want you to walk me through how they did it, step by step. I want to understand it cold before I meet with him tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Zé’s eyes are trained on mine. “In the US?”
I nod. “Tomorrow. In the US. Noelia arranged the meeting. I want to put him on notice before he pulls any other shit.” Before this is over, he’s going to rue the day he fucked with me.
“What time do we leave?” Zé asks, pulling out his phone.
“We don’t leave. You’re not much more tech savvy than I am.” I glance at my head of IT. “I’m taking Tamar.”
