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Cash braced himself. “Membership.”
Archer’s jaw clenched. “So, he knows about the Society and wants in. Not out of the realm of possibility.”
Cash was stunned. He thought Archer would go ballistic when he found out Crosera knew about the Society.
“You’re surprised.” Archer cocked his head in a come-on-man manner. “I would have to be stupid to believe that no one on the outside knows about the Society. A great deal of people know but the vast majority of them know how and why they need to keep their mouth shut. Those who don’t, don’t live long. Crosera wanting in doesn’t bother me. It’s a small price to pay for getting the bible back. If it fell into a reporter’s hands or some internet blogger trying to make a name for themselves? It would be all over for us. All of us. The Society is, in many ways, just a house of cards, waiting to fall at the first sign of the slightest breeze. You, Rush, Flynn, Ryker, and I are some of the only things providing a windbreak.”
Cash stared at Archer. “I never thought of it that way.”
Archer waved his hand. “None of this helps solve the mystery of who among our guests is so desperate to risk their lives. Nor does it help us determine if they will have any effect on the Davenport-Li meeting.”
“And,” Cash continued, “does it have anything to do with why Li broke the rules and brought a weapon into the house.”
Archer grunted. “Yes, there’s that as well. And Fisher and Austin are here. They knew about the meeting and purposely wanted to fly over with me as if they knew I was coming even before I did.”
Cash played with his cup some more. “I would be more than happy to take care of those two. It would be one of my fondest pleasures although I think Rush and Ryker in particular would like to be part of that scenario. I can have them here by dinnertime.”
The smile Archer cracked achieved something rarely seen: it reached his eyes. “As much as that would give me great pleasure as well, I cannot allow it unless they have broken one of the more serious rules.”
“Like break into another guest’s room?” Cash suggested.
“If only.” Archer let out a sigh. “Still, you can question them about it. Every guest must be questioned. You don’t have to be polite about it, but nothing physical. At least not yet. We need to find the culprit first.”
Cash grinned. “Not exactly the best option but not bad either. I will enjoy chatting with them in the morning.” The smile slid off his face as his thoughts turned to Riss. “In the meantime, I have to figure out what to do about Riss. Currently Biscotti is keeping her company, but I can’t very well depend on the dog to keep her safe for the next few days.”
“No, I guess not. Pitch me some ideas in the morning and we’ll discuss.” He glanced at his watch. “Go get a couple of hours sleep. We’ll meet back here at seven.”
Cash knew when he’d been dismissed. “See you in a few hours.”
Archer looked over at him. “Cash, I want you to know that what happened tonight in no way reflects on your work. There is no way you could have foreseen that a guest would attempt to break into another guest’s room. Not once, but two different times. It’s practically unheard of.”
“Yes, but it shouldn’t have been possible and that is on me. My job is to expect the unexpected and in that I failed.”
Archer dismissed that idea with the wave of his hand. “By that logic I should be able to stop all kinds of things from happening but in reality, I can’t even stop some assholes from catching a ride on my airplane. It is what it is. We are limited by the rules. We expect others to follow those rules. You can’t possibly guess when people are willing to break them. Now go, get some sleep.”
Cash left the security area and went back up the stairs. He paused on the landing for the second floor. He could go check on Riss. It would make him feel better but if he did that, he knew he wouldn’t leave. He’d spend the rest of the night making her forget the whole incident. Just the thought of it made his dick twitch to attention. He ignored the tug beneath his belt and went up to the third floor. It wasn’t going to help him any to be that involved with Riss. It hadn’t helped him save her sister and he didn’t have any kind of emotional pull with Alicia. Riss already had him tied in knots and he had no clue why.
He got to his room, shucked his clothes and crawled into bed. He stared into the darkness. Who would want to break into Riss’s room? Someone looking for the Fitzgerald family bible. That was the logical explanation, but could there be another reason? Maybe.
He closed his eyes. Davenport and Li had to be his primary focus right now. He would suggest they move their meeting up to later today. The sooner he could get that out of the way, the sooner he could focus on Riss’s problem.
Tucking one hand beneath his head, he mused about his day. He used to think working for Archer and the Society was fun. It allowed him to use his skills without getting in trouble, but lately the appeal had been waning. He found himself doing more and more mundane crap. Flynn had been sent to investigate ghosts. Ghosts. He snorted. He’d enjoyed ribbing his teammate about it.
His cell lit up. “Speak of the devil,” he muttered when he saw that he’d gotten a text from Flynn.
Heard you were playing secretary in Venice. Setting up meetings and taking notes. Don’t forget to ask if they want one lump or two.
Fuckin’ hilarious but it had put a smile on his face which was what he needed.
He typed out a reply. I’ll be sure to ask. I hear Casper is calling. You two good for lunch next week? Want me to make reservations?
He included a ghost emoji and sent the text. The guys on the team were one of the only things that made it worth it these days. That, and living. They weren’t allowed to leave. Leaving meant death.
When he’d signed on to the Society, that didn’t seem like a bad option. He’d been through war and it was hell. He hadn’t expected to live but he did much to his surprise. The fact that there was no retirement, only death, hadn’t bothered him. He’d been totally okay with it. Now? He wasn’t sure. It wasn’t that he was afraid of death or anything but just that maybe he still had some living to do.
Last year when he’d first had an inkling that he might want a life after the Society, he’d put together an escape plan. He suspected maybe the other guys on the team had done something similar. It had taken him ten months to come up with a solid idea and put everything in place. He could pull the trigger on it whenever he liked. It was a comforting thought. He just had to get through this ordeal and then maybe… Maybe Riss would come with him.
His eyes popped open. Where the hell had that thought come from? Fuck. He needed to get his shit together. Dreaming about Riss would only make him lose focus and losing focus would end up getting him and possibly others killed. Distractions make you dead. And that just wasn’t an option.
