AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cash cleared his throat. Archer met his gaze and nodded once. Archer turned to Davis. “Give us the room.”
“He can stay.” Davenport was seated at the desk in the corner, looking like a CEO addressing his minions. “I have nothing to hide.”
Li, who was standing across the desk from him, frowned but nodded his agreement.
Cash was sure Archer’s teeth ground together. Kind of felt bad for the man’s dentist.
Archer demanded, “What did you find, Cash?”
“A small knife built into the sole of every pair of Davenport’s dress shoes. Presumably, that includes the pair he has on now.” Cash gestured to the man’s feet beneath the desk.
Every eye in the room turned to study the man’s shoes.
Davenport balked. “That’s for personal protection. I’m entitled to protect myself.” He pointed at Li. “He had a knife in his USB stick.”
“Also, for personal protection,” Li acknowledged. “And after a discussion with Mr. Gray, I relinquished it quite happily. I trust Mr. Gray’s security to keep me safe. Now, however, I’m having second thoughts.”
Archer wasn’t taking any shit. “Both of you broke the rules. We have a serious policy against weapons on the premises. We trust our members to abide by them. No one’s personal security is entering this or any other Society location.” Archer’s voice brooked no argument.
“His personal secretary killed Vanessa,” Davenport thundered.
“Which was done off Society property and is no business of ours,” Archer responded.
Alarm bells rang in Cash’s brain. How the hell did Davenport know about Li’s weapon and that Li’s secretary was the man who’d killed Vanessa? Very few people knew that. He’d personally checked the room before and after the meeting, so it wasn’t like Davenport could have left a listening device. How the hell was he getting his information?
Davenport put his hands on his hips. “But the body was left in the back garden.”
“Yes. Mr. Li asked a favor. Help with disposal. I allowed it as he is a valued member of the Society. Should you have any bodies to dispose of, I would offer to help with those as well.”
Nice save. No way was Li going to counter that statement and bring more grief on his head.
Archer was one of the fastest thinkers on his feet Cash had ever seen. Always two steps ahead.
Archer had remained calm during this entire exchange even if his eyes shot daggers. “Now, gentlemen, you are both guilty of breaking a very serious rule, and I?—”
“These men are busy, important people who are always under threat,” Davis began, “surely you can look the other way on this situation.”
Archer stared Davis down and cocked an eyebrow. “Senator Davis, you’ve been complaining about the lax state of things for a while now. I would think you, of all members, would want me to enforce all the rules.”
“Surely in this situation, you could be more flexible. I would consider it a personal favor.”
Cash wondered what those words cost Davis. Dude’s face looked like he’d just sucked a lemon.
Archer folded his arms across his chest and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine, as a favor to Senator Davis, I will not punish either of you for your infraction. However, I think it would be best for everyone if you both left the premises immediately. Maybe, for a while, take a breather from the Society to rethink how you want to proceed.”
Mr. Li gave a slight bow. “Thank you, Mr. Gray. I appreciate your understanding. I will be leaving this afternoon.”
“Wait a minute—” Davenport began but Davis cut him off.
“Derek, maybe it’s best for the time being,” Davis suggested.
Davenport shot him a look and then he glared at Archer. If Cash didn’t know better, he’d think the man was panicking about something. “Fine. I need until tomorrow. I have several things to do today including a meeting with the Senator and Eli Fisher. I would like to conduct them on-site. I’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
Archer nodded. “Acceptable. I expect all you gentlemen to behave properly, or I will start enforcing all the rules. I can assure you, no one will like that.” He shot a look at Davis a hard look, glanced at the other two, and then left the room.
Cash followed him out.
“Keep an eye on them until Li leaves. Pay attention to the meeting with the three musketeers and for fuck’s sake find out how he knew all that shit.”
