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She followed him down a short hallway and stepped into a conference room. Dante assured her Archer would be there momentarily. She’d just taken a seat when Archer entered the room, followed by Cash.
She shot to her feet, glared at Cash, and then demanded, “I want my family bible back.”
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Day, but I cannot return it to you.” Archer faced her with a placid expression.
“You admit you have it.”
“Yes, of course,” he agreed as if she just asked him for a pen.
She planted both hands on the table and glared at him. “Give it back. You stole it from me. It’s mine.”
“I truly am sorry. I know how frustrating this must be for you?—”
“You don’t know jack shit about it!” she said raising her voice. “It’s mine, goddammit and I want it back! My sister died trying to get it! So don’t tell me you know how frustrated I am. Just give me the fucking book,” she snarled.
Archer’s face remained blank but his eyes blazed. Clearly, he did not like being yelled at. Too fucking bad.
“I cannot give you the book. It represents a hazard to the Society. I can’t in all good conscience?—"
“You can shove your conscience up your fuckin’—"
“Riss!” Cash growled. “Calm down.”
“Don’t you tell me to calm down, asshole. You fucked my brains out just to steal my book. I want it back. Now!”
Cash stood beside Archer. “Tell her,” he said.
Archer sighed. “I was trying but she kept interrupting.”
“She’s going to let you explain now, aren’t you, Riss.” He glared at her.
She wanted to flatten his nose. To knee him in the nuts so hard that he doubled over in pain. That’s what it had felt like when she found the book was gone this morning. She wanted him to know what that was like. But Archer’s green eyes were sending her dark looks and there was nothing stopping him from taking her out if she got too annoying. So, she swallowed her temper and bit her tongue.
Archer began again. “Ms. Day, the book references the Society. Your great-grandfather was a founding member. He described this in the family bible. I cannot let it out of my sight. If someone got a hold of it and then told a reporter or an influencer or even posted it online themselves, it would mean the end of the Society as we know it and it could hurt a lot of people. I truly am sorry but once Alicia stirred things up, I couldn’t in good conscience leave it alone. I had to have the book.”
All the air whooshed out of Riss’s lungs. Her knees wobbled and she was forced to drop onto the closest chair. “Did you kill Alicia?” she whispered.
“No,” Archer shook his head. “Cash tried to protect her, but she was a very headstrong woman. She thought she could take care of herself.” He gave a small smile. “Something that seems to run in the family.”
“Riss,” Cash started, “I have put the word out to several people, including Umberti, that we have the book. This means you should be safe. Whoever is after the book will either come after Archer or go away entirely. I suspect the latter. I believe they wanted the bible to blackmail Archer with. Now that isn’t possible. But there’s no way we can let you have it. It would be too dangerous for the Society, but also for you.”
Riss sat there stunned. Did he really think she was buying this shit? After everything that he did, there was no way she was trusting him. “So, you’re keeping my only connection to my family from me because it’s better for me? How fucking stupid do you think I am? It’s better for you, not me. Don’t dress up a pig and try and sell it as beef.”
“Larissa,” Cash growled again.
From his deathly quiet tone, she knew she was pushing her luck with these men, but she was desperate. She needed that book. It was her only link to finding out who she was. Her only path to not being locked out of her past. “Cut it out.”
“What?” Cash stared at her.
“Cut out the part about the Society. I don’t care but give me the rest of the book. I need that book.”
Cash and Archer exchanged a look. Archer narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re offering a fair solution. Let me look into it, Riss.” Look at him using her first name to butter her up. Dickhead! “If it’s possible to return most of the book to you, I will do so. That’s all I can agree to for now.”
It wasn’t much but she’d take it. She didn’t have a choice. “Fine.” She stood. “And when do you think you’ll know?”
Archer sighed. “It might take a day or so, but I will do my best to solve this as quickly as possible. You have my word.”
She nodded like that meant something to her, but it didn’t. After what Cash did, none of this meant anything to her except the family bible. Once she had that back, she would leave here and stay as far away as possible from anything to do with the Lock and Key Society. She moved past the two men, taking exaggerated care to avoid touching either of them.
