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“And you two”—Archer nodded to Davis and Fisher— “were the instigators. You introduced Poppy to Davenport. Please don’t bother to deny it. You’ve both used Peter and Poppy on other occasions as well. A spot of blackmail, I believe.”
“Now you are all here because you’ve all broken the rules. Peter and Poppy very much so and the evidence is irrefutable. The rest of you, it’s nebulous at best but here’s the thing; I wanted you here so you can see what happens to members who break the rules.” He nodded to Cash.
Cash smiled and opened the door to admit four newcomers into the room. The men with Slavic tattoos on their necks were all large with rather beat-up-looking faces. They didn’t say a word, but Peter immediately swore and dropped his drink.
Poppy froze in place. “Archer,” she said, her face as white as a ghost’s, “please.”
Archer didn’t even blink. “You broke the rules.”
“Who are these men?” Davis asked as they cuffed Peter and threw a black bag over his head. The other two picked up the coffee table and moved it out of the way. Then they hauled Poppy to her feet and did the same to her.
“Archer, who are these men?” Davis demanded.
Fisher added. “What have you done?”
“You have all signed agreements,” Archer stated. “You know what happens if you break the rules. Peter and Poppy broke the rules. They will be punished accordingly. These men will see to that. They are from Albania. Peter and Poppy apparently pissed off the Albanians at some point during their long careers and they’ve been waiting a long time for a face-to-face chat.”
The Albanians walked the couple out of the room and Cash closed the door after them.
Cash had to hand it to Archer. When he went big, he did it with flair. Handing Peter and Poppy off to the Albanians was a brilliant move. Using Crosera to broker the deal had been a stroke of genius. The man got his membership and now he had an interest in seeing the Society succeed and he’s a fan of Archer. It was smart.
“Let this be a lesson to all of you. Davenport, you will leave tomorrow and not come back to the Society for a good long time. Davis and Fisher, tread very carefully.” That was all Archer said and then he started out of the room.
* * *
Anyone could have knocked Riss over with just a puff of air. What the actual fuck just happened? Archer gave Peter and Poppy who were spies to the Albanians. Un-fucking-believable. She got up, mildly surprised that her legs held her. “Dominick, an old fashioned please.”
“Make that two,” Eli Fisher said.
“Three,” Davis added. The two of them were still standing by the makeshift bar.
Davenport got up and came over. “Archer Gray needs to be stopped,”
“Now is not the time,” Davis growled.
Was she mistaken or did Davis’s accent slip? Dominick handed him his drink and Davis’s hand shook slightly. She hadn’t mistaken that one. These powerful men were as freaked out as she was. Well, they would be, because if Archer was to be believed, they’d all been breaking the rules.
Riss held the first sip of her drink on her tongue as she studied the men around her. They all looked a bit shell-shocked. She swallowed and took another sip of her drink and then decided maybe she’d go up to her room. She wanted the book but if Archer didn’t give it to her tomorrow, she was going home. Leave it in her rearview mirror and pretend the Lock and Key Society never happened. She’d tell her friends some story about how she found out about her sister and her family but she would forget about the rest. Forget about Cash. She snorted and coughed to cover it. There was no way she’d forget Cash, but she’d get over him eventually, wouldn’t she?
“Ms. Day?” Archer said from the doorway.
She found herself admiring the man’s lethal grace as he crossed the room. She had to clamp her jaws together to keep her teeth from chattering. This man scared the crap out of her now. And to think she’d called him all manner of names. Yeah, won’t be doing that again.
Archer extended the leather-bound bible toward her. “This is yours. I managed to do what we discussed without causing too much damage. I hope you find the answers you seek.”
She took it from him and met his gaze. She had the strangest urge to give the man a hug. Not something that immediately came to mind when she saw Archer Gray, especially not after what just happened, but she did it anyway. She didn’t know who was more shocked by it, her or Archer, or everyone else in the room.
Archer waited calmly until she’d moved away and simply said, “You’re welcome.” Then he turned and left.
“What is that, if you don’t mind me askin’?” Davis said.
And the accent was back. “My biological family bible. Our family tree. I was adopted so I never got to meet any of them, but this will hopefully give me a window into their lives.”
Fisher glanced at the book. “They’re all dead?”
She nodded. “Alicia was the only other surviving member.” She touched her pendant. “Now at least I get to learn a bit about them.” She offered the men a smile. “If you gentlemen will excuse me, I think I’ll spend the night reading.”
She turned and walked out into the hallway.
