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"Did you tell him to go to hell?" Khalid asked with vicious politeness.
"I informed him once again that you have been quite busy. " Abdul cleared his throat uncomfortably. "He seemed upset. More so than usual. "
The son of a bitch called in a show of fatherly concern whenever Ayid and Aman were about to do something foul to him. If he needed confirmation that his brothers were ready to move, then this was it.
God, he wanted it over with. There were nights he actually managed to convince himself that he could fund the death of the old bastard and the sons that were no more than animals. And he would have, many times over, if his hand hadn't been stayed by the FBI.
"If he calls again, tell him I regretfully decline kinship with him and would prefer that he lay down and die painfully," he stated wearily. "In the meantime, please contact the estate and have my attire for the Sinclair ball laid out. It seems I'll be attending after all. "
Chapter 5
The Sinclair balls were impossible to ignore, especially for those who were a part of the Sinclair club, or who knew Courtney. Members of the club were given a personal invitation by Ian Sinclair, with several reminders not to forget his wife's ball. Those who didn't attend endured his glares for weeks.
Married or single, the members knew better than to miss one. If there was one weekness Ian had, it was his delicate little wife and anything her merciless heart desired.
The end-of-summer event was in full swing when Khalid arrived, alone.
He moved across the ballroom to the bar on the far side and ordered a drink stiff enough to burn through the hunger riding him as he searched for Marty and Shayne. Apparently they hadn't arrived yet.
"Khalid, thank you so much for being here. "
Turning, he accepted the fierce hug from the petite sprite dressed in red. Courtney smiled up at him. Behind her stood her brooding husband, Ian. And Ian always brooded whenever his wife was surrounded by hungry males. At least, that was how he described them.
"I only obey the commands given," Khalid assured her, grinning, as she pouted back at him impudently, her chocolate-brown eyes gleaming with impish delight. "Though, I have to admit, your buffet is better than most. "
"Ian, he's being mean to me," she complained, frowning back at her husband.
"Stop being mean to Courtney, Khalid," Ian ordered, with a mock glare that had his wife pressing her elbow sharply into his hard abs.
Khalid grinned at the move, though his gaze roved the ballroom, searching, as always, for that one delicate figure. If he hadn't needed to discuss the situation with Ian, then he would have never allowed Shayne to pick up Marty for the party tonight.
"I need to talk to you a moment, if you don't mind. " Khalid stepped forward, his voice low as he drew Ian's attention.
"Of course. My study?" Ian nodded to the smaller doorway leading from the ballroom.
The newly constructed mansion boasted two stories and two wings. The shorter wing housed the ballroom and Ian's offices, while the main house occupied the larger wing.
Following Ian through a short hall, Khalid stepped into the study while he the other man watched him curiously.
"Courtney and her parties. " Ian sighed as he strode to the small bar in the corner of the room and fixed two whiskeys. "I swear, you'd think they were world events the way she plots and plans around them. "
"For Courtney, they usually are," Khalid drawled, accepting the drink.
"I believe Sebastian has been telling us all horror stories about the balls she and her mother used to throw. "
Sebastian had known Courtney before her arrival in Virginia nearly two years earlier. Before she had made the decision to win the elusive Ian Sinclair's heart.
She had stolen Ian's heart, and the friendship of everyone else she had touched since then. That didn't mean they didn't live in fear of her disapproval. Or her anger. She had a temper that could make a grown man whimper in fear.
Ian tugged at the tight neck of his evening shirt and shook his head.
"You wanted to discuss Courtney's predilection to overdramatize her parties, or was there something more on your mind?" Ian asked as he walked to the desk and sat down, with a long, drawn-out sigh.
"Actually, there was more on my mind. " Khalid shoved his hands in the pockets of his tuxedo pants before turning and pacing to the French doors that opened out into Courtney's personal gardens. "A situation has developed. I may need to make use of the club for a short time. And there could be some problems involved in it. "
"What sort of problems?" Ian kicked his feet up on the corner of the desk as he leaned back in the chair, with the air of a man taking advantage of a small reprieve.
"I may need a place to run to. " Khalid turned around, rubbing at his neck as he watched the other man carefully.
