“Let’s get you inside. I’ll ask the doorman if anyone tried to get access to our place or if he’s seen anyone hanging around. Sam is probably pissed off that we filed with the court first and that it’s not a slam dunk like he thought it would be,” Reign said.
Before entering, Reign took out his phone and snapped photos of Sam. This move caused Sam to scowl before lumbering off into the crowd. I went in ahead of Reign.
Our first stop was the main desk. The man on duty denied that anyone had come in asking for either of us. However, when he was shown the picture Reign just took, he confirmed he’d noticed the same man walking by the building a few times. When he asked if he should call the police, both of us said no.
In our apartment, I felt better behind the locked door and with the alarm armed. We grabbed something to drink and then sat down with my laptop. An email was drafted and sent off to Sophia. The picture was attached. Tomorrow would be soon enough for her to reply. She’d told us to document and send her every little thing Sam did.
The court date to present both sides to a judge was three weeks away. I wasn’t thrilled about waiting. I wanted someone in authority to prove Sam had no standing. Sophia said more than once that there had been no breach.
At least I didn’t have to worry about texts and phone calls. I’d blocked Sam and everyone in my family except Mom. He hadn’t emailed, but I’d block him there if he did. My stomach tightened as I wondered how much more he would do before the meeting with the judge. Sophia seemed certain that we’d win and there would be nothing to worry about, other than maybe an order of protection to keep Sam away from me. If necessary, the same would be done for Dad and Arish. However, I prayed for it all to end. To distract me, Reign had a request.
“Let’s see if we can get a hold of Iker. If we can, we’ll find out when it’s a good time to have the dinner Kathlyn wants. Maybe we can combine it with one so we can spend time with the Lustz crew. Do you think your mom will lose her mind if you tell her I’m leading her darling daughter astray? I’m corrupting you after all. Her sweet, innocent daughter has never let someone tie her up or drag her to a kink club to watch all kinds of deviant acts.”
His face was full of laughter, and he kept wiggling his eyebrows at me. I playfully shoved him.
“I’m not that innocent. Maybe you’ll be shocked to discover Mom and I are alike in that way, too.”
“Oh damn, don’t say that. I’ve seen Poe checking her out. If Kathlyn is like you and Lustz appeals to her, Iker will be all over that. He’s been trying to find someone for a while.”
“Whoa, wait, we’re not setting my mom up with anyone. She hasn’t even made up her mind about my dad. And even if she does divorce him, she’ll need time to recover,” I warned.
“I’m just covering bases, babe.”
His words stuck with me as we called Iker. Iker answered on the third ring.
“Hey, man, how are you? Is everything okay?”
“We’re fine. You’re on speaker with Anastasia. What the hell are you doing? Lounging in bed? You sound sleepy,” Reign countered.
Iker chuckled. “Hell no, I’m not in bed. I’ve been up, working since six this morning. Good morn…I mean, afternoon, Stasia. You two been up to anything fun this morning?”
“Hi, Iker. We’ve just returned from brunch, which was excellent,” I answered.
“Is it that one a few blocks from your place, Reign?” he asked.
“Yep, that’s the one. And she’s right. It was amazing. However, we’re not calling you about the food. There are two things, one disturbing and one good, we want to speak to you about,” Reign told him.
“Hit me,” was all Iker said back.
“First, when we returned home, after over an hour of walking around after brunch, Sia caught sight of Sameer Joshi. He was standing two buildings down from ours, staring. I took a picture of the creep. He walked off after I did. The security guard at the desk said no one had asked to be buzzed up to us, but he’d seen Sam walking by more than a few times.
“I know when Stasia is without me, you have one of your people watching over her. And the same is happening withher mom. Have any of them mentioned seeing Sam or Sia’s estranged family members lurking?” Reign asked.
He held my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. There was a several-second delay before Iker answered him.
“I was waiting to talk to you about this tomorrow. Stasia, I don’t want to add to your stress.” Iker stopped.
“I’m stressed no matter what,” I informed him.
“Iker, just tell us. I don’t keep stuff from her,” Reign advised.
“That’s a healthy relationship. Good for you. So, there have been sightings of mainly Savar and Arish Shah outside your townhome, Stasia. They haven’t approached it, but they spend time sitting in a car, watching. Anytime they’ve gotten out of their vehicles, whoever is on duty makes their presence known. Your family is waiting for a hole in her protection so they can approach. Their behavior isn’t a surprise, honestly.
“What is more disturbing is Sameer Joshi. You know me, Reign. I like to know who I’m dealing with. I had my people, with a little help of the biker variety, check into Stasia’s family and this Sam guy.
“Your family is aboveboard, Stasia, just not part of this century with their antiquated thinking. No shady deals or anything like that have been found. The same can’t be said of Sam. He’s a lawyer at the same firm as your brother. It appears there have been oddities there for the past two years. Money that seems to disappear. Cases that should’ve been slam-dunk wins ended up as losses and vice versa. Client contracts with terms that turn out not to be what was agreed upon. Those are the ones that I recall.
“Now, so far, nothing has directly tied them to Sam, but he’s always been at least in the periphery somewhere. The excuses or explanations are very plausible. He’s been making bigmoves, and the rumor is he’s on track to be made a partner. Your brother is already a partner.
