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Kairo glanced at it, turning it over a couple of times. “Maybe a safe deposit box, but not one at a bank. Private,” he mumbled to himself. “Ed, make a copy.” He flipped the key and Edison expertly snatched it out of the air as he walked by him, heading toward the door. Kairo grinned at Ehren. “We’re going to have a copy made as a precaution. Just in case we lose the original or if we need some bait.”
“Okay. That’s fine with me.”
“I’m also searching your uncle’s old bank records, trying to see if he rented space in one of those high-end storage places that would know how to properly keep art.”
“Because many things need to be protected from the sun, humidity, and temperature,” he explained, earning another nod from Kairo. “I guess the art collection isn’t so strange, but I don’t understand who’s after the art. Other than the key, there’s no proof the collection exists.”
“But the promise of several hundred million dollars can be enough incentive for some people to take drastic means.”
“And that’s right up Umar Sahin’s alley,” West interjected ominously.
“Who? I don’t know any Umar Sahin.”
“That’s a good thing,” Charlie said in a hard voice. “He’s a nasty piece of work. Runs a crime family that’s largely based in Istanbul, but it’s got fingers through all of Turkey, parts of the Middle East, and some of Eastern Europe.”
“I caught a picture of the first man who was following you using one of the security cameras outside your building. The guy is one of Sahin’s muscles and a known killer. He was probably the one who broke into your apartment.”
“How did you get his picture when the police got nothing?”
Kairo grinned. “Because I also checked the cameras of the neighboring buildings. The man was smart enough to avoid your building’s cameras, but not the others close by.”
Ehren glanced over at Stephen, whose expression was growing grimmer by the second. “I like your friends much better than the cops.”
Stephen managed a small smile and then turned his attention to his brother. “So, this Sahin wants the art Ehren inherited. How do we get him to leave Ehren alone? Do we have to catch him actively trying to hurt Ehren to get the police involved?”
“Preferably not,” Charlie grumbled.
“The first step is going to be locating the collection,” Kairo said.
“Sahin and his men will come to us after that,” West added, confirming the fear that had started to crawl through Ehren’s stomach.
“I don’t like this,” Stephen growled.
Charlie leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and held Stephen’s gaze with a hard one of his own. “I’m not going to let anything happen to Ehren or you. I swear it. You stick with us. Do what we say. You both will be fine.”
“I’m holding you to that promise,” Stephen replied.
The door opened and Edison stepped into the room, breaking up the tense moment. He crossed to Ehren and held out the key. “Copy has been made. You can put the original with your other keys.”
Ehren accepted it and started working it back on the ring. “That was really fast.”
“I made an imprint in putty. We can use that to make lots of copies later,” Edison said with a grin.
“What’s the next step?” Stephen asked.
“The next step is that you both catch up on some sleep,” Charlie answered.
“We need to do more research on the key and on Sahin, but I think we should have a lead soon,” Kairo continued. “Worst-case scenario, we’ll need any papers of your uncle’s that you saved.”
“Sounds good. I could totally use a shower and sleep,” Ehren said, finishing with a yawn. His brain was awake and rushing with thought, but his body was drained. He had a feeling standing under the hot water for five minutes and the touch of a soft pillow would put him right out.
Stephen nodded and stood. He turned and held his hand out to Ehren. “I’ll walk you over to our room.”
After a quick good-bye, they crossed the hall and stepped into the peaceful quiet of their shared room. Ehren immediately turned and wrapped his arms around Stephen’s middle, hugging him gently. “It’s going to be all right.”
Stephen huffed a soft laugh. “I think that’s supposed to be my line.”
“Maybe, but you’re worried and that makes me worried about you.”
Stephen shifted, putting enough space between them so he could look at Ehren’s face in the low light. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. What about you? All of this?”
Ehren slid his hands up and down Stephen’s back, enjoying being able to touch him like this. After everything, it was hard to believe they’d known each other barely a week, that little things like touching Stephen when he wanted was still new. “I won’t lie and say I’m not scared. This shit is crazy. A secret art collection? A crime boss?”
