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“No. You misunderstand me. It’s more like an extremely luxurious safe house.” Dragan studied her for a moment. “Say, for example, the head of a crime family of a certain city wants to hide from the police or some rival family. They can go to a Lock and Key Society location and be completely safe without taking their own security. They can bring their family as well. If they have children, teachers can be brought in so the kids don’t miss school. Whatever they want will be brought in to service their needs.”
He continued. “Say this person wants to meet with another crime head to sort out their issues. Lock and Key is a place where they can meet where no one else can overhear. If two rivals, criminal or political or whatever, show up, no one is allowed to touch the other. They must obey the house rules. Even non-members can be brought to certain spaces to meet with members. The Lock and Key Society will then provide security and guarantee the member’s safety. I assume there’s some kind of financial commitment that must be met so that the people in charge can run the society, but I have no details on that.”
Hawk cocked his head. “So, if you’re looking for a safe place to lie low, you go there.”
“If you’re a member,” Dragan agreed. “Or if you want to hold a sensitive political meeting and want to meet where no one will know, that’s the place. It’s more discreet than the members’ lounge at the United Nations.
It suddenly clicked for Hawk. “Or if you get shot and you need a doctor but can’t go to the hospital, you go to a Lock and Key site, and they take care of you?”
Dragan nodded.
“The shoe!” Remy’s eyes got big. “This man came into the shop, yelling that he had a shoe and I had to help him. He must have seen the logo on the sign outside. I had no idea what he was talking about, but he had to be looking for the Lock and Key Society. That’s what’s downstairs.”
Hawk didn’t say anything. He knew it would take Remy a minute to connect the rest of the dots, but the whole picture was crystal clear to him, and Remy really was in serious danger. A cold, hard ball of fear sat in the pit of his stomach.
“Wait,” she turned and looked at Hawk. “That means my grandfather must have, what? Ran the site? He let people in and down the staircase?”
Hawk nodded. “It would make sense.” The nightmare for Remy was only beginning. He mentally cursed her grandfather for dragging her into this. At least he should’ve had the decency to warn her.
“Dragan,” he said, “do you think that means Remy’s grandfather was also a member?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say there’s a possibility he was a member, but almost certainly an employee.”
Her eyes widened. “The money! That’s where it came from.”
Hawk knew she still wasn’t getting the full scope of things. He cursed silently again. “Remy,” he said quietly, “your grandfather must have been a member. Your shop was tossed twice and his apartment upstairs. People are looking for his token.”
Her mouth formed anO, then she clamped it shut again, and she closed her eyes. “Shit,” she said between clenched teeth. “Wait, why was he the first one to come in? My grandfather died six months ago. Shouldn’t someone have wandered in by now?”
It was a good point. “My guess is they must have some way to contact the members when sites close or something happens. The new shop with the same name opened around the block. My guess is he just got mixed up. Being stabbed will do that to you.” Hawk didn’t say it but he knew from experience.
“Do you think a lot of people will look for my grandfather’s token? How many times will my shop get tossed? When will this stop?”
Dragan locked gazes with Hawk. They were thinking the same thing. This wouldn’t be over until someone found the token. Remy would be in imminent danger, no matter where she was until the token was found. Hawk’s heartbeat ticked up in his chest as adrenaline surged through his veins. Remy was going to need serious protection. It was going to take all his skills to keep her safe but he for damn sure wasn’t going to let her out of his sight. Not for a moment if he could avoid it.
Remy looked up at Hawk. “Then I guess we have to find the token.”
He blinked.What? No way!“Um, Remy, I’m not sure you are understanding this.”
“I understand perfectly. My life will always be in danger until that token is found. Running won’t make that go away. If these tokens are as precious as Dragan says, then people will stop at nothing to get one. I’m not spending the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, waiting for someone to kill me for something I don’t have.”
CHAPTEREIGHT
“She’s right,” Mitch said. “People will come looking for the token, probably already have. They’re not going to believe she doesn’t have it. It’s better that she does have it, and if she wants to give it up, then she can. That should take the pressure off.”
Remy cocked her head. They were missing something. Who was she kidding? They were missing nearly everything, but something was niggling at her. What exactly… “Why did no one try and take my grandfather’s token until after he died, assuming he had one, of course?”
Hawk nodded. “Good point. Why did no one attack him for his token when he was alive?”
Dragan leaned on the bar. “What makes you think they didn’t?”
Remy snorted. “I think I would know if someone attacked my grandfather…” She let out a loud sigh. “Or, at least, I thought I would know.” Her body tensed painfully and her heart slammed against her rib cage. “Oh, my god! Do you think that’s what happened? That someone attacked him for his token, and that’s why he died?”
A wave of nausea rose in her belly. Had she let someone get away with killing her grandfather? The police had said he’d fallen off a ladder and hit his head on the shelving behind him, which then had knocked a bunch of books down on top of him. Did someone make that happen? Her stomach clenched and she fought down rising bile.
Logan immediately set a glass of amber liquid next to her water. “Take a drink. It’ll help.”
She took the glass and drank half of it. It burned all the way down, but he was right. The warmth spread in her stomach, unknotted it a bit and calmed her queasiness. She set the glass back on the bar. “Thanks.” She smiled weakly at him.
