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She got into the shower and groaned aloud when the hot spray hit her aching muscles. With all the cleaning and running and lack of sleep, her body felt like she was ninety. She let the heat work its magic while she shampooed her hair.
Besides, she continued her train of thought, weren’t one-night stands what men really wanted? All the dates she’d gone on in the last year seemed to be that way, so much so she’d stopped going. She massaged her scalp harder, working up a lather, physically and emotionally. She didn’t want a one-night stand. She wanted more but only with someone who wouldn’t break her heart and leave her alone. Hawk was not that person. Sure, he was helping her now but when this mystery was sorted, he’d be gone and she’d be alone again.
No, sex with Hawk had been a bad idea that seemed like a great idea when she’d been in the moment. Now she had to get over it.
There was a more pressing question than why the hell had she slept with Hawk. What did she want to do with her life? Now that she knew where the money came from, she had to decide if she wanted to spend any of it. Was it blood money? Who the fuck was she kidding? She was going to spend it, and it was blood money. Her family’s blood, by the sounds of things. And their sweat and tears. Four generations of her family were all locked up in this. She was going to take that money and run.
She rinsed her hair and then massaged in conditioner. But where to go? Where could she run that they’d never find her? The Lock and Key Society was a global organization. There was no safe corner of the earth until they had this figured out. As Hawk had pointed out, maybe she’d always be perceived as a threat.Great. She may never be truly safe. She might always have to travel with security.
Hawk would keep her safe if they traveled. She could picture them sightseeing all over Europe. Discovering little shops together and great hole-in-the-wall restaurants all the while he would make sure she was okay.
Stop!Getting attached to Hawk was not an option. He was helping her now, but once this was done, it wasn’t like he was going to stick around. He was thinking about getting back into the personal security game, about joining Callahan Security. Hadn’t he said this was sort of a trial run for him? Once this adventure was over, he’d want to move on to other adventures, and quite possibly other women. Seriously, what did she know about him?
She finished rinsing her hair and then turned off the spray. After grabbing a towel, she patted her skin to dry off.
Nope, the smart play was to keep it more professional from now on. Sex with the man had been amazing, but it would only interfere with things in the long run. She’d end up being the one to get hurt. Keeping Hawk at a distance from now on was going to suck, but it was better to rip the band-aid off now before it got too sticky and dirty and ending up hurting her more than it helped.
She got dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue sweater. Hawk had good taste in clothes. Just because she wanted to cool things off didn’t mean she didn’t want to look her best. She pulled her wet hair into a bun and secured it in place. Then she put on a bit of mascara and eyeliner that Hawk had so kindly purchased. Instead of thinking it was because Hawk thought she looked so bad, Remy would instead consider them a gift for scaring her to death.She tried to downplay the dark circles under her eyes, but she hadn’t found concealer or foundation among the other toiletries. At this rate, she could be mistaken for a raccoon.
Finally, she stepped back and studied at herself in the mirror. Not great, but it would have to do. She opened the door and walked into the room.
Hawk was on the phone. “She just entered the room. Let me put you on speaker.” He hit a button on the screen and set the phone down on the bed. “Go ahead, Dragan.”
“Hi, Remy. How are you holding up?” Dragan’s voice came through the phone.
“Hanging in there,” she replied. “Do you have some news?”
“Yes and no. I still can’t get much in the way of details about the Lock and Key Society functions, but I did find out a bit more about your family.”
She plopped onto the edge of the bed. She wasn’t sure she could take hearing too much more, but she gamely braced herself. “Go ahead.”
“According to my sources, the Lock and Key Society started sometime around nineteen-ten to nineteen-twenty. Your family was one of the founding families. At the beginning, there were only a few locations, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. Over time, they expanded across the world. As a founding member, your—I guess it would be great-grandfather—had voting rights. This is where it gets a bit vague. I don’t know what that means. I’m not sure what they vote on. I don’t know how many founding members there were. The token is handed down through the family line, which is the way for every token, but the founding members have some sort of special token. I’m not sure what it is, and I don’t know if it does anything special.”
Remy closed her eyes for a second.Great.She came from a family of criminals. She opened her eyes when Hawk touched her shoulder.
He handed her a cup of tea. “Dragan, did you manage to find out anything about Remy’s grandfather’s death?”
“Not much. I’m getting all of this from someone that I knew from my bad old days.” His chuckle was meant to lighten the mood. It didn’t. “He knows Archer Gray as well. He wasn’t keen to talk, but I, uh, persuaded him. So, I have no idea how much of it is true.” He paused. “I did hear there’s a rumor your grandfather was murdered. Apparently, that’s a big deal because it’s a big no-no. As a founding family member, he’s supposed to be untouchable.”
Remy took a sip of tea. She let the warm liquid warm her frozen heart. “Dragan, I have a couple of questions. First, do you know, or did anyone say, why my great-grandfather wanted to start this…organization? I mean, was he in the mob or anything?”
“I don’t know about having mob ties, but I can hazard a guess as to why they started it.”
“Why?” she asked and braced herself for the answer.
“Prohibition. The US government made it illegal to produce, import, transport, or sell alcohol around the time it was founded. There were all kinds of underground clubs that sprang up because of it. My guess is this was one of those and then became…something else over time.”
“That makes sense,” Remy said. She’d read all about prohibition years ago, but Dragan was right. There were all kinds of underground clubs and groups that worked to provide alcohol to those who wanted it.
“You said you had another question?” Dragan asked.
“Um, yeah. You said that no one was allowed to…” She was having a hard time saying the word ‘murder’. “That my grandfather was supposed to be untouchable because he was part of the founding families. Does that mean I’m supposed to be untouchable, too?”
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. “Honestly?”
She glanced at Hawk, whose gaze was trained on her face. “Please, just tell me.”
“I’m gonna reiterate that this is all hearsay. I could have it all wrong.”
