Chapter 14
“What’s up?” Joran asked as he pulled out one of the leather chairs.
Raj came into the room next. “What’s going on?”
Khal came in right after and took his normal seat at the head of the table while Raj and Joran sat to his right and left. He noticed Tasha come in and slip into one of the leather chairs towards the center of the table, leaving several empty chairs between herself and Joran. He wanted to order her closer, to tell her that she was part of the family.
But she wasn’t. She was his assistant. Even if she knew more about him than any other person in the world, Tasha still wasn’t technically family. And for some reason, that revelation really pissed him off. With sudden clarity, Khal knew that he wanted to claim her, to ease the tension around her eyes as she wrote something on her notebook. He wanted to pull her into a private place and demand that she explain the ghosts that lurked behind her beautiful eyes.
Someone cleared his throat and Khal reluctantly pulled his eyes away from Tasha. When he glanced at Raj, Khal sensed that his youngest brother was amused. Joran wore the same expression. Khal narrowed his eyes, trying to read their minds. But Joran simply lifted his dark eyebrows, an expression Khal had seen on their father so many times over the years.
It was a silent warning that, whatever had caused his brothers’ amusement, it would remain a secret for now.
Grumbling, Khal leaned forward. Immediately, his brothers and Tasha turned serious.
“Thanks for coming. I…,” he paused, looking to Tasha. Gently, she nodded her head, offering him a smile. Was she trying to encourage him? Khal never laughed, but at this moment, he was decidedly amused. Shaking his head slightly, he continued. “I need your advice,” he started off, startling both brothers.
Both Raj and Joran stared back at him with identical stunned expressions.
Khal emitted a grumbly sound, then glowered at his brothers. “Why the hell are you surprised?”
“You’ve never asked us for advice before,” Joran replied.
“Exactly,” Raj continued. “You’ve always just…gone about your plans without input from anyone.”
Khal was shocked. “Do you honestly believe that?” he asked, looking at Raj. He swiveled his gaze towards Joran, noticing that he looked a little uncomfortable. “Do you feel as if I’ve ignored you?”
Raj and Joran shared a look, and Khal felt as if he’d just been left out of a joke. But then his brothers looked back at him, nodding slowly. “Yeah,” Joran replied.
“That’s not true,” Khal argued. “I discuss issues with you all the time.” He thought about that for a split second, then corrected himself. “Well, whenever you’re home.” His glower intensified. “Which is rarely lately.”
Raj waved that away. “What do you need our input about?” he prompted.
Khal paused to continue his silent reprimand, then said, “The explosion. Tasha doesn’t think it’s politically motivated.” He looked at Joran. “You’ve been to Uftar recently. What do you think? Are the citizens of Uftar angry with Lativa for some reason I’m not aware of?”
Joran looked startled for a moment. He considered the question for a long moment before he leaned forward.
Finally, he replied, “Later, I’d love to know how you’re aware of me being inside the Uftar borders, but to answer your question, no. From all the times I’ve secretly ventured into Uftar, there has never been any animosity towards Lativa. The opposite, in fact. The people there move back and forth across the border easily. The business owners near the borders sell products back and forth. There are always trucks moving across the lines. In fact, the border agents know the people that cross over regularly and move those people and supplies through more quickly.”
Khal nodded, relieved that his instincts had been correct. He turned to Raj. “And what about you?”
Raj’s eyebrows lifted in surprise before his expression smoothed into his normal charming grin. “I haven’t been to Uftar in several years.”
Khal leaned back against the leather chair, rubbing his chin with his forefinger. “But you have your finger on the economic pulse. You know what’s happening globally.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked, looking just as startled as Joran had a moment ago.
Khal glared at his youngest brother. “You put together a group of investors for that Pacific Coast project last summer. You knew exactly who to approach to get the investors you wanted. The project started up smoothly and is ahead of schedule and under budget. The management team you’ve put together is outstanding. In fact, every financial project you’ve put together recently has been insanely profitable, which is why you can hand select your business partners. You can’t do that without knowing exactly who the players are and how they’re connected internationally.”
Raj appeared…flushed with pride for a long moment. He looked down at the polished wood of the conference table for a brief moment, then he seemed to change. Khal didn’t completely understand the shift, but Raj lifted his gaze and nodded.
“You’re right. I know what’s going on internationally, but I don’t know everything that’s happening within the criminal element.” He paused for a moment. “And I think that the explosion was more along those lines. There aren’t any whispers of large criminal elements based in Lativa nor Uftar.” He continued, conveying his knowledge of the financial world and who might have problems with Lativa, but Raj didn’t stop there. He knew which elements would have the financial resources and the connections inside of Lativa to pull off something like the explosion.
“But I don’t think this is their work,” he finished.