Chapter Six
The gold backlit letters spelling out Stone Enterprises greeted Hawk as he stood in front of the reception desk in the lobby.
He’d debated making a phone call instead of a personal appearance most of the morning, then decided on the latter after reading one of the many articles about the new owners of Stone Enterprises.
Hawk found a motherlode of news articles about Alex and her brothers. Many of them indicating the fierce protectiveness of the siblings for each other.
Max was captured at a press conference challenging anyone who might think about threatening his sister. The man practically wore a T-shirt with the logo fuck around and find out printed on it.
Then there was Chase. The older brother who’d stood shoulder to shoulder with Alex in front of the cameras and then sheltered her when they exited into the chaos of cameras and microphones.
Even the reporters wrote about the closeness of the Stone siblings and how rare and admirable it was in such a wealthy family.
Which was why Hawk stood in front of the receptionist now, requesting to see either Alex or Chase ... maybe even both.
The debriefing Hawk and his team had combed over with Ed came to the same conclusion. Bakshai had to be hiding something, or the team wouldn’t have been dismissed within twelve hours of showing up for the job.
If, at any time over the weekend, Alex Stone’s name had ended up on the front page as a missing person, or worse, Hawk would have felt partially responsible for not following through.
This was his attempt at averting that future guilt should something happen.
“Can I help you?” the male receptionist asked.
“I’d like to speak with Alex Stone.” Hawk took notice of the name on the receptionist’s breast pocket. Malcom .
“Do you have an appointment?” the man asked, reaching to press numbers on his phone.
“I don’t.”
Malcom’s hand fell away.
“Ms. Stone doesn’t see—”
“I’ll speak with Chase if she’s not available.”
Malcom furrowed his brow. “Do they know you?”
Hawk hesitated.
“You can make an appointment.”
Hawk leaned forward. “Tell Ms. Stone Hawk Bronson is here. We spoke on Friday. She’ll know what this is about.”
When the man didn’t move, Hawk looked directly at the dial pad and then back to him.
Resolved, Malcom tapped a few numbers and started talking.
“Hello, Dee. There is a Hawk Bronson in the lobby requesting to speak with Ms. Stone.”
There was a pause.
“I told him that. If Mr. Stone is available ... Okay.”
A long pause ensued while Hawk looked around the lobby.
Unable to help himself, he took notice of the not-so-hidden cameras and the sensors that likely captured motion by alarms after hours. There were electronic passageways that required a badge to get through before reaching the elevators. More for a body count than security.
No metal detectors, no obvious security presence.
No real threat.
“Yes . . . okay.”
Hawk turned back to Malcom. The man reached for something and then lifted a digital tablet. “Please put your full name and phone number in here.”
Hawk did as requested.
Malcom scanned a visitor’s badge and handed it to Hawk.
Then he tapped a few numbers on his phone. “I have another guest that needs an escort to Ms. Stone’s office.”
From a back room, a middle-aged man walked out wearing a jacket that had Security written on it. He wore a badge much like the one Hawk had been given. It was twisted in a way that Hawk couldn’t see the man’s name.
“This way,” the security guard said.
Hawk walked behind the man and scanned his badge as they walked into the main building.
The elevator ride was quiet. Hawk purposely didn’t try to chitchat with the man. Instead, he just observed and made several mental notes.
After a few stops on the way up, they were let out on the top floor, where Hawk was met by yet another receptionist.
This was a runway-ready blonde who smiled as Hawk stepped toward her.
“Mr. Bronson?” the blonde asked.
“Yes.”
She stepped around her desk and thanked the guard, who caught the elevator before the door had a chance to close.
Hawk shook his head.
“Right this way.”
The executive floor was impressive. Plenty of closed office spaces, tall ceilings, and what Hawk assumed were executive secretaries stationed outside of said closed office spaces. Lots of natural light, with live plants framing the windows.
“Is this your first time here, Mr. Bronson?” the woman walking him through the maze of the floor asked.
“It is.”
“Welcome.”
“Thank you.”
A petite woman nearly jumped when Hawk approached what he assumed was Alex’s office.
“Here we are,” the blonde said.
Hawk thanked her with a smile.
The smaller, mousier woman knocked on the massive wooden doors before letting them both in.
Hawk stepped beyond the door, his gaze instantly settling on Alex.
The lush hair that had been pinned at her neck the Friday before was slicked back in a ponytail now. She wore a light cream-colored skirt with a matching blazer and heels with at least three inches.
The woman was just as beautiful as she’d been in an evening dress and moonlight.
“Hawk,” she said his name with surprise. “Bronson, is it?”
“It is.” He stepped fully into the office and noticed a man standing beyond the door.
“It’s good to see you again. This is my brother Chase.”
Chase approached and reached out a hand. “Apparently, I need to thank you. Alex was just catching me up on what happened on Friday.”
“She just told you?” Hawk quizzed while shaking the man’s hand.
“I’ve had a busy day and an even busier weekend,” Alex said defensively. “And you just got here.”
“How much did she tell you?” Hawk asked.
Chase opened his mouth.
Alex interrupted. “Wait. Before we get into that. How did you find me? I don’t believe I gave you my last name.”
“You were on the guest list.”
She shook her head. “My father’s name was on the guest list. Not mine.”
True. “There were whispers around the room,” Hawk conceded. “Your identity wasn’t difficult to uncover.”
Alex blew out a breath with what appeared to be resolve.
“Now ... what exactly happened?” Chase directed his question to his sister.
Alex crossed the room. “Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Bronson?”
“Hawk. Mr. Bronson is my father. And I’m fine, thank you.”
Alex pulled out what looked to be a sparkling water from a hidden office-size refrigerator. “Chase?”
“Stop stalling, Alex. What happened?”
She twisted off the cap and poured it into a crystal glass.
She walked to the sofa. “Sit, please.”
Hawk took one of the chairs facing the door.
Alex cleared her throat. “As I was leaving the event, someone approached me in the parking lot. It scared me. Hawk was there and told the guy to leave.”
Hawk saw the twitch in Chase’s jaw.
“Someone?” Chase quizzed. His eyes moved to Hawk.
He stayed quiet.
“I think he was with Bakshai. He said something about making sure I got home.”
Interesting. Alex wasn’t telling the whole truth, and Chase knew it.
Alex met Hawk’s gaze and let out a long-suffering sigh.
Chase pinched his brows together and kept moving his eyes between his sister and Hawk.
Alex growled. “Fine. It was Bakshai’s guy. A bodyguard, I think? I don’t know. He stood behind Ashraf the whole time I was talking to him.”
“What did you and Bakshai discuss?”
“Nothing. The usual. ‘Thank you for inviting me . What was your relationship with our father?’ He isn’t a part of Stone Enterprises.
We’ve never done business with him. Floyd told me at the last possible minute about the event.
He said Dad went every year. That it was just a meet-and-greet cocktail party. ”
Hawk let out a small laugh.
“It wasn’t that kind of event?” Chase asked.
“It was the kind of party Dad would have taken a mistress to. Pretty sure no one was there with their spouses. Everyone looked at me like I was a pariah.”
“She’s right about that,” Hawk finally spoke.
Her eyes shot to him. “You noticed?”
He answered with a nod.
“I recognized a couple of faces and couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Instead of calling my driver from the door, I walked into the lot, and that’s when the guy approached.”
Chase leaned forward. “Did he threaten you?”
Alex hesitated.
“God damn it, Alex. You should have called me.”
“I felt threatened, but I can’t exactly say he threatened me. It could have been a giant misunderstanding.”
Chase turned to look at Hawk. “You were there. What do you think?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I thought it was a misunderstanding.”
“Why are you here?” Alex lowered her hands to her lap.
“Friday didn’t sit well with me and my colleagues after you left. I wanted to follow up and make sure you were okay.”
“Colleagues?”
“I work for a private security company. Bakshai’s son hired me and my team to patrol the man’s home and the event while his father was in town.”
“You work for him?” Alex exclaimed.
“I never saw the man before Friday. When I asked if there was any threat, a true need for security, I was told no . That Ashraf Bakshai was a wealthy man that warranted extra security. Within an hour of the event starting, my team and I realized exactly what you did. The men wore wedding rings, the women they were with did not. When you stormed out, I followed. For all I knew, you were someone’s disgruntled wife going into the parking lot to retrieve an Uzi. ”
“I’d be more worried about a machete,” Chase said with a short laugh.
“I realized you were being followed by Bakshai’s man and held back. Again, I wasn’t sure if you were a threat.”
“Do I look like a threat?”
Hawk swallowed, took a breath. “Beautiful women are often the most lethal threat.”
The smile on Alex’s face fell.
“Then I heard Bakshai’s man talking, saw the fear in your eyes, and ... I wasn’t being paid to be a party to anyone being threatened or assaulted.”
Chase sucked in a breath. “Did he hit you?”
She shook her head.