Chapter Six #2
“He grabbed ahold of her arm,” Hawk told Chase.
“From my vantage point, it took a couple tugs to get loose. Later, Bakshai’s son tried to deny anything wrong had taken place and then told us we could go home.
Thirty-six hours early. Which is why I’m here,” Hawk told them.
“I don’t know what this man’s intentions truly were, but I didn’t feel right not telling you to be careful.
My boss and the team felt the same way.”
Alex’s expression went blank. Her fingers were tapping the side of the glass she held with uncontrollable nerves.
Alex stood and moved back to the bar. This time, she pulled out a bottle of wine and stared at it.
Then promptly put it back.
“Alex?”
She walked over to the door of the office and opened it. “Dee. Cancel my call to Tokyo. Make time later in the week with whatever Mr. Tanaka is able to do. Fix my schedule to accommodate him.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The door closed again. Alex stared into nothing, the wheels clearly spinning in her head.
“Alex? Are you okay?” Chase asked.
She sucked in a breath. “Ashraf Bakshai was sitting right there at nine this morning.” She pointed to where Chase sat.
“What?” Chase nearly yelled.
Hawk grappled with the information. “You let him in here?”
“I confronted him about what kind of party he threw but said nothing about the parking lot altercation. Nothing about Hawk. He told me that his associate —the bodyguard—was instructed to give me Bakshai’s personal number but didn’t get the chance.
And then he invited me to Dubai next month for an influential gathering. ”
“The hell with that.” Chase stood.
Hawk’s mind spiraled. “Smart. Plausible deniability,” he said aloud.
“What?”
“He gave you a reason for his associate to approach you in the parking lot. So, what his associate did from that point isn’t on him. Then he casually extends an invitation. But not without first observing your inner workspace and how things operate here should he need to know.”
“What does that mean?” Chase asked.
Hawk stood and moved to the large picture windows and looked at the street below. “Has Bakshai ever been in this office before?”
“Not that I know of,” Alex answered.
“Do you have access to the cameras at the reception desk? Did you confirm his identity before he came up?”
Alex shook her head. “There are cameras but none that are linked in a way that we can view who is in the lobby. The reception desk is supposed to check IDs before letting people up.”
“No one checked mine,” Hawk informed her.
Alex and Chase exchanged glances.
“I gave them a name. They gave me a badge, and a ‘security guard’ escorted me. Unarmed security, I assume. And then, before I was even out of view of the elevators, your security was already on his way downstairs.” He paused. “It could have been anyone walking up here.”
To drive home his point, Hawk reached into the hidden holster on his waist and removed the 9 mm strapped there.
He took out the magazine and emptied the chamber of the bullet sitting inside.
He set the now-unarmed weapon on Alex’s desk and reached for the knife he had strapped to his ankle.
When he looked up, Alex and Chase were staring in silence.
Hawk approached Alex slowly, stood directly in front of her.
“You have zero situational awareness, lady. Two men followed you out into a dark parking lot while you were looking in your purse. You knew damn well that the man who grabbed you and ‘suggested he give you a ride’ was employed by Bakshai, and yet you still let Bakshai into your office ... alone. I assume. It’s also worth mentioning, Bakshai was only supposed to be here for forty-eight hours.
Which suggests he stayed in town to purposely confront you. ”
Alex’s wide eyes stared into his, her nose flared with each breath she dragged into her lungs.
“Bakshai might be a wealthy man, but from the looks of this place and those thousand-dollar shoes you have on your feet, you could be just as big of a target. You might want to wake up.”
Hawk noticed her tremble and stepped back.
He’d made his point. Hope he scared her enough to take some kind of action to keep herself safe.
He returned to the desk and went through the motions of loading his weapon and shoving it back where it belonged.
When he looked up, he saw Chase standing beside his sister, an arm on her shoulder.
Alex stared blankly out the window.
“I’ll see you out,” Chase offered.
Hawk hesitated in front of Alex. He wanted to apologize for putting that fear in her eyes but knew it wouldn’t be sincere.
Their eyes met briefly; he saw a hint of moisture staring back at him.
“Thank you,” she said in words so low he could barely hear her.
Her words broke a tear free.
Unable to stop himself, Hawk lifted the back of his finger to her cheek and brushed it away.
Her eyes flared and locked to his.
Hawk dropped his arm and followed Chase out the door.
They stopped at the secretary’s desk. “Clear Alex’s calendar for the rest of the day. Any future calls from Bakshai are funneled through me.”
“Yes, Mr. Stone.”
Hawk waited until they were alone in the elevator before speaking with Chase. “I was harsh.”
“She needed to hear it.” Chase sighed. “Alex is independent to a fault. Taking on this company has made it worse.”
Hawk sensed that. “People feel safe in their workplace. More people around and all that. It’s not always the case. At home we have locks, alarms, big dogs ... or a baseball bat behind the door. Maybe a shotgun in the closet. Something tells me she doesn’t have any of those things.”
Chase huffed. “Alex lives in a glorified apartment. And not the kind with a doorman.”
Hawk looked at Chase, horrified.
“Don’t say it. I hear you. That needs to change. She’s been dragging her feet to make a move, but this might just put a fire under her ass.”
They stepped off the elevator and worked their way out the door.
Hawk handed Chase the Stone Enterprises access card and shook Chase’s hand.
“I didn’t want to say this in front of your sister, but I saw the way Bakshai looked at her. I’ve seen men in strip clubs be more discreet. I don’t take Alex as someone that would reciprocate that with a married man his age.”
Chase shook his head, whispered fuck under his breath.
Hawk reached into his back pocket and retrieved his wallet. He handed Chase one of his business cards. “If you need to get ahold of me.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s be clear, I’m not soliciting work here. I don’t have to go around scaring people into believing they need paid security. Clients fall in our lap every day. Most of the time, after something shitty has happened.”
“I appreciate that.”
Hawk offered a nod, turned around, and left.