Chapter Sixteen
Chapter
Sixteen
Mal looked around the ballroom, and his eyes
caught on Vivian. She stood with Oliver looking stunning in her red dress and
black heels. He didn’t feel the jealousy he had before when Oliver put his hand
on her back as he introduced her around. She was his and didn’t want to be
anyone else’s. She was working, and she was excellent at it. There was no
jealousy because he knew she loved him. This was trust. This was love.
But Vivian was deeply worried about tonight. Something about
the way Sosa was reacting. He only saw a young girl who’d been hurt far too
often. Vivian saw something else. She thought something had changed in Sosa.
She’d told Lucy to be careful with her, and Mal wasn’t sure if she’d meant that
as be careful with her feelings—or watch your back.
The difference would prove how the evening would go.
“Everyone’s in place. I think the majority of guests should
be arriving soon,” a deep voice said in his ear. Damon was in a room in the
east wing of the manor house, monitoring the situation with Ian and Charlotte
Taggart. “The good news is my wife just sent a message. She said she’s broken
the code. The kidnappers met their employer at a diner in King’s Cross. Sami is
pulling the surveillance footage from the diner around the time of the meeting.
Lucky for us it’s all online now, and they keep it for a full year. So after
today we should know who hired our kidnappers.”
“Excellent news, boss,” he replied. Once they knew the who,
they could figure out the why, and that was the most important thing to Mal. He
wanted to know if the kidnapping was about Tatiana or Vivian. He prayed it was
the former and not the latter.
If it was Vivian, he would sit down with her and decide what
to do. He wouldn’t allow anyone to force her. She was smart and capable, and
she would make the right decision.
“I’m on it.” Sami sounded cheerful over the line. “Dad and
the Taggarts have this, so I can work on the CCTV cams. Lucy, any word from
Sosa?”
A yawn came over the line. “Nothing yet. She does have many
colorful things to say about the guests, but she doesn’t recognize anyone. I’m
going to need to bring a pot of coffee with me next time. This surveillance is
making me want a nap. By the way, do you know how much those ice sculptures
cost? And how low the temp has to be to keep them ready for days? The carbon
foot…”
“And we’ll get back to Lucy later,” Damon said, cutting off
what sounded like a rousing rant about the state of the environment. He’d heard
a story about Lucy when she was a teen and they tried to put a data center
close to her hometown. It had not been pretty, and that data center didn’t go
in.
“I’ll do another sweep of the room.”
“I’m sure you will,” Damon said with a chuckle.
He wasn’t only trying to get close to Vivian. That was
simply the best part of the job.
The comms cut out, and soft music played through the room.
There was a string quartet playing soft classical music in the ballroom which
was decorated with white and pink roses and the aforementioned ice swans. There
was a full bar and a champagne tower. It was the height of elegance and class.
He and Andrea hadn’t even had a reception. They’d gone to
register and come home and he’d gotten takeout.
He shook it off. That hadn’t been real. It had been a crime
perpetrated on him. His wedding with Vivian would be his true first marriage.
His only marriage.
He wondered what Vivian would want for their wedding. Not
that they were talking about it yet. He would give her a bit of time. If she
wanted something like this, he would go along with it. She would find him a
perfectly happy husband who carried her bag when she needed him to and indulged
her at every turn.
Who spanked her round, hot ass when she needed it and gave
her his cock every chance he could.
He moved around the ballroom, clocking where the other
guards were. He gave a nod to Robert, who was standing close to the grand
entrance. Mal decided to spread out the guards since Edward claimed he didn’t
want them too close at this very important party. The guests were filing in,
and they had no idea that they were all going through facial recognition. He
eased his way through the crowd that was enjoying the open bar and canapés. And
then he was close enough to hear Oliver. He was speaking to Edward’s father, a
gruff-looking man in his late sixties who wore his tuxedo with old-world flair.
“This is the one who was with that idiot Seaford-Jones boy?”
The older man adjusted his glasses and gave Vivian an insulting once-over. “I
have no idea what happened, but his father has absolutely lost his mind.
Something about the duke. Anyway, he’s going to end up with the Wilford’s
youngest. Good bloodline, but my god I couldn’t imagine having to climb into
bed with that. See, this is where the nobility has it rough. We’re not allowed
to simply find a gorgeous woman and settle in. Good for you, Knight. She’s
extremely attractive. She’s the daughter of your father’s business partner?”
They were treating Vivian like she was a toy. He hated this
man.
“Yes,” Oliver replied. “Vivian is a McKay. Her family is
very celebrated in America.”
They weren’t. They were quiet. They liked their privacy, but
no one would understand that here.
The earl nodded. “Well, it’s good to keep all that money in
the family. You’re a smart boy. Hear your father’s business is doing well.”
He wanted to punch the guy, and he was sure Vivian did, too,
but she stood there at Oliver’s side with a smile plastered on her face. She
played the role of the pretty, vacuous arm candy spectacularly, but he knew her
mind was working.
“Yes, my father is quite the businessman. Cybersecurity is
making us all wealthy. It’s the way of the future, but then I hear Kirkallan is going into business with a tech company,”
Oliver replied. “That sounds like a smart move.”
The earl’s cheeks stained pink for a moment. “I didn’t know
the news was out. I thought we kept it private.”
“Since my father is doing security, he tends to know everything.
Don’t worry. He’s extremely discreet,” Oliver promised. “He needs to know such
things because your family is important to our country. This earldom has served
England with strength and grace for hundreds of years. So understand we take
this job very seriously.”
He wished everyone could see Oliver work a room. He was
excellent at his job. The earl’s discomfort eased under the praise for his name
and title.
“Thank you, and I think I would like to take the next
meeting with your father. Perhaps it’s time to review our security at the
company,” the earl said with a nod. He looked around and lowered his voice.
“We’re working with some interesting people. I heard your American partners
have some uncommon ties to certain Russian groups.”
So he was interested in the Denisovitch
syndicate. He’d recently learned that Charlotte Taggart was once Charlotte
Denisovitch. Her cousin, Dusan, had run the syndicate for years and was always
willing to help his family.
Oliver didn’t miss a beat. “You know in these times we must
find a use for the less traditional business operations. We have to be fluid
with growth. Government regulations shouldn’t hold back progress. If the
syndicate can help us, then we’ll use it to our advantage. My father has big
plans. We’ve employed some of the world’s best coders and made alliances with
interesting companies.”
Vivian simply smiled and nodded and looked lovely. Mal knew
that sharp mind of hers was taking notes.
“I couldn’t agree more. We have to change with the times.
What worked in the past won’t in this era, and only the strong will survive.”
The earl straightened his suitcoat. “I’m impressed, Knight. Usually my son’s
friends are gigantic morons. You might prove useful. Yes, I think I will meet
with your father. Perhaps it’s time to look into a new security firm.”
“I’m sure he would be honored.” Oliver gave him a slight
bow.
The earl looked toward Tatiana and Edward, who were greeting
a tall man. “Now I need to go meet with some of those less traditional
businesspeople. Stick around, Knight. I might introduce you later.”
“Well, that was perfection,” Damon said over the line. “I
told you he was good.”
“Yeah, that was not the work of a dumbass,” Taggart agreed.
“Mal, track him. See where he goes. Lucy, track Mal. We need facial IDs on
every guest here, but we’re most interested in whoever the earl talks to.”
He didn’t hear Lucy reply but stalked toward the earl after
giving his gorgeous sub a wink. Her lips curled up, and she took a sip of her
champagne.
The earl walked up to where Tatiana and Edward were talking
to an older man in a pinstripe suit.
“Parlez-vous francais?”
the man was asking. He was looking directly at Tatiana.
“Did he ask if we speak French?” Edward asked. “Sir, you’re
in England. We speak English here.”
The earl moved in, frowning his son’s way. “Don’t be rude.
You know Mr. Surmont is an important business contact. Mr. Surmont, excuse my
son. I’m afraid neither of us speak French, but Tatiana is quite good with it.
A true lady, she is.”
Charles. It was one of the names they’d heard in connection
with The Chateau, but that didn’t prove anything. Mal stopped and took up a
stance. Eyes forward. Shoulders back. Feet firm on the ground. He was nothing
more than a guard, and there were at least ten of them. He glanced over and
Kenzie Taggart—at least he thought it was Kenzie—stood a few feet away from
Tatiana, looking out over the ballroom. She would be listening, too.
He was fairly certain she spoke French. He’d taken German in
school. Not that he could do much more with it than order a beer.
“It’s good to know one of you is civilized,” Charles
returned with a nod. Then he spoke directly to Tatiana. “J’ai entendu dire que vous aviez d’excellents professeurs.”
Tatiana gave him a simple curtsy. “J’ai
toujours su quel était mon
r?le.”
“Okay, that was weird,” Charlotte said over the comms. “He
said he could tell she had good teachers. And she replied with she’s always
known her role.”