Chapter 28
Idaho
Grabbing Eva's hand, I led her down the stairs.
I'd spent the last few hours talking to and comforting her.
We would be meeting with her father soon.
I didn't tell her my plans. Or that I'd claimed her.
I could see the misery written all over her face.
The last thing I wanted was to add to her confusion.
And I knew better than to tell her everything would be fine before the deal was even done.
I linked our fingers together and grinned when we got to the main floor of the clubhouse. Squeezing her hand, I jerked my chin when she looked up at me.
Her eyes followed the movement and her steps hesitated as she saw everyone standing there.
The women were smiling, trying to keep the worry from their expressions.
They all knew there was a chance my plan wouldn't work.
The men, my brothers, were all standing there, looking ashamed. Most were scowling down at their feet.
"What's this?" Eva asked me, her gorgeous green eyes returning to mine.
"Everyone wanted to say goodbye."
"And some wanted to say they were sorry," Lockout added, folding his arms over his chest as he tried not to smile.
"We're sorry that we embarrassed you, Doll," Butcher said.
He almost spat the words out, as if apologizing offended him.
He walked forward, staring down into Eva's face.
"We'll see you later tonight." It wasn't a question.
He was letting her know that he expected her to come back.
To come home. Without another word, he brushed past us and went upstairs.
That started the hugging, crying, and apologies.
The hugging and crying came from the women, though a few of the men gave her one-armed, awkward hugs.
Except Toxic. The fucker. He pulled her in for a long squeeze that had me grinding my teeth.
He looked up at me and shrugged. "Just saying goodbye.
Don't get your dick twisted into a knot. "
"Fuck off," I told him with a laugh. I knew he was just fucking around.
"I don't want to go," Eva said, a heavy sigh escaping her.
"We'll explain that to your father" I told her, kissing her temple as I opened the door and led us out to my car. Static had gone earlier to get it for me.
She waited until we were on the road to speak again. "I'm going to tell him that I'm staying."
"Good. We all want you to."
She studied me, but didn't say anything else.
I reached over and put my hand on her thigh as I drove.
This wasn't the time to admit to her how I felt.
One, because I wasn't exactly sure how I felt.
And two, I didn't want her to think I was just trying to manipulate her into staying so we could keep sleeping together.
There would be plenty of time for all of that once I had her back home at the clubhouse.
Once I sorted through my tangled emotions.
It didn't take long for us to pull into the hotel at Dove Mountain. I got out of the car, handing the keys to the valet. "Scratch it and we're going to have a problem," I growled at the attendant.
"Yes, Sir," he said, eyes wide. When mine narrowed he shook his head. "I mean, no, Sir, I-I won't scratch it."
Going around the car, I opened Eva's door for her and helped her out.
She was in a nice pair of slacks and a flowy blouse, but I decided not to wear a suit.
Her father was going to have to get used to me as I was.
We waited until Lock and Static pulled up behind us.
They drove separately to give us a chance to be alone before the meeting.
"Anything we should know?" Lock asked Eva as the valets took the cage ride away.
"He's not going to be happy," she said with a wry smile.
"Figured that," my brother said. "Alright. Let's get this over with."
As one unit, we walked into the lobby of the hotel.
I'd been here once before, for a golf tournament.
My contact had insisted on meeting me here.
I'd hated it then and I hated it even more now.
It was pretentious, full of people who thought they were better than everyone else.
A man standing near the back half of the lobby lifted his eyebrow and his top lip at the same time, giving us a long once over as we moved toward him.
Our jeans, boots, and cuts didn't impress him. "What can I do for you?" he sneered.
"We're here to see Louis Desmet," I told him, returning the cold tone he was using on us.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"He's expecting us."
His eyes narrowed as he looked over at Eva. She smiled sweetly at him, but didn't speak. "I'll need to see some identification," he said, looking down his nose at us.
"Not happening," Lock told him.
"Then you're not getting in," the man replied, looking shocked that we refused.
"You have no authority here," Static replied.
"Papa?" All of us, including the guy with a stick up his ass, looked at Eva as she spoke into her cell phone.
"Hotel...security is giving us a hard time.
Could you please send Thomas out to get us?
" She paused, listening to whatever he had to say.
"No, Papa. Thomas already knows my friends. Please send him."
"You can't just-" The guy broke off when Thomas came down the hall.
"Guess we can," I said, giving him a satisfied smirk when Thomas motioned for us to follow him.
"I'm sorry about that, Eva," Thomas said as we walked toward the elevators.
"It wasn't your fault," she assured him. "Thanks for coming to get us."
Thomas gave her a smile as he stepped in next to her, all but shoving Static out of the way.
Eva grabbed my hand, and I felt how she was shaking.
It pissed me off that she was so worried about meeting with her own damn father.
I squeezed her fingers gently, but kept our hands linked when the elevator let out into the penthouse.
Thomas led us forward and I studied the Grand Duke of Luxembourg as he sat at a dining room table.
He was watching us just as closely, and I didn't miss the way his eyes dropped down to where Eva and I were holding hands. His face was a mask of neutrality as we stopped in front of him. There were three other men standing around. They all had that vibe that told me they were security.
"Papa," Eva said, letting go of my hand so she could move forward and hug her father as he stood.
He was in a suit, his dark hair streaked with gray, and his green eyes closed in obvious relief as he pulled his daughter close. That was all I needed to see to know that Eva was right. This man loved his daughter. He frowned when she stepped back again and stood between me and Lockout.
"You must be Levi," Louis said, holding out his hand to me.
I took it and we shook hands. "Thank you for meeting with us. This is my brother, Liam. And our friend, and lawyer, Reed," I said, introducing everyone.
He studied us all, missing nothing as I spoke. I'd met hundreds of men like him. Smart, shrewd, businessmen who knew what the fuck they were doing and just how powerful they were. And they always knew exactly how their money and power tipped the scales into their favor.
"Thank you for helping my daughter. Though I didn't appreciate you sending her security detail away," Louis said.
"We're not here to talk about that," Eva told him. She looked at me and I nodded, letting her know she could take the lead on this one. "I've decided to stay in Tucson." She pressed her trembling lips together as her father stared at her in silence.
"I'm afraid that's impossible," he said, his voice stern. "Not with Richard causing problems."
"Richard is a problem that will go away if Levi and his brother have anything to say about it," Eva replied, lifting her chin defiantly.
Louis turned his gaze back on me. "Is that so?"
"We're perfectly capable of protecting Eva while she's here," I told him. "I'll keep looking into Krier and take care of it." I gave him a toothy smile. "Free of charge."
"And what would 'taking care of it' entail?" he asked.
I could see why Eva toed the line with him. He used his stature, he was six feet tall and well defined for a man in his late fifties, and his power to intimidate others. It wasn't working on us, but clearly did on his daughter.
"It would be better if you didn't know the details," I told him. "But understand, with absolute certainty, that no harm will come to your daughter. And no…individual…will get a second chance at harming her."
"Plus if you don't know about it you have plausible deniability," Static added.
Louis seemed to consider what I was telling him, but eventually shook his head. "This is a family matter. If anyone is going to 'take care of it', it will be me. And Eva, you'll be coming home with your mother and I tomorrow."
"Mama's here?" she asked.
"She's back in the bedroom," he told her, pointing toward the closed door off to the left. "Why don't you go say hello?"
Eva hesitated, looking up at me. Indecision played over her face, but I smiled at her. "Go. Say hi to your mom. We'll work things out here."
"I don't know," she said in a low voice. "Maybe I should stay."
"Go," I urged, pushing her gently toward the door. "We're fine."
She gave me one last look before she opened the door and slipped inside.
Once it was closed, Louis looked over at me again, his expression hardening further. "I appreciate you helping my daughter, but she is coming home with me."
"That doesn't seem to be what your daughter wants," Lock pointed out.
Louis' eyes narrowed on my brother. "No offense, but you are a stranger to my family." He looked over at Static. "And you're a criminal defense lawyer who is far too familiar with Richard's type of people. In fact, it was difficult to gather much about those involved in your...club."
Static's mouth dropped open. "Just because I defend those who've been charged with a crime doesn't mean I'm like them," he argued.
Louis didn't look convinced.
"If you weren't able to find much on us," I said, my tone cold as ice, "that means we're law abiding citizens."
"Or you know how to hide your crimes well," he countered. He made a dismissive motion with his hand. "It doesn't matter. Tatiana will not be staying in the United States. She's coming home with us. Where she belongs."
"She belongs here," I told him. "With us."
His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You think I'm going to allow my daughter to stay in a place with a bunch of men?"
"Our families live there, too," Lockout told him.
"She's my daughter. She will do as I say," he warned. "Again, thank you for watching out for her, but we're finished here."
"No," I said, my voice low and threatening as I stepped closer. "We're not finished."
He looked at me like I was nothing more than a roach crawling across his floor. "You can leave, or I'll have my guards escort you out."
I snorted in amusement. "They can try."
Louis scowled at me. "Then I will call your police."
Lock grabbed my arm as I started forward. "I don't give a shit who you are," I told him. "You're not taking Eva away-"
"Excuse me."
All our heads turned and we watched as a beautiful woman--who other than being slightly older and a different eye color, was a carbon copy of Eva. She shut the door behind her, not allowing me to get a glimpse of my girl.
She stopped next to her husband's side. "I've spoken with my daughter," the woman said. "She's decided it's best at this time to return home with us."
"Bullshit!" I knew there was no way that Eva was staying of her own free will. They must have more men back in that bedroom and were keeping her from me. It was the only damn way she wouldn't come running back out here.
"Idaho," Lock warned, watching the couple in front of us as if they were venomous snakes.
"She told me she wanted to stay here." I glared at them. "She's an adult. You can't just drag her back to your country without her permission."
"She's given her permission," Louis replied. "Now leave."
I looked over at Thomas and could see the worry and indecision in his eyes. He knew Eva wasn't choosing this. We all did. But what could I do? Well, what could I do that would work. And not cause an international incident?
"We can't have him calling the cops," Lock said in a low enough voice the duke and duchess couldn't overhear. "Fremont will take that as an open invitation."
"What the fuck do you want me to do?" I asked. I wanted to kick the shit out of every person here and drag Eva back to the clubhouse. But I also knew she wouldn't want that. Despite everything, she loved her parents and didn't want them hurt.
"I want you to walk out of here calmly. Then I want you to do what you do best." His eyes were intense, and for once, I could see he knew I would come up with a new plan to get Eva back.
"Fine," I said, louder now as I looked back at the man and woman who were standing between me and the woman I loved. Shit. Having her forcibly taken from me had quickly unraveled those fucking emotions for me. I loved her. "But you're going to regret this," I warned.
Louis smirked at me. "I doubt that, Mr. Sharpe."
"We're only doing what's best for our daughter," the duchess said, her eyes imploring me to understand.
"You don't know what's best for her," I snapped. "Maybe if you actually listened to her for once, you might."
Lock grabbed me again. He knew I wanted to decimate this place like an invading barbarian and cart Eva off with me. He also knew how detrimental that would be to all of us.
It took all my self-control to walk back to the elevator without hitting anyone. Thomas followed us out and once we were inside the elevator, he finally spoke. "Give me your phone."
Glaring at him, I asked, "What?"
"Quickly."
Handing my cell over, I watched as he typed a number into the contacts, then handed it back without another word. As soon as the elevator hit the ground floor, he reached his arm out and blocked the door, waiting for us to leave. He watched me with an impassive look as I walked away.
"What was that about?" Lock asked as we got into my car.
I looked at the contact information and smiled.
"He gave me his number." I hadn't been kidding.
The Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg had just been put at the top of my shit list. They thought they had the upper hand, but they were about to learn more about me than they ever thought they would.
And about what I was capable of when you fucked with what belonged to me.