Annika. Luckily, Marcus nodded curtly and turned his back to walk away. Kieran followed him.
The short trip he had made back to Kestevayne this morning had proven very valuable and Ava had a ton of information to help Kieran. In addition, Ava had a contact in New York that helped. A former citizen of Kestevayne who preferred the hustle and bustle of the city over the quiet life back home. He worked as a police officer now and was able to do a comprehensive background check on Annika that was very eye opening. He had been busy all day today to make sure he could use that information to guarantee Annika’s cooperation.
Marcus led Kieran across the dance floor and down a back hall. Opening a locked door at the end of the hall, Kieran followed him down another short hallway. Marcus stopped at a door, gave a quick knock and stuck his head in.
***
Annika’s head looked up from her paperwork when she heard the knock. She had finally banished Kieran from her head and was making good progress. She saw Marcus stick his head in the door.
“What’s up?”
“You got a visitor, boss.”
Annika grimaced and looked back down to her paperwork. “Sorry, Marcus. I don’t want to see anyone. You handle it.”
“No can do, pretty lady. This one was very convincing. You need to handle it.” And with that, Marcus’ head disappeared. Annika sighed and looked toward the door. Her breath caught when she saw Kieran walk through.
Yup. He was as mouthwatering as she remembered. He was dressed in worn, faded jeans and a long sleeve black t-shirt that looked like a second skin on him. It clearly showed the outline of his chest and stomach muscles. The look on his face clearly said, “Gotcha.” That irritated her for some reason.
“The answer is still no Kieran.”
“Please don’t make me have you eat those words, Annika. I suggest you hear what I have to say first.”
There was a threat in that statement and Annika had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She watched as Kieran walked over to her couch and settled in it gracefully, stretching those long legs out in front of him. He leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. He looked too relaxed by half.
“How did you even find me?”
“It wasn’t hard. Public records are very easy to access. Plus, after last night, the name of your nightclub made more sense to me.”
Annika didn’t know if that was an offensive statement or not. She decided to be offended. “What the hell does that mean?”
Kieran gave her a lazy grin. “Just that I think you had an itch last night and decided to use me to scratch it.”
Annika gritted her teeth. “I told you why we had sex. It was simply to read your emotions.”
“Whatever. I still need you to help me retrieve The Scepter.”
“The Scepter?”
“The object that was stolen from Ava.”
“So what is so important about this scepter anyway?”
“That’s not important for you to know. What’s important is that I need your help to get it. And there is no doubt that you are going to help me, Annika.”
That was a threat. Annika did not like the way this conversation was going. While she felt completely in control of Kieran this morning, she felt all that supremacy just slip way, like a palm full of water sliding through her fingers. She had a dreadful feeling that he had found some means by which to convince her to help and that made her sick to her stomach.
“Go ahead and tell me why you think I will help you.” Annika hoped her voice sounded strong and sure.
“I’ve come to learn a lot of things about you today, Annika. You are quite the surprise.”
Kieran paused, maybe to see if Annika would react to that statement, but she just stared at him as impassively as she could possibly muster. But her heart was beating as hard as a jack rabbit’s legs.
“It seems you are quite the philanthropist. I never would have guessed.”
Kieran just left that hanging there and said no more.
“Your point,” Annika gritted out.
Kieran laughed. “Okay, I’ll get to the point. Here it is. It seems you have quite an interest in helping people. Not just any people, specifically abused women. I’ve learned that you lead a non-profit agency here in the city called Saving Grace. It is a secret, safe haven for abused women. I’ve also learned, through careful examination of your finances…”
“My finances?” Annika fairly screeched.
Kieran held up