Page 85 of Idaho

"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."