“Please.”Claude gestured ahead.“Follow me to our waiting area.I believe there are drinks waiting for you there.”
“That was fast!”Caroline joked as he led us across the red, thick-pile rug.“I only just asked for tea.”
Claude smiled.“We like to look after our clients.”
“It’s appreciated.”I liked the way Caroline felt valued there.After years of servitude and degradation, she deserved the small acts that proved she was more than worthy.
“Here.”Claude motioned to two enormous leather sofas, which were positioned at either side of a vast glass table.Sitting on the tabletop was a silver tray containing two china teacups and saucers, an intricately decorated teapot, and a matching jug containing milk.“Would either of you like sugar?”
“We’re sweet enough already, thank you.”Caroline grinned as she perched on the edge of one of the large, cushioned seats and pulled the tray closer.
“I’ll start the authentication process while you take tea, sir.”Crossing the floor to the sleek-looking counter at the other end of the space, Claude nodded in my direction.
I took a seat beside Caroline, who’d already poured us two cups of the steaming beverage.“I didn’t ask for a cup,” I reminded her wryly.
“But Claude’s arranged it for us.”That same playful glimmer shone in her eyes.“It would be rude not to.”
“Right.”I took the saucer she passed, sipping at the tea while Claude busied himself behind the counter.
“We’ll need you to put your account details into this, sir.”He returned, flashing a device around the size of a mobile phone.Like the gadget I’d thrown into the sea on our crossing, its screen was large and featured a virtual keyboard.
Sliding the saucer onto the glass table, I took the device from Claude and waited as the screen lit up, prompting me in German for my details.
“Can you speak German, sir?”Claude inquired as he withdrew.
“Ich kann, danke.”Inputting the required numbers, I mirrored his smile.
“Sehr gut.Very good, sir.”His hands slid behind his back as he watched me.“The device will now prompt you for your fingerprint identification.We’ll require retina scanning before entry to the vault.”
“I understand.”My attention flitted fleetingly to Caroline, who appeared to be relishing every drop of her hot tea.“I’ll require my associate here to have entry with me.Will that be a problem?”
Asking for permission to do anything stuck in my throat, but it was better to make the request then than be denied later.
“Of course, sir.It’s your deposit box.So long as you are content to share the details, then we are happy to facilitate.”
“Danke.”The bleeping device drew my focus its way again, and seeing the prompt for authentication, I pressed the fingertip of my right index finger where it instructed, waiting as the technology scanned and acknowledged me.
“Sehr gut.”Claude was on hand to relieve me of the device, then, perusing the details on the screen, he nodded my way.“This way, Mr.Harper.”
Having spent the last day trying to conceal our identities, it was disconcerting to hear my name, but I understood that inputting my account numbers would have produced my personal details.
“Ready?”Rising from my seat, I held out a hand for Caroline.
“But I haven’t finished!”Her protest was delivered in a teasing tone, and she giggled as she reached for my fingers.
The sound of her impish laughter danced in my ears.In all the time I’d known her, I’d barely heard her laugh, let alone with such childish vigor.Such genuine happiness was only another example of the things she’d been forced to sacrifice so men like me and Ian could have our way, the thought jarring through me as she met my gaze.
“There will be time to finish afterward,” Claude promised her before turning and pressing his palm onto the security device located on the wall behind him.“Follow me, please.”
We turned at his advice, watching as the wall slid open before Claude.
“Wow!”Caroline shook her head.“That’s very impressive.It reminds me of an office I used to work in once.”
She threw me a deliberate glance, her meaning clear to me, even if Claude was none the wiser.The last time either of us had seen a partition slide away to reveal a room behind it was the final occasion we’d been to my office at Fortorus.
“Our security is first-class.”The pride in Claude’s voice suggested it was a matter of some importance to him.I was glad he felt that way.I paid the place a fortune to take care of my possessions, and it mattered to me that he cared.“This way, please.”
