“I do beg your pardon if I caused offense, Edwin. May I call you Edwin? Please, you must call me William; we can’t afford formalities. We’re very nearly family now.”
“Dad, what the hell kind of game is this?” Luke growled. Dani put a restraining hand on his arm. It was so like the one his mother had on his father’s arm that Luke swallowed the rest of his retort.
“No game!” William insisted, and three waiters and two waitresses appeared with trays bearing dome-covered plates. The plates were placed on the plates already on the table, turning the fine china into overpriced chargers as wine was served to each member of the party.
Then, as quickly as the servers had arrived they vanished again, disappearing through the swinging door into the kitchen as noiselessly as they had appeared. It was eerie. If it hadn’t been for the smell of something absolutely mouthwatering wafting from under the lid over his plate, Luke might have thought the whole thing was some strange illusion.
William cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself. Rising, he raised his glass, the ebullient host. Luke had the image of a ringmaster at a circus, and almost looked up to see if there were acrobats concealed in the antler chandeliers. “I do hope I was able to choose correctly; if not, I’m fairly confident that you will, at least, enjoy what I have set before you.”
The diners regarded each other with wary eyes. Dinner smelled delicious, but the aromas seemed to be in conflict and it was hard to pin down exactly which smell was which. Luke’s stomach rumbled, breaking the tension, Edwin not even bothering to muffle his chuckle, though Dani made a valiant effort which she covered by faking a cough and grabbing for her water glass.
Her water glass. The only glass at her place setting. Luke did a quick assessment of the table. Every place had wine except hers.
Frowning, feeling ill at ease though not entirely sure why, Luke put his hand on the cover, noting that the others were watching him carefully, waiting for him to take the lead. With a slight shake of his head, he pulled the dome off, only just resisting the urge to act the part of the magician doing the reveal, and exposed a large steak, cooked rare, with horseradish sauce, fried potatoes, and corn on the side. The whole meal was perfection down to the tiniest detail—the single sprig of parsley that he’d always favored as a child because he’d thought it had looked elegant on the plate. He flushed now, wanting to be angry that such a thing would be remembered by anyone at all, and he stared a long time at his plate, reminding himself that it was no great trick to remember parsley, when he’d certainly made enough fuss about it back when he was nine. Besides, it looked delicious.
Dani lifted her own cover and gasped. Luke turned his head to regard her plate with a raised eyebrow. Braised tuna, dill sauce, vegetable mix, and brown rice. Certainly not what he would have expected in a steak house, but something that seemed to delight her all the same.
“This is my favorite,” she said quietly, staring at the meal. Her hand trembled slightly on the cover which she set down hastily next to her plate.
Edwin revealed a veal culet over thin pasta and tomato sauce, asparagus, and mashed potatoes. Luke couldn’t see what Elaina had, probably the salmon she ordered whenever he took her out to eat when he visited.
William had chosen a scampi and oyster mix. By this time, all eyes were on the one plate that was still hidden.
Marcus sat still, his gaze fixed on William.
“Please,” William said, his smile seeming more smug than anything right now. The grand master, relishing the audience’s reaction. “Enjoy.”
Marcus lifted the lid, revealing a mixture that made Luke’s eyes water.
“What is that?” Edwin demanded, his face a crumpled mask of disgust.
“Kimchi,” Marcus said simply. “Kind of like a Korean coleslaw.”
“It looks like something that went through a rabbit.” Edwin blinked and turned away from his man. Luke watched Marcus, and realized that for the first time in days Marcus was on duty again. He would sit in that chair unmoving, or dive across the table to kill whoever was a threat. How he knew, he couldn’t say. Just that there was something different to how he sat. Or maybe in how he looked at William. And then at Edwin and Dani.
Who is he really protecting?
“Eat,” Luke suggested, finally raising his own fork and knife, prepared to dive into the meal even if no one else was. “Keep your strength up.” Perhaps his words were directed more at himself than anyone else.
Marcus gave him a very long and calculating look. He nodded once and reached for a fork without ever taking his eyes off William.
William smiled and nodded.
“Enjoy,” he said, settling back in his chair, the benevolent host.
The greatest show on earth.
Almost like a movie.
“So, tell me,” Luke said, cutting into his steak. “You’ve brought us here to show us your unlimited wealth, your ability to take over, and that you know all of us so well that you’ve prepared our favorite dishes, no matter how exotic.” He cocked an eyebrow at the partially fermented cabbage on Marcus’ plate.
“Blunt, rude, and accurate, my boy.” It was said with more emotion than was necessary. Expansive. Overacting the part.
Luke let it go. He took a deep breath and continued at a slower pace. Pausing long enough to savor that first bite, though he had half-decided that he couldn’t be bought off so easily as all that. Besides, why punish a perfectly good steak for the sins of the asshole serving it up for dinner? “You said something about a USB stick. Let’s assume for a moment that I have a single clue what you’re talking about, and we could further stretch the imagination to assume I cared. What would your interest be in something like that?”
“Straight to business, eh? There is a great deal to be said for focus; it’s an admirable quality to be sure. Still, as you grow older, you often find that business can be done just as quickly and as equitably when accompanied with fine wine, good food, and the pleasure of certain company. For example, how long has it been since we’ve seen each other? I would think it was when you joined the FBI, wasn’t it?”
Luke stared at his father, laying his fork down on the side of the plate with exaggerated care. “You weren’t there for that,” he said after a long moment. “Mom showed up for the graduation, not you.”
William smiled. Was he mocking him with that smile? Being snide? On anyone else, it would have seemed almost a sad smile, but that wasn’t who his father was. “Of course,” William said quietly, “I’d forgotten...”
“Luke,” his mother admonished, setting down her own fork, and turned on him, “you should apologize...”