Page 126 of King of Omen

He was part Maori, colossal in size, with muscles for days, solid arms, a trim waist, and thick thighs gloved in tailored black slacks.

The skin of his upper arm and chest was inked in traditional art. His head was bald and smooth, his jaw unyielding, and his lips slashed in a stern grimace.

He was pure muscle, but this was no jock.

When he whipped off his designer sunglasses, I marked his unusual silver-charcoal eyes and the keen glint of freakish intelligence behind them.

I made an executive call. ‘Sovereign?’

He jerked his chin and reached out a hand. ‘Name’s Saint Tahana, CEO.’

I thought, ex-military, paramilitary, firmly in the grey as I noted his discreet weapon tucked away on his waistband.

My kind of man.

I folded his hand into a firm handshake. Well aware that, even though our heights matched, given his sheer muscle mass, he had the power to crush my bones to smithereens.

‘What’s the deal?’ he rasped, getting straight to the point.

I liked his lean.

‘Can I expect discretion?’ I checked.

His eyes raked over me. ‘Can you afford it?’

‘Send me the invoice,’ I growled. ‘No question.’

His nostrils narrowed as he took a breath and, then, nodded.

‘I’ve got your back, whoever you are. The only reason I’m here is pure curiosity. I might have sent one of my crew. However, when the head of Paris’ notorious Chasse Syndicate called and told me to hustle to this address in my neck of the woods, you bet I was keen to make an acquaintance in person.

I arched a brow and huffed. ‘I’m not here to make trouble. I want my woman found. Can you help?’

‘I need everything you can give me. Name, face ID, most recent photos, breakdown of what she wore when last seen, a full description of her kidnappers and anything else you’re willing to divulge. In the meantime, my team will utilise a few secret back doors in the city surveillance cams for what we find. I also require access to her house.’

I glanced up at the apartment’s front egress, gaping open. ‘It appears you can walk right in.’

Saint gave me one more sweeping study, then turned away to make several calls.

Alessio and I helped Mauri to his feet. Damn, the poor man had taken a few hits on my behalf. I made a note to double his pay as Alessio aided him back to our vehicle.

I had a sudden thought. ‘Mauri, where’s the SUV? Your wheels?’

Mauri paused midstep. ‘Fuck, they must have stolen it. I left the keys in the ignition and leapt out when Mia called and went after her. I didn’t think.’

I turned to Saint, who’d inclined his head toward us. ‘Caught that?’ I asked him.

He gave me a terse nod.

‘Car plates?’

Mauri rattled them out to the giant, who relayed them to whoever was on the other side of the call.

‘We’ll soon have eyes on it,’ Saint replied, holstering his phone. ‘Do you have any leads or suspects who might have taken her?’

‘We’ve got some idea,’ I said, running a hand through my hair. ‘A young man called Tony, whose cousin was my woman’s housemate.’

‘We need to get off this street before the neighbours become too curious,’ Saint growled. ‘Jump in the car with your men; I’ll do a five-minute house sweep for clues and be back. Sounds like this was personal, am I right?’

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