CHAPTER TWENTY

"Daphne? Darling, we have people coming for dinner tonight," said her mother. She had a rich, beautiful accent of British and West African. It always made Daphne smile.

"Mother, I've had enough formal dinners. I'm going to have dinner in my room tonight. Please give my apologies." Her phone started to buzz, and she recognized the number.

"Daphne!"

"Excuse me, Mother," she said, walking toward the library. It was filled with books that were hundreds of years old, others new, and still others in various languages. "Hello?"

"Hi, Daph," smiled Elena.

"Are you alright? Married life treating you well?" she laughed.

"Married life is perfect. If you don't mind, I'm going to put you on the speaker and video phone."

"Of course." She held her breath, hoping to see Brix. When his face didn't appear, Major knew she was disappointed. Beneath the table, he sent a text to Brix. "Hello."

"Daphne, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Luke, this is Eric and Hex. We're part of the leadership team here." She nodded, smiling at them.

"Daph, I was wondering if you've heard of anyone attempting to sell biblical artifacts through the auction houses," she said.

"Biblical? Anything in particular? Paintings? Sculptures?"

"No, nothing like that. I mean artifacts from the time of Jesus."

"Elena, could you be more specific?" she laughed.

"Ark of the Covenant and Veronica's Veil." Daphne opened her mouth, staring at the people in the room. She laughed, then sobered when they didn't laugh with her.

"Are you mad?"

"I'm afraid not. We think that my father was trying to find these items when he died, and we believe that someone thinks I have the answers to their whereabouts."

"Dear God," she whispered. "Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said that." The entire room chuckled at the woman.

"I take it that's a no," said Luke.

"I've taken some time off these last few weeks, so I've been a bit removed from the auction house. I don't handle biblical or religious relics, but they do cross my desk now and then. I can check in with the auction house to see if anything has come up."

"No. No, don't draw attention to yourself," said Luke.

"I can do it remotely just by checking what's in the inventory. It will also list ‘possible' items that could come up for auction."

"What does that mean?" asked Major.

"Well, someone could be expecting that they will acquire or inherit an item, and they're feeling out how much the item should bring or how much interest there is in the object. Many times, these items turn out to be fraudulent or bought illegally. Stolen paintings, that sort of thing, have come up several times in the last few years."

"I don't want you to put yourself in danger," said Elena.

"I agree," said Brix. "Do not put yourself in danger." Daphne smiled at the man as he walked closer to the table.

"Hi, Brix."

"Hey, Daph," he smiled. Luke, Hex, and Eric raised their brows, staring at the man as he grinned at the screen.

"When you're done flirting, can we get on with business?" asked Hex. Daphne laughed, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, of course," she smiled.

"I wasn't yelling at you, honey," said Hex. "I was yelling at that idiot over there. Daphne don't risk your safety. We can always send someone to get you and bring you here."

"I'm safe." She stared at Brix, who seemed to be chewing his tongue off. "My parents have security here, and they've even added some men, considering what happened to Elena."

"That's good. We'll hope that they're capable at their jobs," said Luke. They watched as Daphne moved up a grand staircase and then down a long hallway. Luke smirked at the others, Hex and Eric laughing.

"Honey, do you need a map to get around that place?" asked Hex.

"Ha, ha," she smiled. "It's not my home. I mean, it is. Kind of. It's my parents' home. My father was knighted and given a lordship a number of years ago. He owns a lot of businesses in this country, Australia, Hong Kong, and a few others.

"I am an antiquities dealer at an auction house. That's what I do for a living. Brix has seen my apartment. It's modest, and that's how I live." She stared at Brix's face, and he nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's right. She has a nice apartment." Eric slapped the back of his head, frowning at him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"What?"

"Jesus, you're dense."

"Okay, I'm into the auction house. Let me filter everything by category – uh, this is strange. The site for religious relics, antiquities, and paintings is down."

"Is that normal?" asked Major.

"No. Not at all. It says the site is down for a major auction on undisclosed items. I need to get down there and see if I can find them in the auction house," she said, moving around her bedroom suite.

"No!" yelled six voices.

"No," said Brix. "It's too dangerous. Do not attempt to do that, Daphne. They're obviously hiding something or believe that they have something big. We'll figure this out."

"Alright. If you think it's too dangerous, that's fine. But if I can help, I want to. I want to make sure that Elena and the baby are safe."

"You're not worried about me?" smirked Major.

"No offense, Major, but no. I saw how you guys were at the hospital. I'm not worried about any of you." She turned, silencing her phone, but they could see her lips moving. She appeared agitated but then turned back to the others. "I'm sorry. My mother is requesting my presence for dinner. If I find anything, I'll let you know. I-I hope you're all doing well. I'd love to see you soon."

"Let's make it happen, Daph. I want you to come over and see us all," smiled Elena. Her screen went blank, and all eyes turned to stare at Brix. He was frowning like a petulant child, then suddenly turned and walked out of the room.

"Fucking idiot," murmured Eric.

"I don't understand. I thought he liked her," said Elena.

"He does. That's what he can't deal with."