Rauf remained where he was until he was certain the man had returned to the hall. When he heard no more footsteps, he appeared from where he was hiding and strode into the hall too.
Rauf hadn’t confronted the man because he wanted to know who was behind the scenes.
Immediately he got into the hall, he saw that the party was in full swing. His gaze searched for June.
Fortunately, Chris and Ellie were exactly where he had left them beside June. It seemed they were lost in deep conversation and weren’t concerned with their surroundings. Something Rauf was hoping to change.
"...not smitten at all," Chris was saying as he joined them.
Slowly, Rauf took his place beside June, wrapping his hand around her waist.
June didn’t change her expression. She didn’t want Chris or Ellie to know what was happening. Slowly, she removed Rauf’s hand from her waist.
Almost instantly, he placed his hand back, his eyes darting around.
He had located the man in chains, and his eyes followed him.
June turned towards him with a sneer. "Is something wrong?"
The three of them turned towards him.
Again, June removed his hand from her waist.
He shook his head. "Nothing."
But June persisted. "You look like something’s wrong. Did the conversation with your mother not go as you expected?"
Rauf latched onto that escape. "Yeah. I think Mother’s hiding something. But don’t worry, I’ll find out."
June looked away from him.
She started telling Chris the different ways she would attack him if he ever mistreated Ellie.
During those few minutes of distraction, Rauf picked up his phone and sent a message to Henson. He gave him the full description of the man and the things he had heard him say, along with a few instructions. He wanted him to find out who the man was, if he was on the guest list, and who had invited him.
When he slipped the phone back into his pocket, June was looking at him with her brow raised.
She wanted to ask who he was talking to, but she knew it was none of her business. And that had been one of their agreements.
Suddenly, June shifted on her feet. "Excuse me, I want to use the ladies’ room."
As she took a step, Rauf moved after her.
June turned. "Where are you going?"
Rauf turned to see Chris smirking at him. He knew June would hate it if he claimed to be going to the bathroom with her, so he came up with the next believable lie.
"I’m also going to the gents."
But June didn’t believe him. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Do you remember what you promised me when I agreed to be your date for this party?"
Rauf stepped back, nodding. "That I would give you freedom of movement."
June smiled. "Exactly..."
"But it’s not safe to walk alone here," Rauf said.
June looked at him as if he had sprouted a new head. "Did you just hear yourself? This is a party. Do you have any idea how many people are here? Who would attack anyone in such an open place?"
Rauf stared at her. She had a point, but he couldn’t keep his mind off the operation that was supposed to happen tonight.
Who knew if it might still happen?
"Fine. But at least let Ellie go with you."
For a while, June only stared at him. But she could tell he was determined.
"Fine. Ellie can come with me."
And with that, the ladies left for the restroom.
As Rauf took his position back beside Chris, his gaze remained on their figures as they grew smaller in the distance. Chris moved closer to him.
"What’s going on?"
Looking around, the whole place was in full swing. No one seemed to be paying attention to them. They were taking advantage of the elites at the party and making as many connections as they could.
In a very low voice, Rauf told Chris what he had just heard.
Now, it was Chris staring around, probably in search of the man in chains.
"Were you able to put the tracker on June?"
Rauf lowered his head. "It was difficult enough getting her to come over. I couldn’t risk it."
Chris let out a low curse. "Are you saying if anything happened tonight, we wouldn’t have a single idea where June is?"
Rauf shook his head, a look of determination on his face. "Nothing is going to happen to her. I’ll make sure of that."
Before Chris could counter it, June returned with Ellie right beside her.
Chris didn’t wait. "Can you stay here for a minute, Ellie? I need to discuss something with Mother."
Ellie, who was enjoying June’s company, couldn’t complain.
Chris searched around for his mother until he found her sitting alone in a chair close to the altar.
He knew that to others, it might seem like his mother couldn’t see a thing. But Chris knew she was taking note of everyone and everything happening at the party.
He settled beside her. "Mother, I think we need to tighten security at the party."
Without turning to look at him or showing even the slightest change of expression, Serena asked, "Why?"
Just as Rauf had narrated it to him, Chris told Serena everything that had happened.
Instead of the shocked or surprised look Chris expected to see from his mother, she simply picked up the glass in front of her and muttered, "Interesting."
Chris frowned. "Don’t you get me, Mother? June might be in danger."
Serena hummed. "I don’t think so. I’ve been keeping a close eye on the Monterrio guys in the room. And I think apart from observing, they don’t plan to do anything tonight."
Chris stared at her in disbelief. "You knew?"
Again, she took a sip of her drink. "Of course I did. But alerting them that we are aware of what’s happening isn’t the next course of action. And suddenly tightening security would surely alert them."
Chris stared at her.
Of course, she would have thought that far.
Finally relaxing in his chair too, he asked, "So, what do we do?"
Serena smirked.
"We wait."