"Yes, of course." Lex could hardly contain his eagerness, his greed to know more - to know everything there was to know - right here and now. "Who do I need to meet? I can be at your place first thing tomorrow night - "
Fabien's condescending chuckle grated. "No, no. I'm not talking about anything as public as that. This would require a special meeting. A secret meeting, with a few of my associates. Our associates," he amended with a conspiratorial look. A private audience with Edgar Fabien and his peers. Lex was practically salivating at the very idea. "Where? And when?" "Three nights from now. I will send my car to pick you up and bring you to the location as my personal guest."
"I look forward to it," Lex said.
He offered his hand to the Darkhaven male - his powerful new ally - but Fabien's gaze had strayed past Lex's shoulder to the broken window of the lodge's great room. Those shrewd eyes narrowed, and Fabien's head cocked to the side.
"You have a child out here?" he asked, something dark gleaming in his raptorlike gaze.
Lex turned, just in time to see Mira attempting to duck out of sight, her short black veil swinging with the quick movement. "The brat served my father, or so he liked to think," he said dismissively. "Ignore her. She is nothing."
Fabien's pale brows rose slightly. "Is she a Breedmate?"
"Yes," Lex said. "An orphan my father picked up some months ago."
Fabien made a low noise in the back of his throat, somewhere between a grunt and a purr. "What is the girl's talent?" Now it was Fabien who seemed unable to hide his avid interest. He was still watching the open window, craning his neck and searching as though willing Mira to appear there again.
Lex considered that eager look for a moment, then said, "Would you like to see what she can do?"
Fabien's glittering gaze was answer enough. Lex led the way back into the lodge and found Mira creeping down the hallway toward her bedroom. He went up and grabbed her by the arm, wheeling her around to face the Darkhaven leader. She whimpered a little at his rough handling, but Lex ignored the brat's complaining. He pulled off her veil and pushed her in front of Edgar Fabien. "Open your eyes," he demanded. When she didn't immediately comply, Lex persuaded her with a rap of his knuckles against the back of her small blond head. "Open them, Mira."
He knew she had because in the next moment, Edgar Fabien's expression went from one of moderate inquisitiveness to outright wonder and amazement. He stared, transfixed, his jaw slack.
Then he smiled. A broad, awestruck grin. "My God," he breathed, unable to tear his gaze away from Mira's witchy eyes. "What do you see?" Lex asked.
It took Fabien some time before he answered. "Is it...could this possibly be my future I am looking at? My destiny?" Lex pulled Mira away from him now, not missing Fabien's reflexive grab at the girl, as though he wasn't quite ready to release her yet. "Mira's eyes do indeed reflect future events," he said, placing the short veil back over her head. "She is quite a remarkable child."
"A minute ago you said she was nothing," Fabien reminded him. Narrowed, assessing eyes traveled over the girl. "What would you be willing to take for her?"
Lex saw Mira's head snap in his direction, but his attention was fixed solidly on the transaction suddenly laid out in front of him. "Two million," he said, tossing the figure out casually, as if it were a trivial sum. "Two million dollars and she is yours." "Done," Fabien said. "Phone my secretary with a bank account number and the funds will be there within the hour."
Mira reached out and grabbed Lex's arm. "But I don't want to go anywhere with him. I don't want to leave Rennie - "
"There, there, now, sweetheart," Fabien cooed. He stroked his palm over the top of her head. "Go to sleep, child. No more fussing. Sleep now."
Mira fell back, caught in the vampire's trance. Fabien snatched her into his arms and cradled her like a baby. "A pleasure doing business with you, Alexei."
Lex nodded. "And with you," he replied, following the Darkhaven leader out of the lodge and waiting as he and the girl disappeared into a dark sedan that idled in the drive.
As the fleet of vehicles rolled out, Lex considered the evening's surprising turn of events. His father was dead. Lex was free from blame and poised to take control of all that he had deserved for so long. He would soon be ushered into Edgar Fabien's elite circle of power, and he was suddenly two million dollars wealthier.
Not bad for a night's work.
Renata turned her head to the side on her pillow and cracked one eye open, a small test to see if the reverb had finally passed. Her skull felt like it had been hollowed out and stuffed with wet cotton, but that was a major improvement over the hammer-and-anvil agony that had been her companion for the past few hours.
A tiny pinprick of daylight shone in through a small weevil hole in the pine shutter. It was morning. Outside her room, the lodge was quiet. So quiet that for a second she wondered if she'd just woken up from a horrible dream.
But in her heart, she knew it was all real. Sergei Yakut was dead, killed in a bloody assault in his own bed. All the grisly, gore-soaked images playing through her mind had actually happened. And most disturbing of all, it was Nikolai who stood accused and was arrested for the murder.
Regret over that gnawed at Renata's conscience. With the benefit of a clear head and being some hours removed from the blood and chaos of the moment, she had to wonder if she might have been too hasty to doubt him. Maybe they all had been too hasty to condemn him - Lex in particular.