"A minute," Nikolai said. "But that's about all we can risk."
"What the hell's going on here?" Jack mumbled, some of his shell shock dissipating and the retired warrior in him coming online. "Renata...just what the hell kind of trouble are you in, girl?"
She offered him a weak smile as she moved forward and pulled him into a hug. "Jack, I want to thank you - for helping us last night, but even more, for just being you." She drew away from him to look into his kind old eyes. "You may not realize this, but you were my anchor so many times. Whenever I lost my faith in humanity, your kindness restored it. You've been a true friend, and I love you for that. I always will."
"Renata, I need you to tell me what's going on. This man you're with...this creature. For crissake, am I losing my mind, or is he some kind of - "
"He's my friend," she said, meaning it so sincerely even she was taken aback by her conviction. "Nikolai is my friend. That's all you need to know."
"We have to go now, Renata."
Nikolai's voice was calm, all business. She nodded, and when she glanced over at him, she saw that he was back to his normal state now. Jack sputtered in confusion, but Nikolai merely reached out to take the human's hand.
"Thank you for all you've done, Jack. You're a good man." Nikolai didn't wait for a reply. With his free hand, he lifted his palm to Jack's forehead and pressed it there for a long moment. "Go back into the house and go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, you'll forget we were here at all. You will discover there was a break-in upstairs in the apartment - Curtis was mixed up with some bad people, the robbery got out of hand, and he was killed."
Jack said nothing, but he nodded his agreement.
"You won't see us when you open your eyes," Nikolai told him. "You won't see any of the blood or glass. You're going to turn around, head back into your house, and climb into bed where you'll stay for the rest of the night."
Again Jack bobbed his head in compliance. Nikolai removed his hand from the old man's brow. Jack's eyes blinked open, calm and unfazed. He looked at Renata, but it was an empty stare that seemed to pass right through her. She stood there, watching in sadness as her old, dear friend pivoted around in silence and began a slow trek back to the house.
"You all right?" Nikolai asked her, placing his arm around her waist as they waited in the driveway for Jack to disappear. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said quietly, letting herself lean into his strong embrace. "Let's clean up this mess and get out of here."
Chapter Twenty-three
About damn time he got here," Alexei Yakut complained to himself as he watched a pair of headlight beams ricochet off the trees outside the main lodge. Irritated to have been kept waiting this past half hour, Lex moved away from the window in his father's former quarters - quarters that now belonged to him, like everything else his dead father had left behind. The black vehicle prowling up the drive was huge, obviously an SUV. Lex rolled his eyes in disgust. He'd expected a male of Edgar Fabien's status to travel in something more elegant than a Humvee loaner taken right out of the Enforcement Agency fleet. Lex's own standards demanded much more than such a utilitarian mode of transport, especially for an event as important as the one he would be attending with Fabien. For f**k's sake, they might as well be arriving at the gathering in a pickup truck for all the statement they would make in that inelegant Agency vehicle.
If he was in charge of things - when he was in charge, Lex mentally amended - he would arrive nowhere without a proper motorcade befitting his elite rank.
He strode out of his chambers in an impatient huff, adjusting the line of his suit coat as his polished alligator -hide loafers tapped softly across the wide plank beams of the floor. He knew he looked good - which was the point - but he was far more accustomed to his longtime service uniform of boots and leather. He was an adaptive individual; he didn't think it would take much to get used to his new identity.
In the great room outside, the lodge's two remaining guards sat at a table playing cards. One of them glanced up as Lex entered, the subtle lift of his hand not quite fast enough to hide his amused smirk. "That necktie looks like it's cutting off your air, Lex," joked the other guard, chuckling at his own humor. "Better loosen that shit up before you pass out."
Lex glared as he ran his finger along the rim of the too-tight collar of his five-hundred-dollar shirt. "Blow it out your ass, cretin. And open the f**king door. My ride is here."
As the guard lumbered over to carry out the command, Lex wondered how long he should keep the two bone-heads around. Sure, they'd served beside him in his father's employ every day for the better part of a decade, but a male like Lex deserved respect. Maybe he would teach both of them that lesson when he arrived back in a couple nights from the weekend gathering. Lex forced a welcoming smile for Fabien as the guard opened the door...except it wasn't Edgar Fabien standing there to greet him. It was a uniformed Enforcement Agent, with three more behind him.
"Where's Fabien?" Lex demanded.
The tall Agent at the front gave Lex a slight bow of his head. "We'll be rendezvousing with Mr. Fabien at a separate location, Mr. Yakut. Do you need assistance with anything before we escort you to the vehicle?"
Lex grunted, his ego soothed somewhat by the Agent's deferential tone. "I have a couple of bags in the other room," he said with a dismissive wave in the direction of his quarters. "One of your men can fetch them for me."
Another nod of obeisance from the one in front. "I will see to your things personally. After you, sir."