I plopped myself onto the couch gracelessly and dug into the Chinese chicken salad and the amazing loaded potato chowder that went with it. I poured some sweet tea, an addiction of mine, and closed my eyes in bliss.
“Henri, are you sure you’re married? I’d marry you in a heartbeat.”
Henri unfolded a linen napkin and placed it over my lap. “Yes. My wife adores me.”
I laughed. “I’m sure she does. Do you cook for her as well? Does she live close by? I would love to meet her.” I was curious about the fussy Henri and his home life. What was his wife like?
Henri pursed his lips again. “You are a constant stream of questions. Yes, miss, she lives close by. We have a suite in The Garden Wing. As for if you will meet or not?” He shrugged elegantly. “Probably soon. She is one of the keepers of the gardens. She’s very busy.”
“Vegetable gardens?”
Henri nodded, fidgeting.
“Well, please ask her, okay?” We had vegetable gardens? I really wanted to see those. Mesmer hadn’t included them on the tour.
“Of course, miss. Will there be anything else you need?” He brushed nonexistent lint off of his white chef’s smock, and speared me with his piercing gray eyes.
“Umm.” I hesitated to ask…
“Yes?” He sounded like a man being led to the gallows, and I knew it was because he could sense what my request was going to be. I wanted to laugh, but didn’t dare.
“Can I have a double chocolate chip muffin, please?”
He sighed. “Miss, I can see that I will need to make a double batch of those each week.”
I tried to smile angelically. I’m not sure it worked because he harrumphed at me, and then sped out the door muttering under his breath that he didn’t know where I put it all. I smiled. I was very blessed with a fast metabolism. I could eat all day and not gain anything. It was wonderful. I took full advantage of it by eating like a teenager denied junk food their entire life.
I dipped my spoon into the creamy potato soup, hummed in delight, and looked at Draven. “I feel like I’m making friends.”
Draven laughed.
“Do you have any new information on the car bomb?”
Draven wiped his fingers and nodded. “We don’t have much. Finn and his team dragged the lake and salvaged what remained of the car and the bomb.” He grabbed something from his desk and handed it to me. “As you can see, there were no prints on the bomb casing. They pulled the outside camera footage from the bank, and all they found was a person of indeterminate age, weight, and gender around the Town Car for a brief moment before they flashed away. The speed that they left the frame of the camera suggests a supernatural that can use flash speed, like a vampire. Finn has pulled a few people in for questioning, but he’s not all that confidant, based on the evidence, that he’ll be able to nail this guy.”
“Or girl,” I said.
Draven nodded. “Or girl.”
“So, what, we just wait for them to attack again? And why was it Mesmer and I that were attacked if they were after you?”
Draven steepled his fingers and leaned back on the couch. “I did say, Miss Durran, that my enemies might become your enemies as well. By getting to you, they get to me. You are under my protection. Not only as my employee, but also you have become a part of House Leto.”
The spoon clinked in the bowl as I dropped it. I was no longer hungry. “Had anything happened recently? Before I came?”
Draven shook his head. “No. It’s been many years since there was an attack on me or mine. And those people have long been dealt with. This is something, orsomeone,new, and for a purpose that I can only guess at.”
I swallowed thickly. Yeah. That sounded about right. There was a supernatural killer on the loose, and it seemed I’d somehow ticked them off by accepting a job with Mr. Leto.
Crushing crackers!
* * *
Weeks wentby without any new attacks. I spent my days, and some of my evenings closeted in the study with Draven as we worked on a stack of businesses that he’d invested in that were in trouble. He met virtually with various department heads, pinpointing problem areas, and suggesting various rescue companies that, with some work, could pull their businesses back into the black.
He invested in a ton of diverse businesses and enterprises. And even though it wasn’t his place as the investor to help these companies out if they were struggling, he still seemed to care, and worked hard to help them. He wanted them to succeed.
He also financed individuals who had what he called “grand ideas.” Some inventions that he had financed over the years made me giggle, and some of them boggled my mind. There were a lot of clever people out there.
