Mina twisted her fingers in her lap as the clock ticked. Finally, she flashed a tight smile.
“No problem. That would be fine.”
Bene shot her an incredulous look. “Say what?” When Gordon shot him the evil eye, Bene stuck his hands up. “I mean, well…”
“What he means to say, sir, is that I am better suited to the task,” Roux interjected.
“He is,” Bene, Henrik, and I spoke in chorus.
Mina exhaled.
“In what way?” Gordon growled.
His warlock power crackled through the air, making my hair prickle in alarm. None of us had ever witnessed Gordon’s legendary power on full display, and we never wanted to.
“I’m more familiar with the art, sir,” Roux said. “And I worked on the Loretti case last month. The one with the private auction of…er…” He trailed off, tilting his head toward Mina.
The Loretti case was an auction of a major arms shipment seized in Montenegro. I hadn’t been part of it, but Roux and Bene had, and they’d shared some of the less savory details.
Gordon shot Roux a look of warning, because God forbid his goddaughter found out where his millions hadreallybeen earned.
“Roux does know a lot,” Mina chimed in. “About art, I mean,” she added when Gordon gave her a sharp look.
“I do, sir. Henrik just isn’t suited to the task,” Roux continued.
Normally, that would earn him a flash of fangs, but Henrik nodded immediately. “Not at all.”
“And why might that be?” Gordon demanded.
“Because…er…” Roux looked around, but we were all stuck.
“Because Henrik is better suited to vetting potential buyers,” Bene finally threw in.
“Muchbetter suited,” Roux underscored.
Which just went to prove that even felines could be brilliant sometimes.
Gordon stroked his chin, thinking. “So, Roux on security, and Henrik to vet prospective buyers.” Then he nodded to himself. “Fine. Marius and Benedict, I’ll need you back in Brussels.”
My nostrils burned as my dragon protested, and I nearly roared.Not an option.
But Bene raised his hand first. “If I may, sir…”
“What now?” Gordon grumbled.
“Minaandthe painting both need protection. That means two on security — Roux for the painting, and Marius for Mina.”
I didn’t know whether to kiss or kill him. Of course, I wanted to protect Mina. But staying close to her meant resisting temptation every day — and possibly tempting my enemies.
Fuck. I was so screwed.
“Then there’s the payment,” Bene went on. “If the deposit is made in cash…” He paused, scratching his cheek. “Or will cryptocurrency be accepted?”
Gordon huffed. “Of course not. Cash or bank transfer.”
Preferably through his account in the Cayman Islands, I guessed.
“Well, if it’s cash…” Bene trailed off.
