"I know." Tarik seated himself on the bench. "But then guilt would have marred my enjoyment."
"It's the bane that rules his life," Layla said.
Vaden turned to her. "And you are?"
"Layla."
"Tarik's wife." Kadar poured a goblet of wine and carried it to Vaden. "Your wine. Must we wait until you finish before we start?"
"Nothing should interfere with a fine goblet of wine." Vaden smiled. "But I suppose I could make an exception."
"You've decided to help us?" Selene asked.
"If you can meet my price."
"We'll meet it."
"Don't be so eager," Tarik said. "It's my money pouch you're depleting."
"But you're clearly a wealthy man," Vaden said. "Only the very rich can afford to suffer guilt."
"What's your price?"
"First tell me what my part is in this endeavor."
"What you always do: You and your force will attack when we deem it necessary," answered Selene.
"When I deem it necessary," Kadar said. "An army with too many heads tends to get them all chopped off."
"And that's why I'll make the decisions," Vaden said.
Kadar shook his head. "I know Nasim, and your part in this may be minor depending on how we can position him."
"My part is never minor." He met Kadar's gaze and then shrugged. "But we can decide details later."
It was a major victory, Selene thought, and one she hadn't expected Kadar to win. "First we have to find Nasim. We think he's somewhere near Rome."
"Pompeii," Vaden said. "The assassins never venture too near any city in Christendom. Fear is one of their weapons, and distance lends mystery. Nasim and his men have set up camp above the ruins."
"How do you know?" Selene asked.
"This is Rome. It's the place of my birth. I make it my business to know everything that happens here."
"Then you knew Nasim was here when we first spoke to you."
"I knew he was near, and I located him yesterday morning." Vaden's smile was angelically beautiful. "But I hadn't run out of wine yet."
She wanted to hit him. She drew a deep breath. "Nasim is searching for us. We have to strike before he finds out where we are."
"We could try to draw him here." Vaden glanced around the cool tiled beauty of the terrace. "In fact, I think that's a splendid idea. The villa would make a fine battleground. If Nasim rode his horses through here, we could rid Tarik of several of those abominable statues."
"That's not amusing," Tarik said. "You obviously not only intend to beggar me but to deprive me of my property."
"Well, we probably couldn't lure him here anyway," Vaden said. "We'll have to rely on attack."
"We can lure him. We have something he wants," Kadar said. "But we'll have to choose a better place than the villa."
Vaden's eyes narrowed. "What do you have that Nasim wants?"
