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“She’s your woman,” Ilano said. “You shouldn’t hide anything from her.”
Maya noted the steel in the vampire’s eyes. They held a challenge as he waited for Tim’s reply.
“Maya isn’t interested in my business,” Tim said. “She may find it boring.”
“Ah, I see.” Amusement danced in Ilano’s eyes. “You’re protecting her. How sweet.” In the blink of an eye, his expression went from humorous to one of pure menace. “I want her to stay.”
“Very well,” Tim said, closing his fingers around Maya’s and squeezing to the point of pain. “In that case…” He turned to her. “A drink, my love?”
“No, thank you,” Maya said, knowing Tim wouldn’t like it if she had alcohol. Not if he was to feed from her anytime soon. She noticed he hadn’t put his lips on the red liquid in his glass.
Tim took a seat, dragging her down next to him onto the sofa. Ilano followed suit, choosing the loveseat. The four bodyguards remained standing.
“I’ll get straight to the point.” Ilano downed his drink and put the glass on the table next to him. “Your previous shipment—you said it went down in a freak storm.”
Tim’s brow furrowed.“Yes.”
“I suspect sabotage.”
“Sabotage?” Tim let go of Maya’s hand. He leaned forward, his body tight. “Why?”
Ilano flicked his fingers. Victor pulled a piece of paper from his inside jacket pocket and handed it to Tim. Tim studied the diagram and the notes. Maya recognized it instantly. It was a sea graph.
“A freak wave,” Ilano said, “with nothing to cause it, no underwater quakes, no shifting of plates. Only minutes earlier, there was another craft on the water. Its position is indicated on the map.”
Maya tried hard to rein in her emotions. Outwardly she was collected, staring at Ilano with a cool gaze. She knew he would be able to hear her heartbeat, probably better than Tim, as well as smell her fear, therefore she kept the blood flow in her veins steady, focusing on her breathing. Years of training helped. This wasn’t her first day on the job.
Tim looked up. “What are you implying?”
“What could cause a reaction like that in the water?”
“Explosives?”
“Maybe. Whatever the case,” Ilano narrowed his eyes, “it seems you still have a rat, and I demand an answer. If you can’t snuff the rodent out, I’ll do it for you. You have a week.” He smiled sweetly. “Does that give you enough time?”
“Sure.” Tim got to his feet. “If there is one, I will find him, but I doubt it. Very much. It could be pirates.”
“Pirates wouldn’t have sunk the arms. They’d have stolen them.”
“Government pirates,” Tim said with meaning.
“If that’s the case, then you have a bigger rat on your hands than what we thought.” Ilano got up. “Can you handle it, or shall I leave my men?”
“I can handle it,” Tim said in a clipped tone.
“Good.” Ilano turned his gaze back to Maya. “Your drink was most considerate, but I’d love a warm nightcap, if you’d be so generous, Tim.”
It took a second for Maya to realize that Ilano was asking Tim’s permission to feed from her. She inhaled inaudibly, not daring to show her distress.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve just fed from her. She won’t be able to donate more blood.”
Ilano brushed his thumb over his lip as he studied her. “Pity. I’ll have to head into town then.” He flicked his fingers again. “Boys.”
Victor and Eduardo moved to the door. Victor opened it to reveal Frida standing on the threshold with a tray in her hands that was loaded with olives, Melba toast, and pâté. The men pushed past her without a word, filing out of the front door to where more armed guards waited on the lawn. They got into three cars, slamming the doors shut. Only when the cars slowly made their way to the main gate did Tim blow out an audible breath.
Lee, Cesar, and Frida watched Tim with guarded expressions. He pulled Maya close to him and hugged her tight.
“Ilano’s guards, are they vampires?” she asked.
“No, they’re human.” Tim hesitated. She expected him to explain, to come clean, but instead he kissed her and said, “Wait for me upstairs. I have to deal with this.”
Maya said nothing as she headed for the stairs. She had to get rid of the bugs she’d planted. There was no doubt that after Ilano’s statement, Tim would have the house swept anew. She was standing on the landing, eyeing Tim’s study with uncertainty, when Lee came up the stairs with a metal scanner.
“You all right?” he asked.
“Yeah. Just a bit shaken.”
“Don’t worry about Ilano. He’s a bad ass, but Tim knows how to handle him.”
“Okay,” she said meekly. When Lee headed straight for the study, she asked, “Where are you going?”
“To check for bugs,” he said. “I doubt we’ll find any, but you heard what Ilano said about a rat.” He cleared his throat. “Government business can be sensitive. If the right information falls into the wrong hands…” He stopped talking and looked away, as if he couldn’t stomach his own lie. “I’ll do the master bedroom next, so if you’re planning on having a shower, make it a quick one.”
