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A subtle peek on my part showed that her biceps were still as cleanly-lined under her brown skin as they’d been before. She put my once-a-month spin classes to shame.
“Can I offer either of you a drink?”
Theo nodded, and I followed suit, carefully picking my way over the duvet-like carpeting to a couch.
Rada stopped in front of a sterling-framed glass bar cart, the ice clinking as she set them into crystal highball glasses, then poured golden-brown liquid.
She was clad in an all-white wrap jumpsuit, and with her back to us, showcased her perfect, peach-shaped rump. I subtly cast over to Theo to see where his attention might be, but he was busy frowning at his phone.
Speaking of which—
Rada silently made her way over the carpeting with a sterling tray and gracefully set it on the coffee table between us. Theo set down his phone by his thigh and reached for a glass, crossing his leg at the ankle when he settled back.
Rada took a seat across from us, artfully crossing her legs. “So, what can I do for you?”
“I’m sure you’ve deduced that by now,” he said after a careful sip.
“Still searching for your brother, I see.”
“I’ve tracked him here, and since you come to my city often claiming you own this town, now is the time for you to prove it.”
One expertly plucked eyebrow. That was the extent of Rada’s tell. “Are you still smarting over our negotiations years ago?”
“Tell me where Trace is, Rada.” Theo bent forward.
Instead of being intimidated by Theo’s scarred face in full afternoon light, she relaxed against the pillows and tipped the glass to her bright red lips, maintaining eye contact the entire way.
“I admit, I could be of assistance,” she said.
“What’s the price?”
“Are you not enjoying your drink?”
I startled out of my repose, accepting that Rada was acknowledging me the way she would an invisible dust mite in her sheets. “Uh, yes. I’m fine.”
She angled her head. “Perhaps you’d enjoy coffee instead?”
I suddenly became aware of the purplish bruises under my eyes, the state of my hair. “Sure. That would be…” Theo didn’t seem to mind the interruption, going back to his phone. “That’d be great. Thank you.”
Rada arced into a stand. “I’ll let the kitchen know. One moment.”
Theo looked up from his phone. “Can you provide one of your butlers while you sort out the coffee?”
“It’ll cost you,” she tossed over her shoulder.
“I’m aware.”
A middle-aged man appeared in the entryway, hands politely folded behind his back and thin-rimmed glasses perched on a small, pug-ish nose. He was belly first, his white button-down straining against the material, but his legs were surprisingly thin.
“Can I be of assistance, sir?”
“Yes.” Theo set his drink down and gestured for the butler to approach. He murmured something in the man’s ear.
The butler, ever used to strange requests from his employer and her friends alike, cast a strange glance my way before recovering and nodding to Theo. This man was a pro, his half-second stare at me not something any layman would notice. But I was on the type of alert I used at the poker table.
“Right away, sir.”
I watched him exit, then turned to Theo. “What was that?”
