Viktor was clever not to lie to Lenore. Would she be able to see it as easily as a Chitah could smell it? He could have told her that we planned to call, and that might have smoothed things over, but he danced around the apology like a professional ballerina. Or were men called ballerinos?
“So this was Christian’s idea.” Lenore was impossible to read, but she remained amiable, leading me to believe she wasn’t as opposed to the idea as I’d thought. “It’ll win over some of the powerful Packmasters in the region to know that the higher authority has their best interests at heart. I’ll have to make financial arrangements, but I need you to confirm each person who called. I’m assuming this is an exclusive list? Do tell me more.”
“I’m afraid we cannot divulge explicit details of all our cases,” Viktor said, leaning back. “It would bore someone of your high intelligence. We work so many jobs. Many are small and keep us busy. Very, very busy.” He glanced at his watch.
“Of course.” Lenore rose from the table. “I know enough. Since I don’t want to take up your valuable time, would you mind if I stole Raven for an hour or two? I know you have plenty of work to do, but I’m judging by her appearance that she has a little free time this afternoon. Did you tell her I was your primary contact for the last assignment?”
My eyebrows popped up. “Is that why Christian was guarding you?” Now it made sense. If Lenore had helped, that would have inadvertently made her a target, especially since some of her peers were involved in the fights. “I thought maybe you’d made a bunch of enemies.”
She laughed melodically. “I do enjoy your sense of humor.”
I shivered, having a weird sense of déjà vu.
“Perhaps you should shower and put on something decent,” Lenore suggested.
I caught Viktor’s look, and he knew how precious every second was. They needed to keep the kids away from the house and quiet. Viktor was smitten with Lenore but not enough to trust her with his livelihood. That was telling.
I stood and pushed in the chair. “Since it’s your invitation, you’ll have to take me as I am. If I go upstairs to shower, I’ll wind up taking a nap. That’s my routine, and I’ve been working out all day. Just give me a couple of seconds to wash my armpits in the kitchen sink.”
The sheer look of horror on her face made every bit of my uncouth behavior worth it.
Lenore owned a white Rolls-Royce. She also had a black car, but this one definitely fit her style. The back doors opened the opposite way, and I’d never seen anything so classy.
“It’s a 1948,” she said, running her hand across the interior wood paneling like one of those game show models. “Mint condition. I had to restore the leather bench, but isn’t it a dream?”
I pointed at a cabinet door in the center. “Is that where you keep the booze?”
Her black eyes sparkled as she studied me. “How did you know?”
“I’ve seen a lot of old movies, I guess.”
My dad would have loved this old car even though he would have called it a prissy waste of money. Deep down, he admired vehicles kept in their original condition.
“Have a drink with me,” she insisted, opening the cabinet and placing two glasses on a tray that lowered from the back of the front seat. “Is bourbon all right?”
“It’s fine.”
She handed me one and clinked her glass against mine. “To unexpected friendships.”
I wouldn’t have gone that far, but I kept quiet and gulped down my drink. Christian was right about keeping enemies close. Though, truth be told, I wasn’t sure if Lenore was friend or foe. I hated the bitch, but that was when she was after Christian. Now that she had her sights on Viktor, I didn’t feel threatened by her. She helped sell my necklace at auction and lent me money. That didn’t mean I trusted her either, but I was in her debt for that damn loan. It was wiser to have a good rapport with someone I owed a favor to, so I had to play it smart.
When I set my empty glass down, her eyes settled on my necklace. “Do you wear that all the time, even when you’re sweaty?”
I gave her a sly grin. “Especially when I’m sweaty.”
“Dear, oh dear. You should take better care of precious things.”
“The chain is unbreakable.”
“But your neck is not.”
I stiffened at that remark.
Lenore chuckled softly. “I’m only saying if that necklace were to ever get hung up on something, what would happen to your neck?”
“It’s long enough that I can slip it off if that were to happen, but thanks for thinking of ways to avoid my decapitation. That’s not always the first thing that comes to mind when I’m admiring someone’s necklace.”
She savored her drink. “One has to be practical. You can’t always keep something you love close if it might be the death of you.”
I set down my empty glass and glanced out the window. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
As the car turned, grassy fields came into view. A tree here and there, sometimes a bench. Eventually we came to a stop.
“Oh goody. We’re here.” Lenore waited for the driver to open her door.
I shoved my door open and climbed out. Small waves lapped against the shore, and though the water was blue, there was a murky smell to it.
Lenore hooked her arm in mine and led me toward the shore. “I prefer the ocean and salty air on my tongue, but this will have to do.”
“Isn’t this a little blinding for you?”
The sun shimmered on the water like a million mirrors.
“Nonsense. I’m an old Vampire. When you’re my age, you simply build up a tolerance for the intolerable.”
The driver waited by the car as we walked down a gentle slope of grass until we reached the muddy banks. Lenore left her high heels in the grass, lifted the hem of her dress with one hand, and walked close enough for the waves to splash over her feet.
I stayed closer to dry land, not wanting stinky lake mud to cake all over my black sneakers. Strong wind plastered my hair to one side, but damn, it felt good.
“Viktor didn’t know about your little financial arrangement, did he?” she asked.
“He’s the boss. He knows everything.”
Lenore smiled at me. “You’re a better liar than he is. Why do you think I prefer meeting people face-to-face instead of using these confounded telephones? I can pick up tiny fluctuations in their breathing and heart rate, but to be honest, most people who lie give the same exact signals.”
I stepped onto a flat rock and faced her. “Does it really matter? We work cases nonstop, and Viktor’s too busy to know every detail. He trusts us.”
A few tendrils freed themselves from the braided work of art on Lenore’s head. “Maybe I find it curious that he protects his people… even from me. What does a woman have to do to gain that man’s trust?”
“Seduce him?” I said facetiously.
“Is that what you do?”
I stepped off the rock and strolled away. “I don’t use my sexuality to get what I want.”
“Yes you do. We all do. Their weakness is our power.” She matched my stride, her toes filthy with mud and tiny pebbles stuck to them.