“I have some calls in the morning,” he said, scanning the other half of the room. “Perhaps when I'm finished, we can take a small tour.”
She held up one finger to him, tapped her ear, and pointed at the table. He shook his head, indicating he hadn't found anything else. She reactivated the mural and replaced the panel cover. “I suppose. Would you mind bringing my other bag into my room? If we're going to stay here awhile, I should unpack.”
“Of course,” he agreed, picking up the bag and following her over to her room.
She pried off the panel cover and repeated the same procedure. “Brant, their security officer, took me to a lovely café the other day with the most delicious cookies.”
He chuckled, scanning his half of the room. “I should have known. You mentioned you liked him. Now I see why.”
“He has excellent taste,” she agreed, pausing at the nightstand. Someone had planted another bug here as well, but no cameras. It would be easy enough to get rid of it. They needed at least one secure room. She dropped the equipment back into the bag and pulled out their own listening devices. “Excuse me for a moment, Kolya. I need to use the facilities.”
“Of course,” he agreed and headed toward the bathroom where he would operate the water and finish scanning while she darted down the hall.
Keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible to avoid detection by any other devices, she slipped into Lars's bedroom. She planted her device under his bed and quickly exited the room. Her commlink buzzed in her pocket, and she glanced at the message from Yuri as she raced back to the living area. She had only a handful of minutes. They were on their way back now.
She placed one of the listening devices in the living area before moving into a room that appeared to be a study. Another device was installed along the back of the wall panel. She'd have to wait for another opportunity to try to hack into their communication system. Although, knowing Sergei, he'd already figured a workaround. She ducked back into her room just in time to hear the front door open.
Valentina nodded at Nikolai to let him know some of the devices were planted. He walked over to her and said, “Do you need any help unpacking?”
“Perhaps,” she agreed, glancing again at the nightstand. “Did you see the dresses they loaned me?”
He chuckled. “I have not seen you in a dress for a long time, Valya.”
“Don't get used to it,” she warned with a small smile. “But I will wear one after I shower. I believe that sort of attire is more acceptable here.”
Sergei and Yuri entered the room, but Lars was nowhere to be seen. Good. She tapped her ear and pointed to the nightstand. “I see you two didn't kill each other.”
Sergei's eyes narrowed, and he nodded in understanding. He walked over to the nightstand and glanced it over. “Not yet. I couldn't find an open window to throw him out of, and I wasn't sure they would appreciate me breaking one. After all, destroying their tower is not the best way to cement our alliance.”
“There are no windows in this room,” Yuri retorted.
Sergei barked out a laugh. “You have never been able to take me. I have seen children who offer more of a challenge than you.”
Yuri grinned and charged toward Sergei, who neatly sidestepped and crashed into the nightstand. The two of them fell into it, taking the opportunity to swing more punches than necessary and using their combined weight to completely destroy the piece of furniture.
“Enough,” Nikolai ordered, nodding his approval. “Clean this mess up. We will have to reimburse our hosts for this destruction.”
Valentina made a great show of sighing and stepped over to the broken table. She spotted the bug on the floor and said, “That was a lovely piece too.”
Sergei looked up at her from his place on the floor. “Very lovely.”
Yuri elbowed him in the side, and Sergei grunted. She grinned and shook her head at them. “While you two are cleaning up this mess, I'm going to shower and get ready for lunch. Please try not to break anything else while I'm gone.”
They both murmured their agreement, and she headed into the bathroom. Now they just needed to make sure no one else came into the room to plant another bug. She hadn't worried about such devices during her last trip since her arrival had been so unexpected. Part of her was surprised they hadn't also installed cameras, unless this was their way of giving them a modicum of privacy. If it had been her, she would have wired up the very walls with audio and visual surveillance.
Now that she had a moment to herself, she pulled out her commlink and contacted Viktor, Peter's second-in-command. He answered almost immediately, leading her to believe he'd been waiting for her call.
“Valentina,” he greeted her. “It's always a pleasure to hear from you.”
“How are you, Viktor?” she asked, making an effort to keep her voice light and friendly.
“Busy lately, but never too busy for you. I understand we may be working together again?”
“Yes,” Valentina agreed, slipping off her dusty clothes and dropping them onto the floor. She started pulling off her weapons and laid them carefully on the counter. “I would be grateful for your help. Nikolai's troubled by these reports about missing weapons. I want to reassure him, but I'm afraid I don't have your extensive contacts in the area.”
“Of course,” Viktor acknowledged, a trace of pride in his voice.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, worried it would carry over into her tone. Viktor was a lecherous irritant, but he wasn't stupid. It would have been easier to handle him if he were.
“I am planning to visit the construction tower at OmniLab tomorrow. Would you be willing to meet with me?”
There was a lengthy pause on his end. “You are going to OmniLab?”
She sighed. “Unfortunately. I'm sure you're aware our alliance is in jeopardy. Nikolai wants me to meet with Sergei at the towers to see how far along we are with the construction.”
With the faintest hint of annoyance, he said, “Sergei is still at the towers?”
Well, that was interesting and rather unexpected. Sergei had managed to annoy Viktor or Peter somehow. She'd have to ask him about it later. Although, throwing a potential irritant in Viktor's path might be beneficial and make him reveal more than he intended. “Yes, I'm meeting with him in the morning. Perhaps you would like to join me for the tour? We could find a quiet corner somewhere and compare notes.”
“I am surprised Nikolai would send you to deal with Sergei,” Viktor stated.
Valentina paused. Viktor knew something, but she wasn't sure what. At least she didn't have to feign ignorance.
“I was surprised too,” she admitted, allowing a trace of her vulnerability to filter through her voice. “Nikolai doesn't always share his reasoning with me. Is there something you know that I don't?”
He didn't answer right away. She waited, hoping he would eventually fill the silence. Viktor finally sighed and said, “I think Nikolai's making a mistake sending you there to deal with him. It would have been better if he had turned this whole matter over to Peter. Even Yuri would have been a better option. What time are you meeting him?”
“Around eleven,” she said, trying to give herself enough time to follow up on their own investigation before the meeting.
“I will meet you there. Oh, and Valentina?”
“Yes?”
“Do not meet with Sergei alone,” he warned before disconnecting the call.
Valentina frowned, staring at the commlink and wondering what in the world that was about. Resisting the urge to swear at this latest intrigue, she dropped her commlink on the counter and stepped into the shower.
Between the cookies and the showers, she was hard-pressed to say which of the two she liked more. Even so, she couldn't linger. As soon as she dressed, she needed to work out a tactical plan with Nikolai for this luncheon. Everything related to Viktor, Peter, and the missing shipments needed to wait. They couldn't afford to be distracted when dealing with these Omnis.
She finished cleaning off the travel grime, shut off the water, and wrapped one of the drying cloths around herself. There was a special drying tube in the wall off to the side, but she'd never liked using those things. Maybe it was a luxury, but she'd rather use the old-fashioned method whenever possible and let her skin dry naturally.
When she emerged, Yuri was busy working on configuring their monitoring equipment. Sergei, on the other hand, was lounging against the wall watching over Yuri's shoulder. He lifted his head to regard her, slowly scanning her up and down. “If that's what you're planning on wearing to lunch, I'm not sure I have any intention of letting you make it there.”
She smiled and shook her head, walking over to the pile of clothing she'd received from Brant. “Very funny, but no.”
Sergei followed her and reached over to pick up a red dress. He glanced at it and then back at her, a wicked grin on his face. “What about this one?”
She tilted her head, considering the garment. It was very short and clingy, not to mention it just happened to be Sergei's favorite color. Wearing her weapons might require some creativity, but she'd managed more in far less. “Do you intend to pick out my undergarments too?”
“I would rather take those off you,” he offered.
Yuri cleared his throat. “I am still here.”
“You can leave,” Sergei suggested without looking away from her and still holding out the dress, a challenge in his eyes.
She'd never been able to resist a challenge, especially from him. Holding Sergei's gaze, she released the drying cloth and let it fall to the floor. His eyes darkened with desire as he slowly perused her body. With a sly smile, she reached over and took the dress from him. She admired the material for a moment, draping the rich, red color over her skin. “Maybe I will just go without undergarments instead.”
“Leave, Yuri,” Sergei ordered, taking a step toward her and putting his hands on her bare hips.
“Not a chance,” Yuri retorted, adjusting one of the controls on the equipment.
Valentina gave a small shrug and looked down at the dress, debating how long it would take Sergei to lose his mind. If the heat in his eyes was any indication, Yuri would be evicted from her room in less than three minutes.
Sergei leaned in close to her and whispered, “I know what you are trying to do.”
She gave him a coy smile. “Who? Me?”
He grinned, trailing his hand along her hip, and murmured, “Oh, yes. I know exactly what you are trying to do.”
“What do you intend to do about it?” she teased.
“Last chance, Yuri,” Sergei threatened. “Or I will throw you out and the equipment with you.”
“Try it,” Yuri snapped without looking away from the controls. “And Valya, you better get dressed before we get blood on this floor too.”
She grinned at Sergei and bent down, making a show of slowly shimmying into the dress. Once she pulled the straps over her shoulders, she placed her hands on Sergei's chest and pressed a light kiss against his lips. With a shrug, she said, “Maybe some other time.”
He grabbed her and pulled her close, capturing her mouth and kissing her as though she was the very air he needed to survive. When he broke away, he whispered next to her ear, “No, Valechka. You either get rid of Yuri before you go to bed, or I will do it for you. If it's me, someone will be cleaning his blood off the floor in the morning. Either way, I will have you later tonight.”
He turned and headed out of the room, leaving her grasping the dresser for support, her knees weak. She had the feeling he'd won that round, although she wasn't entirely sure anymore.
Chapter Fourteen
Sergei headed into the common area and directly for the bar. He grabbed a bottle, not particularly caring what was in it, and poured himself a drink.
Lars spoke from behind him. “Problem?”
Sergei paused and then added a bit more, capping the bottle and putting it on the bar. He grabbed the glass and tossed it back. Nope. It wasn't enough. He inhaled deeply and poured another glass. “I am fine.”
“Uh huh,” Lars agreed with a trace of humor in his voice. “I think I've seen you drink more in the past few days than I have in the past year.”
Sergei glanced down the hall, tempted to go back in there and physically remove Yuri from the room. For the rest of the day, he was going to be thinking about what Valentina wasn’t wearing underneath that dress. Except weapons. She'd have several weapons, but God only knew where she'd put them. If that wasn't one of the hottest things he'd ever imagined, well…. He downed the liquor and considered pouring another.
“And I don't think I've ever seen you touch my liquor before,” Lars volunteered.
“You talk too much,” he grumbled, putting the bottle back. “How long is this lunch supposed to last?”
Lars chuckled. “Who knows? They're setting up the room now. Alec and Ariana will be here in a few minutes.” Lars paused for a moment. With a wicked grin, he added, “They'll probably want to talk. A lot. Maybe for hours. Who knows? It could last all night.”
Sergei glared at him, knowing Lars was baiting him. If he didn't need help getting rid of Yuri's body, he'd put Lars on the list too.
Lars made a show of glancing down the hall. “Where is Valentina?”
“Getting dressed,” Sergei snapped, beginning to pace the length of the floor as he imagined searching her for weapons again.
“Maybe you should have another one,” Lars suggested. “You seem a little more on edge than usual.”
Sergei took a steadying breath and tried to clear his mind, encouraging his body to relax. He needed to get his emotions under control before Ariana arrived. She was far too perceptive with her ability to read emotions and…. He paused and then swore under his breath. His former comrades needed to be warned about Ariana's other talents.
Ignoring Lars, Sergei headed back down the hall. He pushed open the door to Valentina's room to find Yuri still working on the equipment. Nikolai and Valentina were standing close together and talking softly. Sergei closed the door behind him and announced, “Ariana is an empath.”
Nikolai turned toward him. “What are you talking about?”
“Ariana can read emotions,” he explained. “You need to keep tight control of all your emotions. She cannot read body language well, but she can pick up traces of how you are feeling. I believe she can also sense some deception.”
Valentina's eyes narrowed. “You did not think to mention this before now?”
Yuri swore and got up from his chair. “How skilled is she?”
Sergei shook his head. “I don't know. To my knowledge, Ariana has always had difficulty reading me. She has difficulty reading Valentina too, but she hasn't spent much time with her. I suspect it may be our training that prevents her from accurately reading us, so we must stay on guard.”
“I see,” Nikolai murmured. “What about Alec? Can he do the same?”
“Possibly,” Sergei admitted. “Lars once told me that when two Drac'Kin bond, they can sometimes share abilities. I believe they must be in proximity to each other for this to work. If they are both here together, it is possible.”
Valentina grabbed Nikolai's arm. “We cannot risk it, Kolya.”
“It will be fine, Valya,” he murmured. “We are here at their invitation, and we have done nothing wrong. They have no reason to suspect anything.”
“Yet,” Yuri added with a scowl. “Valentina is right, Nikolai. The risk is higher than we expected. I do not know if this visit is worth it.”
Valentina looked up at Nikolai. “If they even perceive something is off, they could use it against us. These are just powers we know about. What about their other abilities that we cannot detect?”
Nikolai glanced over at him, but Sergei shook his head. “I don't know, Nikolai. Lars only knew Alec was a wind talent, but he didn't know how his abilities manifested themselves. They do not discuss these things openly, not even with each other.”
Nikolai frowned. “It's not ideal, but it's too late to do much about it. I will just suggest we all keep our thoughts as focused on today's events as possible. Keep your emotions tightly controlled.”
“Fine,” Valentina agreed and then glared at Sergei. “You should have told us earlier, Sergei. If anything happens to Nikolai or Yuri, the only blood you will have to worry about on the floor will be yours.”
Yuri grinned and clapped him on the back. “Guess I don't need to worry about you getting into her bed anymore, do I?”
Sergei scowled at him but didn't respond. Instead, he turned back to Nikolai and Valentina, determined to salvage his blunder. “Ariana is honorable. She has a gentle heart and is far too trusting. I believe that's why Pavel was able to take her from the towers to begin with. Alec would not have agreed to bring her here if he considered the situation to be dangerous. She cannot handle violence.”
Nikolai frowned. “You know her that well?”
“I do,” he admitted. “Ariana will try not to intrude on your emotions intentionally. She has some difficulty with control and may pick up on some things if you are not guarded. Alec is the one you should be concerned with, especially if he can use her abilities.”
“I see,” Nikolai murmured. “We will keep that in mind.”
Sergei glanced over at Valentina, who was regarding him thoughtfully. He couldn't tell what she was thinking and that had him more than a little concerned.
He met her gaze. “My omission was not intentional. There is too much we still don't know about them. Every day I spend here, I learn more. But even the most trusted among their people don't know everything. I would never keep such information from any of you.”
Valentina took a step toward him, the short, red dress leaving even less to the imagination than he'd first thought. “Do you have access into their network?”
“Partial,” he admitted, burying his surprise at the change in subject. Although, nothing should surprise him anymore when it came to her. “They have several blocks up, but we were able to install a few backdoors during our takeover. Unfortunately, we cannot access their restricted files remotely without triggering their alarms. They heightened security after another breach several months ago by Kayla, the young woman I told you about. I'm still working on a solution.”
Flames of Redemption Page 18
