Page 26 of Flames of Ruin

CiCi runs her hand down my arm. “This isn’t on you.” She pauses. “They mentioned something about a new group. Something about ghosts. But Dimitri seemed threatened, almost scared. I didn’t hear much more because you came barreling toward me.”

She playfully nudges my side with her elbow.

Shado shifts and looks around the bar nervously. “We really shouldn’t be talking about this here.”

Nodding in agreement, I motion toward the door, “We need to get back to Vanguard.”

***

Drake: I have another favor, old friend.

D: You really need to learn what friend means.

Drake: The cancer has returned.

D: What do you need from me?

Sitting at my computer desk in the bunker, my eyes begin to cross as I comb through the database to see if I can find anything about the auction that CiCi mentioned.

But there is nothing.

Frustrated, I slam my hands on the sleek wooden desk. “They’ve taken this off the wires. There’s no mention of any meet-up or auction.”

“Then we do things the old-fashioned way. We go hunting. We already know it’s going to be at the docks,” Shado says, as he twirls around in the chair.

I swear, for as intimidating as the man looks, he acts like a five-year-old.

“There’s a poker game tomorrow night. We could go there.”

Turning around, I see Miranda and CiCi standing there with food bags from Railcar Junction, one of Edinburgh’s best burger joints.

“How did you get in here?” The surprise in my voice is evident.

“The lobby elevator button marked ‘B’ isn’t very secretive, and the door leading to the basement was unlocked.” CiCi grins as she approaches me. “You sure are off your game tonight, Sir.”

The way she emphasizes the word ‘sir’ sends shocks straight to my dick. Shaking my head, I rip the brown paper food bag out of her hands.

Leaning against the desk, Miranda chuckles as she pops a fry into her mouth, “Don’t worry, we locked it behind us.”

“Ah! Doesn’t do much good. Draco was never one to have good security in his secret lair.”

I hear a thick Russian accent, chuckling, coming from the shadows by the entryway steps, accompanied by heavy footsteps approaching us.

Shado instinctively grabs his gun but before he can cock it, I hold my hand up. Facing the direction of the voice, Daniil and three of his men come into view.

“That was quick, Daniil. Even for you.” I walk toward him, holding my hand out.

Surprising me, he pulls me into an embrace, slapping me on the back, “Ha! Old friend. How is The Dragon?”

Before I can answer, Shado snaps, “What the fuck is Parshikov’s son doing here?”

Daniil looks at him with an evil sneer on his face, “Well. The same reason you’re here, is it not?”

He approaches Shado slowly, like a snake. “Adrien Demassi, if I’m not mistaken?”

Daniil holds his hand out, to which Shado brushes aggressively past as he storms toward the door.

It makes sense now why I couldn’t find his last name in any of the files. The spy kid wiped them clean. His father was a part of the Fourth Circle.

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