Page 18 of Mortal Heart

She sashayed over to him and bent to let her long hair brush against his cheek. “You know I don’t like to see anyone lonely,” she murmured in his ear. She turned her back to him and braced herself with her hands on his thighs as she moved against his lap.

He started to think about cold showers, then decided he might as well enjoy Bunny’s attentions. Arkady certainly had. To do otherwise would be rude, after all, and he was nothing if not appreciative of honest, hard work.

Meanwhile, champagne glass in hand, Arkady sat sideways in Mora’s lap like she’d done with Ronan earlier. To Ronan’s surprise, Mora’s eyes now appeared glazed, and his face seemed a little slack. Had Arkady managed to dose him after all? And if so, how?

She spoke into Mora’s ear. “I have some questions for you,” Arkady murmured. Thanks to his acute hearing, Ronan could hear what she said, but he doubted anyone else, including Bunny, could. “You’re going to tell me the truth, right?” she prompted.

Mora nodded jerkily.

“Good boy.” She wiggled on Mora’s lap and bit his earlobe playfully for the benefit of anyone watching. “Oh, what agood boyyou are. I knew you just needed a firm hand.”

As Bunny danced and the music played, Arkady interrogated their target and Ronan listened in. She didn’t waste any time getting to the point. “Were you going to meet two guys tonight to buy a girl from them?”

“Yes,” Mora said, his voice toneless and expression blank.

“Where were you meeting them?”

“Parking lot.” He rattled off an address. Ronan wasn’t familiar enough with the city yet to know where it was, but he figured Arkady would know.

Arkady nuzzled Mora’s neck. “And what were you going to do with her?”

“Clean her up and turn her over to a broker.”

“Who is the broker?”

“I don’t know any names.”

Under the influence of whatever drug or spell Arkady had dosed him with, everything Mora said seemed truthful. Ronan made a mental note to find out what she’d used. It certainly seemed efficient.

Bunny straddled Ronan’s lap and slowly unhooked the many fasteners on her bustier. In that position, she blocked his view of Arkady and Mora. He watched her and smiled while he listened to what Arkady whispered into Mora’s ear and the man’s responses.

“How do you contact the broker?” Arkady asked.

“I’m contacted once a week,” Mora mumbled. “Always a different number calling. They tell me when and where to meet them.”

“Have you ever tried to call that number again?”

“Yes. They never answer.”

Bunny had discarded her bustier in favor of a coquettishly draped arm that only nominally obscured her ample breasts. Ronan smiled at her appreciatively, but he grumbled inwardly.

Whoever this broker was, they were extraordinarily careful. Even if Mora got caught, there was little or nothing he could reveal about anyone above his middle-management level in the trafficking organization. That told Ronan a couple of things—not the least of which were that the people at the top had been in this game a long time and they wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever was necessary to protect their interests. Good. That just made the prospect of taking them out even sweeter.

“Where do you meet the broker?” Arkady asked Mora.

“In a different place each time.”

“How much are you paid per girl?”

“Five hundred to fifteen hundred dollars each, depending on the quality of the merchandise.”

Her rapid-fired questioning and deliberate lack of reaction to Mora’s answers confirmed his suspicion that she had experience with interrogations. Given her combat skills and ability to quickly and accurately assess the people around her, among other things, he’d pegged her for former military with specialized training. The fact she’d likely been an interrogator did not surprise him at all.

Whatdidsurprise him was her next question.

“Who did you hear use the phrasemy sweetness?” she asked Mora.

Ronan recalled her reaction earlier. So it was the term of endearment itself that had upset her. Itwasan odd phrasing, to be sure. And strangely it also rang a distant bell, though he couldn’t recall where or when he might have heard it. He was suddenly very curious to hear Mora’s answer to Arkady’s very pointed question.

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