Page 101 of Blood Mosaic

“And I’m guessing it’s in a house or a castle there?” Tatyana was staring at the ground again. “Under guard?”

“Obviously I can’t leave chests of treasure sitting around without guards.”

Tatyana took a deep breath and looked up. “Then that’s how you sweeten the trap. Bring that treasure to Odesa and make sure she knows about it. You want to draw Zara out? Show her the gold.”

Show her the gold.

It wasn’t bad advice, and it would probably work. It might escalate the conflict, but it would work.

Mika was standing in the driveway of the compound in Odesa when Oleg returned. “You left the human at the hotel?”

“Yes. She needs to sleep.” Oleg handed Mika the folder Tatyana had left with him. “Read this and see if you can make any sense of it. Do you know what cryptocurrency is?”

Mika shrugged. “I’ve read Satoshi Nakamoto’s work.”

“Is he a vampire?”

Mika narrowed his eyes. “Some theories say yes. Zara put most of her money in cryptocurrency?”

“I believe that’s how she moved it, but Tatyana thinks it’s in real estate now.”

“Hmm.” Mika opened the file, perusing it as they made their way into the house. “Smart.”

“Zara or Tatyana?”

“Both.”

As soon as they were inside, Oleg stripped off his shirt and rolled his shoulders, allowing his fire to flicker over his skin.

Mika caught his release of tension. “We should talk about the meeting with Saba. How was being in Luana’s house?”

“Strange.” He’d stayed in Luana and Zara’s old day chambers, and the experience was haunting. He could still smell his mate, sense her amnis. It had been unsettling. “I think I’ll tear up the basement and renovate so I can use the house again. Tell Elene to find a project manager for the job.”

Mika leaned against the fireplace and set the folder on a nearby table. “Are you going to keep the woman there?”

“I’ve thought about it. It’s near her mother and sitting empty at the moment.”

“She can use the house, and you can fly in and visit her when it’s convenient.” Mika nodded. “I approve.”

“I don’t care.” He stretched his arms over his head and reached for a box of cedar incense he kept on the mantel. Pinching the end between his fingers, he lit the stick and set it in a holder to fill the room with the comforting smell of burnt wood. “I’m going to move Zara’s treasure to Odesa. Call someone in Saint Petersburg and arrange the transport. A small truck should be enough.”

Mika blinked. “You want to move Zara’s treasure here?”

“It will draw her out.”

“It will provoke her.”

Oleg picked up a tray of tesserae from a rolling cart next to the mantel project. He picked up a handful of rounded green glass and rolled it in his palm, enjoying the sensation of cool glass against callused skin. “This is taking too long.”

He felt restless and irritable. Maybe he should have kept the woman with him.

No, she needed to sleep. She hadn’t slept well in Sevastopol, and she needed to stay in good health if she was going to be his lover.

Mika asked, “Since when are you impatient?”

“Since when are you so cautious?”

“Always,” Mika said. “You pay me to be cautious, remember?”

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