Page 135 of Night's Fall
A sound chimed fromAleksei’stablet, and he took the comm.
“Your highness,GermaineNewleafandMadamGarwahare here.They’dlike to come up,” the agent on his display reported.
“Fuck,Ishould have expected this,”Alekseimuttered. “Onemoment.Audioand video mute.”
Aleksei turned to me.
“I’ll be needing to have a chat withMaineabout her ambush tactics and when they aren’t necessary.Likenow.Butthis is good.SheandMadamGarwahcan guide you through what’s expected at the photo op a lot better thanIcan.I’velived it my whole life,Ican’t see it from where you’ll be approaching it.”
Actually, this sounded good to me.IsuspectedI’dneed all the helpIcould get.Anddue to reasons no need to explain,I’dmissed my instruction withMadamGarwahlast night (though, of course,I’dcommed her to let her knowIwould).
“Are you okay for them to come up?”Alekseiasked.
“Full disclosure,Idon’t know how to feel aboutGermaine,”Iadmitted.
“Which shows you have excellent instincts.Allowme to assist.She’sbrilliant at what she does, but her loyalty comes from her salary, whichI’msure you can imagine, is considerable.Ifshe got a better deal, and if she hadn’t signed anNDAthat would mean we’d take everything even her grandchildren might earn, she’d turn and share every detail she knows about us if it benefited herself or her client.She’sa master at weaving tales, telling lies and harnessing the art of manipulation.”
Well then.
There you go.
“That said,” he carried on, “Igenuinely think she cares deeply for my mother.Iwouldn’t say she’d take a stream for her, but she’d shed an actual tear if something happened to her.”
“And how does she feel about you?”
“We have mutual respect, as it were.Idon’t like that we need her, butIknow we do, and she excels in her role.SheknowsIdon’t like that we need her or what she does, but she knowsIunderstand the game needs to be played.AndItrust her to do right by my family, and now you.”
“So, cautious acceptance?”Iasked.
He smiled with approval. “Anothergood instinct, darling.”
I smiled back.
“Allow them up?” he inquired.
“Sure.”
He turned back to the tablet. “Resumevideo and audio.”Pauseand, “Sendthem up.”
“Yes sir.”
The agent blinked out.
Aleksei sipped coffee.
I gratefully closed down myPalm.
The lift didn’t open, butIheard a rustling from the back of the flat.
“Freight lift,”Alekseimurmured, andIsaw his brows had titched together in surprise.
The need for a freight lift was explained whenGermaineandMadamGarwahemerged from the back hall where the door to the landing pad was, and they had a long, stuffed-full clothing rack floating with them.
I wasn’t thinking good thoughts, becauseIwas whoIwas,Idid whatIdid, and even at just a glance,Icould tell the clothes on that rack were terrifying.
“Of note,”MadamGarwahbarked. “Attemptson your life are the only excuse to miss my class.”
“I’ll be there tonight,Madam,”Ipromised.
