Viktor shook his head. “I doubt Ant would be interested at the moment. He’s found a new rabbit hole to burrow down. He had meetings today with the police captain and the head prosecutor – that guy, Hammond. There were things that came up during those meetings, issues that were disturbing to my mate. Clearly, this isn’t the place to mention details, but I anticipate Ant being busy for the foreseeable future.”
Carmine frowned. “I thought he was investigating my sister’s murder.”
Viktor laughed and then chucked back another mouthful of whiskey, swallowing it, before he said, “You told him to stop doing that. You told him that you were going to give up seeking justice for your sister, because the death had occurred so long ago. Why on earth would he go against your wishes?”
Carmine’s frown deepened, and the fingers on his right hand started tapping the tabletop. “I was certain he was still working on Carol’s case. I heard, just this afternoon…”
Viktor tilted his head slightly, looking at the man who suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Carmine’s face flushed bright red. “It’s very unusual, isn’t it?” Viktor said slowly. “How, when you rely on other people for information, you can never really be sure if that information is true, or if it’s been distorted and twisted for any reason. Unless you’d actually been in the room, an eyewitness to an event yourself, you have no way of knowing if the reports are true or not. After all, your messengers are human.” He raised his glass in salute to Carmine. “We all know humans make mistakes.”
Chucking back the rest of his glass, Viktor stood up in one fluid moment, putting his half-empty bottle on Carmine’s table. “A present for you, a gift if you will. I have a mate to get back to. Leads to follow, clues to find, all that exciting stuff. You probably don’t realize this, but Ant is determined to flush out the source of corruption evident in both the police and the prosecutor’s office.”
He leaned down and met Carmine’s eyes. “When Ant gets determined to find something, he will. I can only imagine, as he starts picking at that thread, just how far that ball of string will take him.”
Carmine stood up. “I’ll walk you out,” he said, indicating to the men at the table to carry on what they were doing. “Don’t mind me, Viktor and I are friends. I won’t be a moment.”
Viktor made sure his grin wasn’t showing as he strode through the bar, Carmine having to hurry to keep pace with him. It wasn’t until they stepped outside that Carmine indicated that he move away from the door. They stood in the doorway of a retail shop already closed for the day.
“I want a redo on that meeting with your mate,” Carmine said bluntly. All traces of his charming veneer had fallen away. “I believe he could be a useful part of my organization.”
Viktor was shaking his head before the sentence was finished. “Ant won’t be interested. He doesn’t trust you, and he has every reason for thinking that because you’ve done nothing but lie to him.”
“A necessity, I’m sure you understand. A man in my position is not going to trust someone purely because everyone else does. That’s how I end up dead.”
“All the more reason to leave Ant alone,” Viktor suggested. “You’ll never control him – he’s honest to the core – and the way things stand, he has no reason to trust you, either.”
“What if I offer him a gift? No strings attached. Absolutely none at all. Just a gift to show my appreciation for the type of man he is.”
More bullshit.“I’m listening.”
“Tell him he doesn’t need to continue his investigation into who is bugging the police captain’s and prosecutor’s office. Let me take care of that. You have my word, those bugs will be removed, and, as an added bonus, I’ll ensure any pressure anyone might have felt under to prevent Doctor Channon fromdoing his excellent work for the police because of his connection to you will disappear. In fact, I’ll go so far as to promise that all objections to your bond will have been removed by the time your sweet mate gets up for breakfast in the morning.”
“What do you get out of that?”
“Nothing.” Carmine spread his hands wide. “Nothing at all. Just one businessman using his considerable power and resources to help another being.”
“Then I’ll guess we’ll see what happens in the morning.” Viktor allowed his eyes to bleed red, conscious of how that looked, especially at night. “I’ll remind you of something important, seeing as you’re being so generous. You and I were never friends. We never will be. My sole and only focus is to keep my mate safe, and until you can tell me why it is that you want my mate in your inner circle, I’m going to caution Ant to ignore your advances no matter what gifts those approaches come with. You don’t have to understand why, just understand where I’m coming from.”
“You vampires are so cynical.” Carmine’s laugh rang hollow. “Can’t I simply be a man who’s astute enough to have someone like Doctor Channon and yourself, as colleagues? I look after people who work for me. You know that. You’ve lived this life.
“I can only imagine what it felt like for you, no longer being part of the security the Manzano family gave you. You can have that again. I can give that to you and your mate in such a way that it will never upset Doctor Channon’s excellent reputation. Surely, you can see. I’m as invested in ensuring he’s kept safe as you are.
“But you need to explain to him the true facts of life. Deals, like the ones between you and I, are how business gets done. You and I live in the real world, not the world of magic and make-believe that your mate is so invested in.
“Make him see sense, Viktor. You know, in the long term, being a part of the Doukas family will be the safest option.” Carmine rubbed his hands up and down his arms. “It’s getting chilly out here and I don’t have the benefits of your large coat. Talk to Doctor Channon, let him know about my gift – as I said, no strings attached to that.
“But don’t make the mistake of taking me as someone stupid. You and I both know you sought me out tonight for a reason, so I know you understand what I’m saying. It’s not like I have a lot of use for magical woo-woo, but that man has a reputation that could be useful for me going forward, and I’m not discounting your talents either. Talk to him. Convince him. You and I both know that it is the sensible thing for you both in the long term.”
Offering another one of his fake grins, Carmine turned and made his way back to the club. Viktor stood for a moment, absorbing what Carmine had said, and more importantly, what was implied in the things he didn’t say. Then, with a blur, he was on his way back to Ant, leaving behind a slack-jawed passerby and a confused stray dog sniffing at where he’d been standing. Viktor didn’t notice any of that. He was just hoping his mate was still asleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
“So let me get this straight.” Ant pushed his breakfast plate away. Despite having a good sleep, he wished he’d done without it, especially when Viktor confessed what he’d been doing while Ant was resting completely obliviously. “You went and made a deal with the man that you told me could not be trusted because he does nothing but lie.”
“I didn’t make a deal with him,” Viktor said calmly. “I simply wanted to talk to him.”
Ant was quietly furious – not frustrated. Furious. He could finally understand what Viktor had been talking about the previous day. He wanted to lash out, and yet he couldn’t. Viktor was his mate, and when it was all said and done, his mate had been trying to help him. Although Ant was failing to see how meeting Carmine would achieve that.
“You told me that Carmine couldn’t be trusted. You told me he lies constantly. And now you sit here and tell me, as calm as a summer’s day, that not only did you go out without telling me - in fact you went behind my back and used my emotional state to justify what you’d done - but that you deliberately sought him out. You actively listened to him to the point where he said he gave me a gift, a gift I’m not seeing any evidence of, but regardless. Surely if what you’d been saying for weeks before is true, then by taking that gift, you and I now owe him a favor.”
