Page 57 of On A Rift's Edge
Sexy Giana had vanished, replaced by a woman whose words dripped with more venom than the toxic plant she was holding.
“He didn’t obey my specific orders.” Arimanius had also lost his cool, which was unlike him. He tried to loom over her, which was like watching a bear try to intimidate a hissing cobra. One of them was going to get bit, most likely the bear. “I sent Zale to get him out, and he not only defied me, he released Lyall from his contract and lost the only backup plan I had.”
“This was your backup plan.” Giana stabbed a finger in Lyall’s direction, fury making her voice hoarse. “Lyall’s a fucking hellhound that you forced to serve you for years. All he ever dreamed about was revenge against our family, and once he figured out how to get out of his contract Remi was an easy victim. He would have ripped out my son’s heart if he hadn’t decided to trade him to a drakone instead.”
Lyall had choices. He could explain what had happened and try to defuse the situation, keep his mouth shut, or actively make everything worse.
That last plan sounded good.
“You two have no idea how much trouble I got in with my alphas for not ripping Remi’s heart out.” Lyall was pleased when both of them turned to glare at him. The wards around the building flared again, this time with the signatures of Mabel and Fable. As soon as the Pouch Twins came upstairs he was leaving them to watch over this family feud and going back to his room.
“I’m working on getting Remi back.” Arimanius waved at the plant in her hand but didn’t seal the bargain by giving his own blood to the seymour. The thorny bud unfurled into an alien replica of a black rose, as if trying to lure him in. “Even if your son doesn’t deserve to be rescued.”
“Remi clearly doesn’t trust you to save him, since he demanded both of us stab ourselves with this fucking plant before he’ll come to visit.” Giana pushed the flower closer to Arimanius. Lyall didn’t like her body language, which was growing more hostile. Giana wasn’t a physical threat, although she could hold her own in a fight with the boss in other ways. He’d never seen her this wild and angry. She usually went for controlled and vindictive.
The plant was an odd choice if she intended to use it as a weapon. The species was used to stop conflicts, not start them. In this case Giana seemed to want a variant of a parlay, one where the meeting place itself became neutral ground, and the safety of everyone inside was ensured for the length of the negotiations.
There was no way Kaveh would have agreed to let Remi come to his father’s portal-proof lair, seymour or no seymour. Lyall had no idea what Giana’s game was, and that bothered him.
“You spoke to Remi?” Arimanius’s irritation vanished, replaced by intense interest. “I thought he wouldn’t respond to any of your messages.”
“Well, it’s not like he can wander off to meet his mother for lunch while he’s owned by a possessive killer dragon watching his every move.” Giana held up the plant. “Accept the terms, and I’ll call Remi. The Azdaha monster who has kept him prisoner for the past six months is inside the rift for a few hours and he can get away. Do it now.”
Arimanius exhaled, then unclenched his left fist, and held a clawed hand over the flower.
There was a banging noise on the door, which swung open to reveal Fable. He held up one swollen finger, a yellow claw curling at the tip. “The little bastard bit me.”
He stepped forward, allowing a view into the hallway. Mabel stood next to a captive with a bag over their head and their hands bound. At first, Lyall wondered if the Pouch Twins had kidnapped Remi on Giana’s orders. Then Mabel pulled the hood off and pushed her prisoner inside.
Kat Nakamura stumbled forward, caught a glimpse of Lyall’s horrified face, and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
21
Kat hated seeing panic on Lyall’s face, but it was the irritated glance Giana shot him as she put the alien plant back in her expensive handbag that sent his heart plummeting.
The plan hadn’t worked, and all he had done was make Lyall’s bad situation even worse.
“Hello again, Kat.” Arimanius was less creepy in his true form, even though he towered over Kat and had clawed hands that could tear him apart. Intimidating for sure, but at least the plastic fakeness of Paul Cicero was no longer on display. “I’m afraid I missed your first text asking to meet with me.”
The mafia boss turned his smug grin on Lyall, who looked stricken—and maybe a little guilty?
“Your Matchmaker-chosen partner doesn’t seem to trust your judgment in wanting to meet with me.” Arimanius tapped his watch, the same ostentatious time piece he had worn in his human disguise. “Lyall deleted your initial message from my device and told you to meet me at the art gallery, instead of your more straightforward offer to come here. An assassination attempt, perhaps?”
Kat would have slapped his forehead in frustration if his hands hadn’t been tied behind his back. Lyall had sabotaged the plan and sent a fake invitation for a meeting at the wrong place. Arimanius had found out and sent the Pouch Twins out to grab Kat and now thought this had all been a convoluted plan to kill him.
Giana began laughing. “Please. Even if Lyall could set up a hit on you with the indenture contract in place, he wouldn’t send this clueless boy to carry it out.”
Kat didn’t mind that insult as long it meant that the mafia boss didn’t believe he had set up an ambush for him. He had set up a trap of sorts, but not a contract killing.
“I’m not a violent person.” Kat did his best to sound calm and not murderous. The latter wasn’t as difficult as the former. “My initial offer was to meet you here, in your place of business, for your convenience.” ‘Evil lair’ or ‘mobster’s den’ might be more accurate, but not as diplomatic. “I want you to release Lyall from his contract, and I’m prepared to make you an attractive offer in exchange.”
“Other than whatever value you have as hostage, you’re of no use to me.” Arimanius gave Kat a dismissive shrug and turned to Fable. “Go and bring the hopper out here.”
Fable scrambled to obey, but Kat forced his fear down and spoke up again. “I know you want the control object more than anything else. That’s what I’m offering.”
“You can help me steal the device with your Azdaha friend standing guard over it?” Arimanius chuckled. “I don’t think that’s likely.”
The mob boss turned away from him as Fable returned with Teo. The hopper’s face was green—literally, as his human alterform now included patches of frog-skin on his face and arms. He swayed on his feet as he stared up at the mafia boss.
