Page 22 of Licence To Howl
Solentino looked from Devereau to Scarlett and back again. ‘You’re fucking nuts, you know that?’
With that one statement, Devereau knew he had the other man exactly where he wanted him. It was time to turn the charm onto full blast. ‘People do say that about me,’ he said cheerfully. ‘But I also like to think myself as resourceful. Besides, as I suggested earlier, I like helping people. And I like a challenge. You want the ring. I have the ring. Let me help you with that.’
‘Don’t you want to know why I bid on the ring in the first place?’
‘Honestly, I don’t care. I imagine it’s because you think that if you put the ring on your finger on the night of the Winter Solstice, you’ll see into your future. If you want to believe in that sort of guff, then I’m not going to argue with you.’
Solentino frowned. ‘Guff? What is that word?’
‘Nonsense,’ Devereau said.
‘You don’t believe in the ring’s powers? You turn into a beast and you are a slave to the moon but you don’t believe in magic?’
‘Signore Solentino, I don’t care what the ring can or can’t do. I’m in this for the money.’ Devereau splayed out his hands to emphasise his point. I’m not a threat, he sent out silently. I’m only in this for the cold hard cash. Pay me and then you can use me. Not to mention trust me. I’m at your disposal.
‘How much?’ Solentino asked. ‘How much money do you want?’
‘I’m not greedy,’ Devereau told him. ‘Not much anyway. You were prepared to pay one point five million last night. That’s how much I want.’
‘The ring went for five million. If you approached someone else, you could get more.’
‘It’s possible,’ Devereau conceded. ‘But I was charmed by your girlfriend and I’m an eggs in one basket kind of guy. One point five is enough for me.’
Scarlett coughed.
‘For us,’ Devereau amended.
Solentino stood up and put his hands in his pockets. Then he walked over to the window. ‘I don’t know you, Mr Webb. That means I don’t trust you.’
Devereau pretended to consider that. ‘Well,’ he said finally, ‘you know where the ring is.’ He pointed to his stomach. ‘If you’re willing to pay what I ask, I’m willing to remain here until the ring is in your hands. That way, sooner or later, we will all get what we want.’
‘The vamp stays too,’ Solentino said.
Scarlett rolled her eyes although when Solentino turned away from the window and towards her, she smoothed her expression into a delighted smile. ‘I’d be thrilled to.’
‘For your information, Signorina Scarlett,’ he said, ‘Alina is not my girlfriend. We have sex but we are not … how do you say? Exclusive? We are not exclusive.’
Oh for fuck’s sake. Devereau opened his mouth to speak but Scarlett got there before him. ‘How interesting,’ she said. ‘How very interesting indeed.’
* * *
Solentino ledthem to a windowless room deeper inside his apartment and told them to stay there. He didn’t bother locking the door – they all knew that such an effort would be wasted – but he made it clear that they were to remain inside. Devereau shrugged amiably, casting a glance over the sparse furniture. He didn’t need to look at Scarlett to know that the scent of old blood clung to the air. Other people had been in this room before and it hadn’t ended well for them. Christopher Solentino might be able to present himself as restrained but there was no denying that he also had the potential to be very dangerous indeed and that he’d happily murder the pair of them without a second thought if he decided the situation merited it.
Once the door closed behind them and they were left alone, they exchanged meaningful glances. There was a strange quality to the room. Something about the way the air sounded. No doubt the walls were soundproofed. All the better for when you needed to noisily murder someone, Devereau supposed. He strained his ears. No soundproofing could ever be one hundred percent and he was certain he would still be able to hear the hum of voices from beyond the closed door. He’d certainly never manage to pick out specific words, however. Christopher Solentino was lucky that Devereau was prepared to play along with his request to stay put. For now.
Scarlett wandered over to the far left wall and began trailing her fingers along it. ‘I do hope that you’ve been getting your fibre lately,’ she commented. ‘I don’t want to be here for days and days.’ She knelt down by an electrical socket and gazed hard at it.
Devereau followed her lead and tilted his head up at the ceiling. There was nothing there other than a bare bulb. ‘You know as well as I do,’ he said, ‘that it takes time to transfer that amount of money without raising any suspicions or red flags. Banks these days don’t make life easy for us. A day or two here won’t do us any harm. It’ll be easier than obtaining the ring was.’ He walked over to the light switch and flicked it on. The bulb flickered into action. He abandoned his examination of it and picked up one of the narrow chairs instead, flipping it over and running his hands along the woodwork.
‘He’s quite a good looking chap, isn’t he?’
Devereau growled. ‘If you like that sort of thing.’
There was a smile in her voice. ‘I certainly wouldn’t say no.’
‘You can’t mix business with pleasure, Scarlett.’ His words came out harsher than he intended.
‘Of course I can. We both know that business like this is all about pleasure for you.’ She paused at a spot near the far corner and gave Devereau a quick look. He strolled over while Scarlett continued talking. ‘You only do this shit because you enjoy it.’
