Chapter Seven
MINA
I did as Marius said, riding the Métro a few stops before backtracking to Gare du Lyon, where I seriously considered catching the next train home.
But, no. I had a mission to fulfill, and a date with a dragon shifter afterward.
I walked to Gordon’s along the Canal Saint-Martin, stopping for a fortifying éclair and tea along the way. That also helped while away the ninety minutes Marius had recommended before visiting Gordon.
His neighborhood was a strangely mixed one, with seedy bars sitting cheek by jowl with discreetly spruced-up mansions.
Gordon owned several of the latter, but he lived on the top two floors of a nondescript, 1970s building that was somewhere in between.
It was nice enough to have a doorman and had for as long as I remembered.
But today was the first day I wondered what role Fabian filled.
Was he just a doorman, or also a spy, bodyguard, or part-time hit man?
“Bonjour, Fabian,” I said upon entering.
“Bonjour, mademoiselle.” The fiftysomething bear shifter’s easy smile made me feel guilty for being suspicious…but I kept my guard up just in case. “Monsieur Clervaud didn’t tell me he was expecting you.”
“I…uh…I came to Paris a little spontaneously.” The understatement of the year, though not an outright lie. “But if he’s too busy for a visit…” I trailed off, half hoping Gordon would be too busy to see me.
But, yikes. Busy plotting criminal activities, maybe?
Luckily — or unluckily — Gordon was home and had time to see me. I rode the elevator up nervously.
“Sweetheart! What a surprise! So good to see you!” Gordon met me with his usual hearty hug.
He was only about my height, but his warlock aura was so powerful, the space around him tingled with magic.
Otherwise, he looked like any other well-to-do Parisian businessman — medium build, high-end leather shoes, self-satisfied expression.
My grandmother had always claimed he reminded her of 1960s heartthrob Alain Delon, but I’d never seen the resemblance.
“How is everything?” he asked. “I want to hear all about the chateau.”
I wanted to hear all about why he’d asked my sister for a favor rather than me, but I forced myself to play casual and update him on everything from removing wallpaper to clearing the north stable block.
I was tempted to mention the police regional championships too, but I decided to leave that out for the moment.
It struck me that that might also be how Gordon operated — not lying outright so much as selectively sharing information.
“I heard from Dora recently. It sounds like her studies are progressing nicely,” he said.
I made a noncommittal sound. Not nicely enough for my cousin to finally come help me with the estate we’d inherited together with my sister.
“So I hear,” I said diplomatically, then moved on to my sister. “Gen sends her greetings.”
Okay, that was an embellishment, but she would have sent her greetings if I had reminded her to, right?
“Wonderful, wonderful. When does her flight arrive?”
“Unfortunately, she’s been delayed.”
He practically went bug-eyed. “Again?”
I sighed. “Again.”
A shocked, Now what will I do? expression flashed over his face. A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reaction, but I had made damn sure not to blink.
A knock sounded at the door, and Gordon called out, “Come in.”
The door opened slowly. A split second before the visitor came into sight, the scent of perfume hit me. Carolina Herrera “Good Girl,” if I remembered correctly.
Catnip for men, my friend Delphine had called it disparagingly.
Strong words, especially coming from a prostitute.
“Ah, Celeste,” Gordon greeted the woman.
I stared at the curvy, dark-haired beauty. Shit. Wasn’t she supposed to have been long gone by now?
“Oh, pardon. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she purred, though her eyes said the opposite.
“My goddaughter just dropped in,” Gordon explained. “Celeste, this is my goddaughter, Mina. Mina, Celeste is my private secretary. I don’t think you’ve met.”
Ah, but we had, and in the worst possible circumstances — circumstances that demanded we both keep that secret from Gordon.
“Ah, the lovely Mina,” Celeste clucked through big, pouty lips. “I’ve heard so much about you. The one with the chateau, correct?” Her voice had a long-suffering note in it.
I gritted my teeth. Yes, I’d inherited a huge building and property.
Yes, I felt lucky and grateful. I just wished people understood how much work, stress, and responsibility that came with.
The roof leaked, and the outbuildings were crumbling.
I’d already sunk my modest life savings into the place, yet it was still closer to bankrupting me than generating any income.
“Nice to meet you,” I lied. It wasn’t nice, and this wasn’t our first meeting.
“I just wanted to check on the arrangements for Brussels,” Celeste told Gordon.
Alarms whooped in my mind. Marius, Roux, Bene, and Henrik had just been there. Was Gordon about to send them back?
My godfather made a dismissive gesture. “Just message me. I’ll check later.”
“Well, there’s one pressing point,” she said, flashing me a sorry/not sorry look.
Sweat broke out on the back of my neck. Celeste could reveal to Gordon that I’d been to Mallorca. That I was sleeping with Marius. She could get me in so, so much trouble.
Then again, I could tell Gordon that her interference had nearly foiled the mission in Mallorca and that she’d met Marius earlier today. So, we were at a stalemate.
Her eyes taunted me with unspoken messages like, I slept with Marius first. I met Bene, Roux, and Henrik first. I am more beautiful, more cunning, and more successful than you’ll ever be.
The worst part was that none of those would be lies — depending on how one defined successful.
“I’ll just pop out to the washroom.” I scurried out, feeling very much like a country mouse again.
In the bathroom, I splashed water on my face and gave myself a stern lecture. Then I flushed the toilet, waited a few seconds, and marched back into Gordon’s office with my head held high.
“Almost finished?” I asked.
Gordon and Celeste looked up from a document on his desk, and only then did it occur to me that I could have snuck over to eavesdrop and peek at the documents. Heck, I could even have shadow-walked over.
Clearly, I wasn’t cut out for secret spy work.
“Well—” Celeste started.
“We’re finished,” Gordon told her firmly. “Thank you for your time. That will be all.”
“But—” Celeste protested.
“My goddaughter and I have much to discuss. Good evening.” He pointed to the door.
Celeste forced a smile, but her eyes shot daggers at me.
Then she glanced at Gordon, one hand on her hip to draw attention to her generous figure.
Her succubus charm didn’t seem to work on him, though, and no wonder.
As a powerful warlock, he was immune to all kinds of magic.
A good reason not to try shadow-walking around him, I realized.
Her heels clicked over the parquet floor, and she paused at the door. “Bon soir.”
“Bon soir,” I murmured.
Gordon waved without looking, making her even angrier.
She glared at his back, and wham! Magic coursed through me, opening a window into her mind.
There, I saw a massive, multiscreen array worthy of NASA, but where every screen flashed images of her.
Celeste, Celeste, Celeste — as far as one could see, in hundreds of different scenarios and calculations that created one monstrous, narcissistic display.
All that was packed into her mind. It was exhausting. Nauseating. Terrifying.
Reeling, I grabbed for the back of an armchair.
Gordon, I nearly whispered. Can’t you see that? Who she really is and what she’s planning?
Not that I could see exactly what she was planning, but I knew it was no good and that Gordon ought to be worried.
But he didn’t seem to notice, and I yanked my gaze to the windows before Celeste turned her glare toward me.
Then, whew. The door shut, and she was gone.
“Sorry for the interruption,” Gordon said. “Now, where were we?”
Personally, I was ready to go vomit into the toilet. Celeste’s inner machinations were that disturbing.
Instead, I grabbed a pitcher of water.
“A glass for you?” I offered.
He shook his head, and when he turned away, I guzzled down a glassful. My mind spun. Why had Celeste secretly met with Marius? How was she involved in whatever was going on? Worse, was she still involved with Marius? Had he been playing me all along?
One thing was for sure. This day was turning out to be a hell of a roller coaster, and I sensed several more loops looming. Where the hell was the exit?
“What will your next project be?” Gordon asked, more out of politeness than interest.
Celeste had thrown me off so badly, I spent the next ten minutes blabbering about paint, leaks, and faulty plumbing just to return to an even keel. Then I gradually steered the conversation back to what I‘d really come for.
“Gen mentioned that you needed a favor,” I said as casually as I could. “Maybe I could help you with it since she’s delayed.”
“How sweet of you.” Gordon’s light tone was a little forced, like the tight smile I replied with.
“We’re always happy to help. It’s the least we can do after all you’ve done for us.”
He nodded sadly. “I know your father would have done the same for me if things had been different.”
Things would have had to have been way different, since Gordon didn’t have children. He wasn’t the one who’d died young in a tragic accident either, but I appreciated his sentiment.
Then I caught myself. Just how genuine was that sentiment? Given what I’d recently learned about his business interests… Well, I found myself questioning everything.
But no. Gordon was my father’s dearest friend, and he’d always been incredibly generous to Gen, Dora, and me. He might be involved in shady business dealings, but I had no grounds to suspect his affection.