Chapter Ten #2
Marius nodded and sat beside me. We both faced the carriage door, so Szabo couldn’t approach without our noticing. I caught a peek of him watching us through the glass before he retreated out of sight.
“Now what?” I murmured.
Marius pulled out his phone and dialed. “I’ll call Roux.”
Marius tapped his fingers impatiently. I put my hand over his, worried his dragon claws might emerge. When Roux picked up, Marius got right to the point.
“What the fuck is Szabo doing following Mina to London?” he hissed quietly.
I leaned closer, catching Roux demand, “Szabo is where? How do you know?”
“I’m on the same train.”
“What the fuck are you doing, following Mina to London?” Roux exploded.
Marius ignored him. “I need you to get everything you can on Szabo. Now.”
“But—” Roux protested.
“Just do it.” Marius grunted, then hung up.
I gave him a pointed look. “Great communication.”
He shrugged. “Roux’s always been that way.”
Not what I meant, but I let that slide. I owed Marius for this, big-time.
“So, now what?” I asked a few minutes later.
He crossed his arms, making every muscle bulge. “We wait until we arrive in London.”
“Then what?”
He studied my face, then dropped his eyes to my neck. Heat flashed through my veins, and my cheeks flushed.
He looked away — quickly — and murmured, “Then we’ll see.”
Not encouraging, because we’ll see could translate to any number of things in dragon-talk. Things like, I’ll rip his head off or I’ll roast him alive, along with most of St Pancras station.
A glance at my watch told me I had over an hour to convince Marius of a better plan.
Minutes ticked by as I wondered what that might be.
“What are you doing, going to London anyway?” he growled.
“What are you doing, following me?”
“Would you prefer I hadn’t?”
“It’s the principle of the thing.”
“You want principles, or you want to live to see the sunset?”
Okay, he had a point there. I took a few deep breaths and gently nudged his ribs. Well, I was going for his ribs, but they were cushioned by a wall of muscle.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“De rien,” he grumbled, not at all pleased. Then he tore his eyes away from the door long enough to shoot me a dark look.
“Seriously. What are you doing, going to London? I told you, you were in danger.”
“In London?” I protested.
“Everywhere.”
I crossed my arms, annoyed. “You expect me to go home and hide?”
“Yes,” he muttered. Then he sighed and shook his head. “I just want you safe.”
I ticked a list off my fingers. “I want me safe, you safe, and no Szabo. But I also want communication. Trust. Honesty. Does that make me greedy?”
A lock of hair fell over his eyes, making his expression even more menacing. “Am I allowed to say yes?”
“No.”
He snorted, then wrapped his big, callused hand around mine. “Okay. Communication. Trust. Honesty. You start. What are you doing, going to London?”
I gave him a look. “Not what I meant.” But since I owed him my life, I relented. “Gordon wanted me to visit an old acquaintance—”
He groaned and lowered his face to his hands. “You fell for that?”
“I was suspicious at first, but it’s fine.”
“How is that fine?” He pointed toward the door of our compartment, where Szabo still lurked, out of sight but still too close for comfort.
Okay. Another point for the dragon.
“Is there any chance Gordon sent Szabo to protect me?” I tried, then slumped at Marius’s expression. “No, I thought not. But I’m sure — totally sure — Gordon didn’t expect any trouble. It’s just some old lady who—”
“It’s never just anything with Gordon.”
“That may be, but I can’t believe Gordon would send Szabo to harm me.”
“He wouldn’t,” Marius conceded. “But someone else would.” He frowned, pointing toward Premier Class. “Did you tell Gordon what train you were taking?”
“He told me. He made the reservation.”
Marius snorted. “Gordon makes deals, not reservations. That’s what his minions are for.”
I froze. “Like Celeste?”
Marius nodded slowly. “Possibly.”
Definitely, I decided. But why would she sic Szabo on me?
“There’s no limit to what that woman is capable of,” Marius muttered.
“Including working with Szabo?”
He nodded. “Celeste was the one who sent Szabo to check on us at the chateau. Remember that night in the garden?”
I made a face. How could I forget?
“Are you saying she’s keeping her finger on the pulse of Gordon’s operations?”
He huffed. “There’s keeping a finger on the pulse, and there’s sinking your teeth in like a fucking vampire.”
I grimaced in the direction Szabo had disappeared. “Why would Celeste undermine Gordon if he’s her boss?”
“Not sure she sees it that way.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised after the machinations I’d glimpsed in her mind. But, yikes. Were some people really that devious?
Then I slumped, because the answer was yes — and worse, I was that gullible. Celeste probably saw herself as the boss — if not now, then in the near future.
My mind spun. Should I warn Gordon? And, dammit, as devious as he was, did he not recognize the danger Celeste posed?
I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the seat in front of me.
“So, back to what you’re doing in London. Tell me everything,” Marius said.
Dragons. So darn persistent.
I rocked my head from side to side. One thing was for sure. The long, carefree walk I’d planned from Regent’s Park to Kensington Gardens was definitely off the agenda.