Chapter Twenty-Six #2
Mina motioned to Roux, who leaned in to say, “Anand here, calling to report.”
“Yes?” Gordon asked eagerly. “How did everything go?”
Roux thought that over, then spoke in a tone as dry as the Sahara. “Jensen has the painting, and Anastasia has the money.”
Definitely an abridged version of events.
“Excellent, excellent,” Gordon said.
Then Mina leaned in. “Hello, Gordon.”
The line fell silent before he recovered. “Mina?”
“Yes, it’s me,” she said, waiting for him to put two and two together.
“What are you doing in London? You should have left hours ago.”
“Irrelevant,” she said curtly. “The question is, what is Celeste doing with Jensen?”
Boy, was she good at deflecting.
“With Jensen?” Gordon parroted, clearly caught off guard. Then he put the obvious together. “Listen, my dear. Celeste is a woman with certain…er…peculiarities.”
Mina rolled her eyes. “Do you mean the insatiable sex drive of a succubus or something else?”
Gordon was speechless. I was fairly taken aback myself. I was the blunt one. Mina was the one who found a nice way to put things.
Not this time, my dragon chuckled.
“How is that relevant?” Gordon finally sputtered.
Mina rolled her eyes. “I seem to recall a lecture about no place for intimate relations in business.”
“Yes, well…” he hemmed and hawed. “Celeste is a rather special case.”
“So special, you’re willing to put up with her trying to cut you out of your own deals?” Mina asked.
“What?” Gordon’s voice spiked.
We all listened as Mina explained what she’d witnessed in Greenwich.
“She tried to convince Jensen to cut you out of the deal. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Are you saying—” Gordon fumed.
Mina cut him off. “I’m saying, I think you ought to have a closer look at your assistant’s comings, goings, and secret connections to the likes of Szabo.”
“Szabo?” he growled.
“Szabo,” Mina affirmed then addressed the rest of us. “Does anyone have something to add?”
Henrik smirked. “I believe that sums it up nicely.”
“Well, I think that’s all we have to report for now,” Mina told Gordon in a voice flatter than one of Madame Picard’s crêpes. “Congratulations on another profitable deal.”
“But—” Gordon started.
“I’ll brief you the moment we return to Paris,” Roux hurried to assure him.
“Right now, I suggest you follow up with Celeste. If she’s not too busy with Jensen,” Mina snipped.
I hid a grimace. If I knew Celeste, she was keeping Jensen very busy. The question was, how did that fit into her master plan?
Mina hung up, and no one spoke for a long time.
It was Bene who finally broke the ice. “I vote we put Mina in charge of all future calls to Gordon.”
She shook her head vehemently. “No thank you.”
“Well, then I vote we order dinner.” He held up the room service menus. “And a nice bottle of champagne to celebrate with.”
I closed my eyes, not too inspired to celebrate. A lot had gone our way, but things could have just as easily ended in disaster.
Roux echoed the sentiment. “I’d rather go home.”
Everyone fell silent, and one by one, we looked at Mina.
Roux’s throat bobbed. “Home to Chateau Nocturne. I know it’s a lot to ask, Mina. And I know we already owe you more than we can ever repay, but… Would you reconsider?”
Mina bit her lip, thinking.
“I think you should,” Henrik said next.
I nearly spat fire at him. Was he serious?
But then he went on, and I shut my mouth. Or rather, let it hang open in surprise.
“I mean, I think you should consider accepting the others back. I shall find alternative accommodations.”
Mina’s lips parted in surprise.
“Just consider,” Henrik continued, more humbly than I’d ever seen him. “You would have your own in-house workforce, and Gordon would continue to pay for boarding costs. At least to the end of our new contracts, if I read the document correctly.”
Mina gulped. “I need Gordon’s money, but I don’t want it.”
“Why not?” Bene butted in. “At least it will go to a good purpose that way.”
Mina looked at her hands, stuck on an issue that would take a lot longer than tonight to resolve — as in the future of her relationship with her godfather. But when it came to the issue of who lived where…
I looked at her, my heart filling with hope.
She looked around, contemplating each of us in turn, leaving me for last. I met her gaze, wary and hopeful at the same time. What if she’d changed her mind about me? About all of us?
“Like I said, I need Gordon’s money, but I don’t want it,” she started. “But I do want you back.” Her voice broke a little. “I missed you.”
Bene shot her a winning grin. “I knew it.”
“She means all of us, dumbass,” Roux grumbled, then pointed to me. “Especially him, for reasons beyond comprehension.”
Mina smiled. “I did miss Marius. But I missed the rest of you too.” Then her face fell, and her eyes drifted toward Henrik.
“As I said, I shall find alternative accommodations.” He moved quickly to the liquor trolley, where he poured himself a scotch and gazed silently out the window.
Still, Mina looked pained. “There is the issue of the police championships…”
I groaned, picturing that ass, Officer Clement.
Bene’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “I promise, we’ll be on our best behavior.”
Mina shook her head. “How about, you’ll be taking that weekend off somewhere far, far away from Burgundy?”
Bene opened his mouth to protest, but Roux smacked his shoulder.
“Anything it takes is fine.”
Mina nodded, and just like that, our futures were secured. At least for the next few weeks, which was about as far as any of us planned ahead.
Well, that was how it had always been. But for once, my mind revved much farther ahead. As in years. Even decades.
Bene smacked his hands together and grabbed the room service menu. “Deal. Now, I think we deserve to celebrate.”
“I’d rather catch the next train to Paris.” Roux checked his watch, then groaned. “Tomorrow, I guess.”
“No problem. It’s a big menu,” Bene chirped, not quite getting the point.
“One more night here…” Mina looked around bleakly.
A sudden brain wave struck me, and I stood, reaching for her hand. “Come on.”
She rose hesitantly, her eyes full of questions.
“We’ll meet you here in time for breakfast,” I told the others, towing Mina toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Roux demanded.
I flashed Mina a hopeful smile. “Well, there’s this little place in Belgravia…”
Mina broke into a wide grin and looped her elbow through mine. “Sounds perfect.” She waved to the others. “Have a good night.”
Bene sighed. “At least you two will.”
In the spirit of teamwork and a successful mission, I decided not to kill him. But it was a close call.
Mina pulled me toward the hallway. “See you tomorrow, everyone. And thank you again. For everything.”
Her eyes lingered on Henrik, who raised his glass in a silent toast.
Roux shook his head, echoing her words on everyone’s behalf. “No, thank you.”
Then we were out the door and on our way to what I hoped would be the first night of many. Maybe even a lifetime.