Sevastyan
It was late by the time Ellisandre’s questions were satisfied. Lisa and Rei left to prepare for sleep. Ellisandre went to the window and looked out over the city. Sevastyan followed them.
“I’m even more certain I should go with you,” they said.
Sevastyan came up behind them, wrapping his arms around their waist. It felt warm, the fact that such touch was possible. “I’d rather you were here with Rei and Lisa.”
Ellisandre leaned back against him. “We’ve been careful. I can have two guards here at all times. The boys have their secret room. Alice can be on standby if they need to reach someone else. She already knows both of them.”
“Won’t Linda be shorthanded? Alice is Dana’s caregiver.”
“A caregiver who needs breaks and time to herself. Alice is a nineteen-year-old girl. Sometimes it would be good for her to act like it. Dana also has Linda and Ash and our entire security team. She’s good.”
“Richard and Linda are spending a fortune on security.”
“They have a fortune to spend. If they weren’t rich, they wouldn’t need it. I saw that roster in Seoul. You don’t have an ally on the ground. Every single person on that list has a good reason to want you gone.”
“The point of the trip is to make them realize that’s not in their best interest. And, I’m bringing in three of my own men.”
Ellisandre turned, wrapping their arms around Sevastyan’s neck.
He settled his hands on their waist. “Your men are paid subordinates. They don’t have a blood oath or family ties like some of the people you’re going to meet. And they’re Merchari. The Merchari has as many agendas as the Beast of Babylon has heads”
Sevastyan groaned. “And they eat each other and everyone else.”
Ellisandre chuckled.
Sevastyan touched his forehead to theirs. “Just don’t repeat all this in front of Lisa.”
“Explain.”
Sevastyan grimaced and soothed himself by running his hands up and down Ellisandre’s body. “He only became a mark because he was alone. And he was alone because he escaped the religious fanatics who adopted him.”
“Easy target.” Ellisandre grimaced. “I thought he was a medic.”
Sevastyan nodded. “That’s what he trained in, but he didn’t make many friends between work and training and then being a medic. One of the few friends he made marked him as a target.”
“I hope that ‘friend’ is on Rei’s list. I’ll leave out Biblical references,” Ellisandre promised.
Sevastyan brushed his cheek against theirs in gratitude. “You still can’t follow me into the Yadro.”
“I can be nearby.”
“Only if you’re not traveling under this guise.” He tugged on their white hair.
Ellisandre drew back far enough he could see their smirk. “I have alternative identities. With paperwork.”