“So why approach you?”
“Information. He wanted more information either about me or he thought I’d reveal information.”
“What information? Has he asked you any questions about us?”
“No. The only time I even vaguely mentioned anything related to the society was when I tried to defend arranged marriage. I was hoping to sway him so he’d accept and become a member…”
Eric started to say something but she slapped a hand over his mouth to stop him from interrupting, eyes focused on nothing. He could practically see her zipping thoughts as she worked through something. “What if…that’s what he wanted—to become a member? He puts me in danger, then rescues me, or catches the person responsible.”
Eric mumbled, trying to answer her, and when she didn’t move her hand, he licked her palm. She gasped and dropped her hand, apparently having forgotten she was muting him.
Eric probably wasn’t the best person to work through this hypothetical because he was too straightforward in both his thinking and actions. “There has got to be an easier way to get noticed and become a member. Why attack the archive and try to get the Oscar Wilde book? Why help a blackmailer in Crimea?”
“Maybe he was supposed to save the day in each of those situations, but we fixed it ourselves first. When that didn’t work, he decided to introduce himself to me so I’d notice him, and the next time, he’d be the one to save me.”
“He created the problem, then planned to solve it, be the hero, and become a member. That’s…annoyingly convoluted.”
“It’s a possibility,” Nikolett insisted.
Eric sighed. “I know it is because half of our people think like this.”
“We can’t all be the ‘rips heads off’ person.”
Eric grunted in amusement. “Even if he did become a member, he had to know we’d eventually figure out it was him.”
“Actually,” Nikolett said, “I’m not sure the timeline works. Unless we assume attacking me was a long-term backup plan because they started early. It could work, because he only escalated to direct contact with me when the other operations failed.”
“Assuming Gus is the Spaniard.”
“True. And if he is, who was he going to ‘catch’? There were easier options. And why come here and have dinner with me?”
Eric looked around. “Maybe he planted a bug, or a computer virus.”
She shook her head. “Unless it’s something unknown and undetectable, he didn’t plant anything. They checked before and after. I think Grigoris even used an EMP pulse to short out everything in the room, then reset our system after. But again, nothing’s impossible.” Nikolett jumped to her feet, crossing the room to grab her phone. “There are too many possibilities. I need answers.”
“I just messaged Regina to check the recording transcripts.” Before he could say they’d wait, his phone pinged. “She says Zoran already checked, and once you moved to the bedroomthere were very few words picked up. Just some mumbling, and…” Eric smirked. “My name, then later ‘Gus.’”
She rolled her eyes, then her face screwed up. “I was hoping we’d hear him questioning me and we’d have our answer.”
“We’ll get them when we catch the Spaniard. And you know that Grigoris and Regina are also tracking Gus, but so far aren’t sure where in Paris he’s staying.”
Nikolett sat down beside him, unlocked her phone, and then passed it to him. “Do you see anything suspicious in his messages?”
Eric scanned through the messages between her and “Cookie Guy,” also looking at the time stamps. Gus had been awkwardly flirting with her and saying sweet, funny things for weeks while Eric had been ignoring and hurting her.
Eric took a few calming breaths, then clicked out of the messages. “Nothing suspicious.” Something farther down her screen caught his eye and he pulled his hand back before he could actually return the phone to her.
“Do you have me saved in your phone as ‘Fleet Admiral Coward’?”
“Uh. Yes.”
He thrust the phone at her. “Change it.”
“To what?” She arched a brow, looking truly calm for the first time since he’d closed the door.
“Something better than that. How about ‘Best Sex I Ever Had.’”
“Too many characters.”
