She didn’t want to hear what he was saying because it was all true. Every stinking word. She felt exposed. Very vulnerable. Libby hadn’t even seen those traits in her and Libby had known her all her life. At the same time,someone saw her. Gedeon actually saw the real woman. That seemed a miracle.
“Everything you say could be the truth, but that doesn’t negate what I said about the people you work for. One wrong move and it could all go to hell. I could put your life in jeopardy.”
“You have no idea the power I wield, and the fear I inspire,” he countered. “If you’re my partner, no one would dare think to touch you. Unless your leopard decided to rise. Then every unmated leopard would vie for your leopard’s attention, especially if you were in your first cycle.”
He was coming at her from every angle, certain she had a leopard. Maybe she did, but she’d given up on believing she did when she turned eighteen and there was no sign of her.
“I thought we were going to put this conversation off until you got your eyesight back.”
“You would be gone, and I’d have to chase you down. It’s much better to hash it all out now. You would be a huge asset to me, Lotus. Not to mention, you calm my leopard. Having a respite from his constant fighting me for supremacy is an unbelievable miracle.”
She took a deep breath and let it out. “You have a really bad reputation with women. I don’t want any part of that.”
“I’m not going to lie about having a sex drive that won’t quit. On the other hand, I don’t have women hanging around for a reason. My leopard won’t tolerate them. We use each other and they’re gone. I don’t have relationships. No one spends the night. I wouldn’t trust anyone that far anyway.”
“You trusted me.”
“Because my leopard did.”
She banged her head against the back of the chair. “You’re making it hard to say no. I don’t know if I can help you with everything you do. I have a code.”
“Believe it or not, so do I.”
The image of him kneeling on the porch, his head inhis hands, weeping, came to her. She would never get that out of her mind. He had a code. Others may not be aware of it, but she saw it firsthand. “I know you do,” she murmured. “You’re making it difficult for me to say no to you. I have a good sense of self-preservation. If I decided to stay on as your partner, there would be things I would have to disclose to you. Just as there would be things you would need to tell me.”
“Ultimately, Meiling, our lives would depend on each other. That means we have to trust each other. I’m willing to take a chance with you. You would have to decide whether or not you’re willing to take a chance with me.”
It was so tempting to have a home. A refuge. A man like Gedeon Volkov would be fiercely loyal once he gave his word. “Anything I disclosed to you would only be to you. You wouldn’t share the information with your man Rene Guidry, would you?”
“No. I wouldn’t expect you to share anything I tell you about me, so I would afford you the same courtesy.”
Meiling rubbed her upper thigh gently with her palm while she thought over what she was going to say. “The idea of working with you has some appeal,” she conceded. “But the rules would have to be very clear. We’d have to go over everything ahead of time so you know what I’m willing to do for your clients and what cases I won’t work on. I’m good with computers, so I could help behind the scenes.”
“You said leopards react much like mine does around you. If you’re in a room with male leopards, will they be raging at you, or just ignoring you as if you don’t exist?”
“They ignore me.” She forced herself to look at him.
Gedeon had pulled on a black tee, stretching it over his thick chest and letting his dark hair fall free. Of course he looked tough and gorgeous. Staying in the same house with him was out of the question.
“Taking you with me when I go to a party will be suchan asset. You’re so tiny. If you slide into the shadows, my shy little companion, eventually, the leopards will forget you’re there. They’ll be watching me. Worried about what I’m doing there. What I want. Who I’m after. The more nervous I make them, the more freedom you’ll have. You’ll be wandering around the room, listening to the conversations and collecting data on everything and everyone.”
“I have a price on my head.” She blurted it out.
He might as well know the worst. She might as well know if he was going to turn on her. She watched his reaction carefully. It was impossible to read his expression. He didn’t respond right away. He sat in silence contemplating her disclosure. In the end, he steepled his fingers.
“Who put the price on your head and how much are they offering?”
“I have no idea what the answer is to either question. I lived with Libby’s family since I was a small child. They were attacked on several occasions. Eventually, her father was killed. I think I was ten. Then her mother. I was thirteen. Libby and I were taken in by a neighbor, as we had no other relatives. A year later, they were attacked and killed. Libby and I escaped and ran to a friend’s house. We were taken in and lived with them until we turned eighteen.”
“It could have been both of you girls. Or just Libby.”
“Libby isn’t really my blood relative. We just always called each other cousins. Her father worked for my father and apparently just showed up with me one day. They never talked about the how and why of it. According to Libby, he planned on telling me everything about my family when I was old enough, but then he died.”
“Did Libby know?”
“She would have told me. She couldn’t keep a secret to save her life,” Meiling explained. She spread her hands out in front of her. “I started separating myself from her for a few weeks at a time to draw the killers away from her justto be certain they were after me. I watched over her. I wanted to make certain she was safe. They followed me and left her alone.”
“Were theybratya? Did you ever see them?”
