“Kang,” Longwei cautioned as Gedeon slowly raised his gaze from the five Dragon Justices to the younger man sitting behind them.
His gaze had gone from blazing green to warning amber and gold. Killer eyes. Flat. Ice-cold. “I will say this one time. In agreeing to see me, all of you agreed to the terms of my coming here. I will not be disrespected anymore than I would disrespect you. If this man wants to challenge me to a fight to the death, as he seems to be doing, he will need to do so in an open, clear way for everyone to hear. When he is dead, I do not want anyone to say there was no challenge. I don’t want interference when he is losing the battle. I don’t want hard feelings when he lies lifeless, staring up at you.”
Deliberately Gedeon dismissed Kang as inconsequential, knowing each word he said would be a blow to the young man. After sending him one chilling look, he turned his focused leopard’s stare back on the five Dragon Justices. Watching them closely. Waiting for the reactions. Kang was predictable and did exactly what Gedeon was certain he would. The young man leapt up, the heavy chair scraping along the marble floor. He tried to draw his sword, but it got caught up in the heavy drapery on the back of the chair.
Kang was seated behind his father and Ilari Morozov. The moment Kang sprang up, Ilari Morozov jumped up as well, half turning as if facing a threat, one hand going inside his jacket and emerging with a gun.
Does he seem at all familiar to you, Slayer?Gedeon asked.
He felt the leopard studying the Russian crime lord closely just as he was doing.No. This man is a stranger to me.
Ilari was going to die anyway, but he wasn’t the man Gedeon was looking for. He knew Meiling was fully aware. He could feel her, their connection strong.
“I do challenge you,” Kang shouted, finally managing to pull his sword from the scabbard hanging on the back of his chair.
“Kang,” Longwei said, with a long-suffering sigh. “Sit down. We have business to discuss with this gentleman.”
“For God’s sake, Kang,” Makar Turgenev snapped, a sneer in his voice. “I’m sick to death of your needingconstant attention. Longwei, send him to his room. Have a couple of the soldiers escort him there. He can play with his latest acquisition and make himself feel like a man.”
It took every ounce of discipline Gedeon had to maintain his bored expression and relaxed body at recognizing the Russian kingpin’s voice. The body language betraying his attitude that he felt he was so superior to Kang. He waved his hand dismissively and even pointed toward the far exit and made a shooing motion with his fingers, as if Kang were an unruly child, not a full-grown adult.
Longwei didn’t take offense on his son’s behalf. Instead, he jerked his chin toward the door across the room. “Go now, Kang. When you challenge an enemy to a fight, you first must know you can defeat him. You could not defeat this man.”
Kang cursed all of them, but he stormed off without challenging Gedeon further, crossing the marble floor in his very expensive Italian leather shoes, tossing the sword irreverently onto the chair. The sword slid from the seat to the floor with a clatter. Kang didn’t look back but continued to the exit, where he disappeared, slamming the heavy door as best he could.
Klim Zima laughed. “That girl you gave him to entertain himself with is in for a long night. He’ll take his frustrations out on her.”
The others laughed as if this was the funniest thing in the world. Gedeon didn’t crack a smile. He portrayed a bored expression.
The new acquisition very well could be Cosette, Meiling. Follow him.
We are returning this evening. We have the layout of the five lairs. We’ll find her. I am your backup, Gedeon, and we don’t deviate from the plan.
Those were his rules. He couldn’t very well object when she threw his own rules at him. She was right too. The biggest danger they faced at the moment was right there inthat room. All eyes were on him, and he couldn’t give away the fact that he was smarter or faster than any of them.
“The woman, Libby Chang, the Diaz family kidnapped when we were offering a reward was not really a blood relationship of the woman we are seeking.” Again, it was Bolin Wang who spoke, his voice calm and gentle. “The woman we seek is called Meiling. She was raised with Libby. Libby’s father, Jian Chang, stole her from her family and took her to be raised by his wife. Meiling is unaware of this. We wanted only to talk to Libby, to ask her questions about how we could find Meiling. The Diaz family run a human trafficking ring and are not experts in training the woman they acquire. They were brutal in their methods, and they killed Libby before we had a chance to speak with her.”
Bolin sounded reasonable with his mixture of truth and lies, as if they had no intention of harming Meiling.
“Why would you care about this Meiling?” Again, Gedeon was careful to sound offhand, as if it didn’t matter one way or the other if Bolin even answered him.
“Her father was my closet friend. When he was brutally murdered, I promised myself I would take care of his family or what was left of it.”
He is lying, Meiling announced.
Gedeon’s gut knotted.Yes, I can hear the lies. When Makar Turgenev came to him with his murderous plan formed from pure jealousy, he was eager enough to hear it.
And act on it. I should remember. I remember everything, but not that. Only glimpses. Dark memories saved for my nightmares.
I don’t want you to remember, Gedeon told her.You deserve to live a happy life, Lotus, free of all this continual ugliness. It’s bad enough that I insist you accompany me on these cases we take together, but now we’re delving into your childhood. I knew this was going to be a shit show.
Instantly he was flooded with all things Meiling. Her kindness. Her sweetness. Most of all her love for him. How did he exist without her?
“You have her name. Surely one woman can’t be that difficult to find,” Gedeon said.
“She lives off the grid. I believe her foster father must have taught her to do that, and she’s very good at not being found,” Bolin continued. For the first time, the merest hint of admiration crept into his voice. “If you were to find this woman, we would be very grateful, Mr. Volkov.”
“I’m working for Lubin Diaz and his son,” Gedeon reminded. “According to them, Miguel’s life is forfeit if I can’t find this woman. Frankie is dead and Miguel is Lubin’s only remaining son. I came here in good faith to gather information in order to better find this woman for them to turn her over to you. Or at least let you know where she is.”
