“You could give us that information directly, or bring her to us,” Makar snapped impatiently.
Gedeon allowed his ice-cold gaze to sweep over the Russian, a touch of disdain in the gold and green flecks. “No, I could not. My word is my bond. I don’t screw my clients. Not ever. I told them I would find this woman and I will. What they do with the information is up to them. What you do when they give it to you is up to you.” Gedeon made a movement as if to rise.
Longwei waved him to his seat. “It has occurred to me that we may have been too hasty blaming Lubin and Miguel for what Frankie did.” He looked at the others, one gray eyebrow raised. “We should call them and tell them to call off their deal with Volkov. Once they do, he would be free to work for us without a conflict of interest.”
The other justices nodded solemnly, as if just by one stating Gedeon would work for them, it was a done deal and Gedeon would agree to it. Makar snapped his fingers and immediately a servant ran forward and placed a phone in his hand.
“Just like that, you’re going to call Lubin and let them off the hook.”
“Yes, we’ll see that you’re compensated,” Bolin said. “And let them know that you came to us in good faith for them.”
It was all Gedeon could do not to allow his leopard to appear to smirk like a wolf.
***
GEDEONand Meiling studied the tall fence. It had been built with the specific idea of keeping shifters out. If any of thebratyafamilies made a move against them, they would be hard pressed to get past the fence to get inside before the soldiers would be ready to deal with them. Gedeon and Meiling didn’t need to climb the fence; they could simply jump over it.
You certain you can clear it?Gedeon wanted reassurance. Meiling was small but she was a powerhouse. He really didn’t have doubts, but he knew exactly what she would do.
She punched his arm. Hard. He grinned at her. She grinned back at him. They could be walking into a nightmare, but she didn’t flinch. She wasn’t an assassin, but she still stood solidly with him.
When we get inside, you go directly to Kang’s room. Hopefully we’re right and Cosette is there. No matter what shape she’s in, she’ll have to be on her feet so we can bring her out. That’s your job, Meiling. Get her on her feet. Keep her mouth shut and keep her moving. Rene has a car waiting at the west gate. If we can get her there, we can get her to the airport and be out of here before anyone has any idea they’re all dead.
She’ll do what I tell her, Meiling assured, confidence pouring into him.
He believed in Meiling. He didn’t believe in Etienne’s daughter. Kang was an asshole and he had wanted to takehis frustrations out on someone. If Cosette was the woman in his room, she was going to be a mess.
They waited for the break in the patrolling of the guards, and both crouching low, they went up and over the fence, clearing the height easily. Neither could be detected by the shifters with their enhanced sense of smell due to the spray and the pills ingested. This product was not offered on the market to just anyone. It was only because Rene had a very special relationship with Charisse Mercier that Charisse allowed Rene to even know of its existence.
The two of them went right up the stairs to the front entrance. They didn’t have to wait long. The soldiers were leaving to go home, and new soldiers were arriving to take over. They walked right in with the new guards. It was a matter of staying to the shadows and willing those around not to see them. It took intense concentration, but it could be done.
Once inside, Gedeon took the left corridor that led to the Russian lairs. Meiling went right.Stay connected to me.Meiling didn’t respond, but he didn’t expect her to. He moved fast, utilizing Slayer’s stealth as he bypassed the first two abrupt turns that would take him to the sections that would lead to the other lairs. He wanted to start with the leader farthest out—Ilari Morozov.
Morozov’s luxury apartments were located all the way at the very back of the palace. His soldiers and their families had homes directly behind the palace. It made sense that they stayed close to him to protect him. Soldiers patrolled the hallway leading to the corner directly before the corridor to Morozov’s double dragon doors. Just like the front doors, those dragons were red and black with scales blazing gold.
Two guards stood on either side of the doors, and they didn’t look as if they intended to go anywhere soon. That could be a problem. The soldiers didn’t come all the way to the apartment, but rather stayed on the other side of thecorner. That still made it risky to take out the guards. The chances of discovery before he and Meiling were finished with killing all of the justices and were clear of the palace doubled. Still, he had no choice.
Meiling, we may have to change up our plans. They have guards on the doors.
I’m already on my way back to you.
That was his partner. Already one step ahead. Gedeon moved along the wall, part of it, keeping his energy low so it couldn’t be felt by the shifters. As he approached the guard on the left, he could tell the shifter’s leopard was leery. The guard grew restless to the point that he broke his position and walked down the corridor to the corner to peer down it for a moment. His partner joined him. They held a brief discussion, giving him just enough time to slide into the apartment, not through the large double doors that would tempt anyone to enter but would also trigger alarms throughout the palace. He entered through the slim door hidden in the panel behind the guard’s position, which was used by the Russian for his own private entrance.
Gedeon hurried through the sets of spacious rooms toward the very back of the apartment, where Slayer indicated Ilari Morozov was. The Russian was still in his immaculate suit, although he wore no shoes and paced up and down in front of a long basin. The basin took up most of one wall, which was constructed out of ceramic. Morozov paused every now and then and would throw his hands at the wall. Gedeon could see the wall had charred spots that appeared to be old. There were no new ones and hadn’t been for some time.
“It seems you’ve lost your ability to throw fire,” Gedeon said. “That’s such a shame. Do the others know?”
Morozov spun around, his eyes wild, shock on his face. “How did you get in here? Who are you?”
Gedeon had been across the room when he spoke. Nowin one single leap he was in front of Morozov. “I’m the boy you missed when you had my family murdered. Just as you missed Meiling when you had her family murdered. I hunted them down one by one and killed them. Tonight, all of you will die.” He didn’t wait. He used Slayer’s speed and was on the older Russian, snapping his neck and dropping him onto the floor, grateful he didn’t have time to do the things he would have liked to—things that would have reinforced that these people had shaped him into a monster.
It’s done, Lotus. Get the guards to look the other way.
They are. Get out of there.
Gedeon exited the apartment and hurried down the hallway to the corner where the guards were conferring once more. Their leopards were already calming due to Meiling’s influence. He joined her and they made their way to Klim Zima’s luxury suite. Zima’s apartment was on the northern end of the palace and had a similar entrance to the one Ilari Morozov had, although his patrolling soldiers seemed far laxer.
Meiling distracted the guards at the double doors, allowing Gedeon to slip inside the apartment. Klim was in nightclothes, dozing in front of his massive television screen in his media room. Gedeon slipped up beside him.
