He turned away from her on the pretense of opening the door. “That did bother me more than I expected, but I got used to it. I didn’t want to lose them. There was a time when I was so certain I was like Patva: brutal, vicious, without any ability to feel. I didn’t want Patva to die. I wanted him to suffer. I had a plan and was determined to carry it out. I wanted him to suffer every day of his life. To lose everything. To never trust anyone. The idea was too good to give up, no matter what.”
He stepped aside so she could see the beautiful suite—and it was extraordinary. He had designed the room as a refuge for both Rogue and him to find peace. Once thedoor was closed and locked, it was the one place they could fully relax. He had made a pact with his leopard, and Rogue had given his word that he wouldn’t escape while Gorya was relaxing. This place was their last stand, and they were making it together.
Maya didn’t look around; she continued to stare at Gorya with her bluish-green eyes. They didn’t have that flat color in them at all as she inspected every inch of his face.
“You didn’t have to tell me the truth. You’re good at deceiving everyone around you. If Rogue refused to tell Wraith the truth, she might not be able to discern whether you were lying to me. But you are telling me the truth. Why?”
“How can you tell?”
“I just know.”
“You don’t want to be in a relationship. It will be extremely difficult for you. If you choose to do this, really try with me, I’m going to give you the real me, not some bullshit person I make up for everyone else. You deserve to know who I am if we’re going to do this.”
Her brows drew together, and she rubbed at them. “I’m not sure exactly what ‘going to dothis’ entails.”
Before he could answer, she turned her attention to the room, her eyes widening with shock as she spun in a slow circle, taking everything in. “This is bigger than most people’s houses, Gorya. This is yourbedroom?”
“It’s more than a bedroom.”
Gorya couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was very small, but for him, she was the only thing in the room. Every movement was graceful and fluid. The floor plan was wide open from one end to the other. Rather than approaching down the middle to the far side, where the room curved into the floor-to-ceiling bank of windows, she instinctively moved along the wall, where tall plants with wide lacy leaves created a haven for his leopard.
Maya didn’t stir a single leaf as she slipped through thejungle of trees and shrubs. She didn’t need to be in the form of a leopard to move like one. She was absolutely silent. He had acute hearing. At times her image faded in and out, as if even in human form, she blended in with the foliage or the background around her.
What did he know about her and where she came from? He was beginning to be a little suspicious about her origins. How could she be in a territory filled with shifters with not one of them suspecting she was leopard? Not just that, but they hadn’t detected her presence. She had to have passed through quite a few shifters to get to the building where Theo Pappas had imprisoned her in the interrogation room.
Maya stared out one of the tall windows, her fingers bunching the thick drapes as she looked at the massive outdoor plants. The branches on the outside trees beckoned him in both forms—man and leopard. Gorya always found the various shades of green cool and inviting. Truthfully, the trees were one more escape route out of many. He hadn’t yet told her about them, but he would.
Strangely, when he had created this room for an escape from others, where he could isolate, relax and be his authentic self, where Rogue could, he found he was more at peace than he’d ever been. He had no idea what to do with Maya, but the longer he was in her company, the more he wanted to be around her. Was that the pull of a leopard’s heat? Of the mating ritual? He wasn’t feeling Rogue’s influence at all. This was all about him, which made him uneasy.
“Yes, this was our last refuge. I wanted Rogue to have a nice place to end our days.”
“Why did you decide to take on this territory if you dislike these shifters so much? You don’t trust them.” Maya turned around to face him.
“Have you heard of Drake Donovan? I mentioned himearlier, but you didn’t react. I notice you don’t give much away.”
She nodded. “I’m a freelance researcher. I mainly work for three companies here in the United States and a few in Europe, although I do take on a few other clients occasionally. Not many, because the big three here keep me busy. Donovan International Security Company is one of my biggest clients. A few years back I had to go for an interview. I made it clear I don’t meet in person, so it was going to be a one-time thing, or I wouldn’t work for his company. He agreed. That was the only time I saw him.”
“Did he know you were leopard?”
“This is Wraith’s first heat.”
“Donovan, or maybe it’s his leopard, is very discerning.”
“He had no clue and neither did his leopard. He was interested in how I did my research. I told him if that mattered, I wasn’t the best person for him. If it didn’t, and he wanted a thorough but fast report, I was the right fit. He gave me someone he needed information on and a deadline to turn it in. Very simple work for a test. I had it to him in no time. Then he gave me the real work and it was much more intriguing. I knew immediately we were the right fit. I like what I do.”
He could tell by her voice that she did. It was just a small note, but enthusiasm registered. “Donovan is a friend of my cousins. He came up with a harebrained scheme when many of the local crime lords suddenly began doing business with thebratva.They had developed pipelines and were shuffling women and children from various ports to Russia, Europe and points in the US. Donovan wanted those territories shut down. The problem is the same as it has been for a hundred years. If you cut off the head of the snake, it grows back two, even more vicious than the first.”
Maya nodded in agreement. “I see the problem.”
“Donovan’s idea was to take out the head of a territory dealing in human trafficking. Replace it with one of ours. They would have to be believable and run the territory the way thebratvawould run it. Since that’s what we know best, our family is well suited to the work. Donovan knew that, so he came to us and asked if we’d consider it. Fyodor was already working for Arnotto, and when Arnotto died, he took over his territory, albeit reluctantly.”
“That’s how thebratvacame to be in San Antonio, mixing with the Italian mob,” Maya said.
Gorya nodded. “My cousin Mitya was forced into taking over another territory. He really wasn’t happy about it. We agreed to help Donovan because we didn’t think there was a chance of finding our leopards’ true mates. Fyodor found his. Mitya fell hard. Timur. Even Sevastyan, and that was a miracle.”
“But you didn’t think you and Rogue had a chance.”
He shook his head. “Not really, no. Like I said, I’m not like them. This territory was kept secret for a long time. It was well established and used as the main hub for distribution of arms and drugs. Suddenly, trafficking became the big moneymaker. They already had the routes set up, with buyers everywhere. Trafficking became huge for them. Rivel, thepakhan, hired the locals, giving them more money than they could ever make fishing. He spread money to his men, although when I had the books checked from each of his businesses, there was quite a lot of theft taking place. Braum Malcom, the man he relied on, was cheating him left and right.”
