“I’m going up on the roof,” Meiling said. “If there’s a way in, I’ll take it.”
He didn’t tell her to be careful. She would have been insulted if he did. He didn’t remind her that she waspregnant either. Obviously, she was aware that she was. His eyes met hers just to let her know she was his world. That was the reminder.
She nodded, and then she was going up the side of the building, a small shadow blending in with the darker side of the concrete wall.
Gedeon was grateful they were able to speak mind to mind. The leopards helped with that. He could always stay in touch with her, know exactly where she was or if she was in trouble and needed him—or the other way around.
Gedeon moved around the building slowly, checking the streets, the cars, the pattern of traffic, rooftops, every doorway and window facing the warehouse. He could find no threat to them or to the man they had come to interview.
Donovan had chosen a good location. It was off the beaten path, yet not so far out that it appeared abandoned. On either side of the small warehouse were two shops, still open. One was a garage that custom-painted cars, and the other repaired tires. Across the street was a welding shop. It was closed.
I can only detect one man inside, Gedeon. If that’s Gorya Amurov, he’s alone. He came without bodyguards. Does that seem right?
Nothing about this meeting was right. Gedeon was half inclined to call it off, but he knew part of that decision would be because he was becoming overprotective of Meiling. He would have gone in immediately had he been alone.
I’m going in, Meiling. Drake was adamant that Amurov needs help. He specifically asked for me. He had no idea we were considering getting out of our business, yet he reached out to Drake and asked for a meeting to be set up.
Wanting to exclude me,Meiling reminded him.
He noted that this time she didn’t sound hurt. She sounded thoughtful.
Gorya’s cousins weren’t like their fathers. They didn’t think of women as lesser beings. If anything, they treated their wives the way he did Meiling—as if they wouldn’t be able to survive without them. Gedeon was sure their leopards were mated as well. That made the women doubly important to their men.
Gorya was the only cousin without a woman of his own. How difficult would that be for him? For his leopard? Now he’d been thrown into a situation demanding him to make snap decisions and contend with violence at every turn. Thepakhanof thebratva, when challenged, had to respond with speed and ferocity. His men had to respect him. Their leopards had to fear his leopard. Was Gorya Amurov capable of commanding the same kind of deference and fear as his cousins?
I don’t think it’s about you being a woman, Meiling,he mused. Icy fingers of dread crept down his spine at his next thought, the one he couldn’t push away.
What is it?
He sighed. There was no getting around Meiling.He’s leopard, Lotus. Leopards are capable of slipping into a building unseen and unheard. We do it all the time. Suppose, just for a moment, that Gorya researched us the way we researched him. Only he was even more thorough.
I don’t like where you’re going with this.
It’s possible he knows you’re pregnant.
No one knows I’m pregnant. We haven’t even told Rene.
The more he considered the idea, the more Gedeon feared he could be on the right track.That doesn’t mean he didn’t figure it out. You were in heat. Leopard sex is wild. The odds of you getting pregnant were very high. Even if he’s just guessing, he’s got a fifty-fifty shot at being correct.He didn’t think Gorya was making a guess.He thought the man had found a way to confirm his suspicion, and he didn’t want Meiling in the line of fire.
Gedeon was more intrigued than ever. He often got strong hunches, and so far, those premonitions had always been right.
He knows we’re here, Gedeon. I don’t know what we did to tip him off, but he’s aware we’re here.
Meiling was extremely sensitive to changes in energy. He had no idea how she would know that Gorya had been alerted to their presence, but he believed her.
We have to make up our minds if we’re going to talk with him. The element of surprise is gone. I don’t believe he has an ambush set up. On the other hand, we’re walking into something Slayer doesn’t like.Gedeon was honest with Meiling. His leopard was still warning him they could be in trouble.What is Whisper telling you?
Gedeon and his male were fierce, brutal fighters and generally riled other males the moment he came into close proximity with them. Meiling and her female calmed other leopards. Ordinarily, Whisper had no problem around any leopard.
She’s uneasy for Slayer.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up. It was unprecedented for Whisper to be in the least concerned for Slayer. He was an elite leopard, one of the few in the world. Slayer was faster than any other leopard they had ever encountered. He was a brutal, experienced fighter. He killed in seconds, all business. Whisper was well aware of Slayer’s fighting abilities.
That puts an entirely different perspective on things, doesn’t it? Stay or go?
Meiling emerged from the shadows to stand next to him. She looked up at him and then at the building.
She was quiet a moment, thinking the problem over as was her way. Meiling didn’t make snap decisions. “I think we have no choice now, Gedeon. We need to find out whoGorya Amurov is and what his interest in us is. There is no doubt he arranged for us to be here, and he wants to speak to us alone.”
