It was something Dimri had thought of, of course.He was convinced they needed to be careful and discreet, but he was also aware of the danger.Unfortunately, they didn’t have many choices.“If we believe that’s what Abath is planning, then we should step in and try talking to him,” he admitted.“If we don’t have enough time to do it my way, we’ll do it your way.I just feel that we need to be more careful.We can’t ram our way through this.”
“Talking to Abath wouldn’t be ramming our way through it,” Roque grumbled.
“It depends on what you say when you talk to him, doesn’t it?Look, we can find a compromise.Let’s do it my way for the first few days and watch Abath.We can keep an eye on him and ensure he doesn’t get too close to Berith.If we don’t find anything after, let’s say, a week, we’ll try talking to him.I just want to be sure there’s nothing left to find out about him and this situation before we take that step.”
Dimri expected Roque to say no.That was what he’d done the last time they’d planned something together, and Roque was incredibly stubborn.He hadn’t even admitted that Dimri had been right when it came to Medea and the tavern mess yet, even though there was no way he didn’t realize it.
Roque leaned back in his chair.“A week is too long,” he declared.
He was looking at Dimri as if he expected Dimri to argue.Dimri wanted to because he thought one week was the minimum length of time to gather intel when spying on someone.It revealed habits and routines.It gave the person Dimri was spying on more time to talk to people and contact allies.He could see that Roque wouldn’t go along with his plan if he pushed for a whole week, though.In a way, he understood why.Roque wanted this dealt with as soon as possible, and a week felt like an eternity when someone you cared about was in danger.
“Five days,” Dimri offered.
Roque blinked.“You’re willing to compromise?”
“We won’t get anywhere if we don’t.As much as I believe that a week would be better, I understand why we need to be faster.”
Roque slowly nodded.“I see.”
Dimri wanted to ask what he saw, but he didn’t.Instead, he waited for Roque to tell him whether or not they’d do this together.If he said that five days was still too many, Dimri would have to do this on his own.He’d hate to go against Berith’s orders, and he knew how angry Roque would be if he found out about it, but he didn’t feel he had a choice.His job was to protect Berith, his family, and his territory.That came before feelings and friendships.
“All right,” Roque said.
It was Dimri’s turn to stare.He hadn’t expected Roque to agree.Well, he’d expected Roque to do so, but only after fighting with him for a while longer.Roque didn’t like not being right.Clearly, keeping Berith safe was more important to him.Dimri was glad.
He smiled.“Good.”
Roque leaned forward.A strand of white hair fell in front of his forehead, and Dimri watched as he pushed away the strand and grinned, exposing his fangs.“When do we start?”
Chapter Five
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“WHY DO WE HAVE TO LEAVEthe palace again?”Roque asked from the other side of Dimri’s desk.He didn’t look happy, but then, he seldom did these days.At least he wasn’t complaining.He didn’t sound happy, but Dimri was pretty sure he’d follow his lead.
It was weird.Until the tavern, Roque had done everything he could to piss off Dimri, probably on purpose.Maybe he hadn’t realized how serious this was until they’d been attacked.
Or maybe he was just like that.
Be that as it may, Roque was taking it seriously now.He’d allowed Dimri to plan how they were going to deal with Abath with almost no complaints.As long as Dimri had kept him up to date, he’d been happy to let him do his thing.
Until Dimri had told him that they needed to leave the palace for a few days.Now, Roque was confused.Leaving the palace meant that he had to take a step away from his job, which Dimri hadn’t expected him to be happy with.That was why he had an alternative.“Wedon’t need to leave the palace.I want to keep an eye on Abath when he’s not at work, though, which is why I booked a room in the tavern in front of his home.I’ll be able to see his front door from the window and keep an eye on the people coming and going.I don’t think he’s meeting whoever he works with there, but it’s worth a shot, if anything, to get a better understanding of his daily routine.”
“You’re not doing anything on your own.”
Dimri glared.Roque didn’t seem to care.He crossed his arms over his chest and glared back, waiting for Dimri to argue.
The problem was that Dimri couldn’t.Roque was right.Neither of them should be doing anything on their own.Not only had Berith told them to work together, but it would be dangerous.
“I just don’t want to take you away from your job,” Dimri explained, reminding himself that they needed to compromise.He might not be used to it because he normally worked on his own, but he could do it.
Hopefully.
“I think Berith expected me to have to take a step back for at least a few days when he told me to work with you,” Roque said.“I’ll tell him that you have a lead.”
“You don’t want to stay here with him?”
“Of course I want to stay here with him.Keeping him safe isn’t just about being in the same room as him, though.If you think that spying on Abath will help us identify the spy, I’m all for it.”
