Crispina’s breath stopped for a moment, but she raised her chin. “What do you want, Rufus?”
“Merely to warn you.” His voice warmed with sickly concern. “This is a dangerous neighborhood. I’m sure your husband would not want to hear that you put yourself at risk.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Crispina noticed Max had inched closer, until he hovered about six feet from them. She willed him to stay quiet. Whatever this was, she didn’t want him to get in the middle of it.
The threat was clear behind Rufus’s words. Whatever he wanted, if she didn’t give it to him, he would tell Aelius, and perhaps others, of her activities. Which meant she had to bluff.
She coated her words in ice. “I have no secrets from my husband. He knows of my little project here, and I have his full support.”
Rufus raised a golden eyebrow but said nothing.
“I appreciate your concern, Rufus, but I must return home before twilight.” She took a step toward her basket, lying on the ground to her side.
Rufus’s hand flashed out and closed around her wrist. As soon as he touched her, Max let out a yell and barreled toward him, aiming a vicious kick into Rufus’s shin. Rufus stumbled back with a grunt of pain and a curse.
Before Crispina could react, one of Rufus’s burly minions stepped forward and swatted Max upside the head. The boy tumbled to the dirt.
Rage engulfed Crispina’s mind like a flame to oil. She launched herself forward, ready to bludgeon the thug to death with her fists, but he caught her easily and pinned her against the wooden beam which held up the second story balcony. His forearm pressed into her throat.
“How dare you,” she wheezed. She scratched at his arm, but he seemed to be made of stone.
“Enough.” Rufus’s cool voice cut through the air.
The lackey released her. She bent over, hands on her knees, trying to steady her breathing. Max had disappeared. She hoped he’d stay hidden this time.
“Your little pet needs better training,” Rufus said.
“He’s not a pet,” Crispina snarled. “He’s…” She stopped herself. She’d been about to sayHe’s my son. “Tell me what you want from me so I can tell you to shove it up your blond ass.” The time for icy composure was past. Now, fire brewed in her veins, and she wanted to incinerate Rufus where he stood.
He ignored the insult. “The election is but five weeks away. Every vote is critical. I would like to know whom your husband is meeting with and what he is up to, from now through the morning of the election.”
“You should know that for yourself if you’re having him followed.”
“Ah, but I want to know inadvance.”
Her jaw clenched as she realized his aim. If Rufus figured out who Aelius was planning to meet with, he could get to them first and secure their votes for himself. Her mind whirled. Knowledge of this nature could make or break the election.
“I see,” she murmured. “You must really be afraid that Aelius will beat you, if you’ve resorted to stalking and blackmailing his wife.”
Rufus’s eyes darkened. “I take no chances.”
She tried for another bluff. “My husband does not discuss his affairs with me. I know nothing of whom he meets with.”
“Even if that were true, which I doubt, I trust your wifely wiles will serve you well. Unless you’re frigid as well as barren?”
Crispina drew in a sharp breath. “Watch your tongue, sir.” She struggled to gather herself, to think logically. “If I go along with your scheme, Aelius will lose. If I refuse, you will no doubt spread rumors of my unusual activities here on the Aventine, which will likely cost him the election as well. My answer is clear. I will not betray my husband.”
Aelius would be furious with her in either case. It would shatter the fledgling trust they had built and put their future together at risk. But that was a problem for another moment.
Rufus smiled thinly. “But what about your little stray? You seem very fond of him.” The look in his eyes was knowing, dangerous…and it sent a chill down her spine.
“If you or your cronies lay another finger on Max—”
Rufus shook his head. “Nothing so crude. But I have contacts in this neighborhood, and ones like it. We can sniff out his family. I expect they’d be overjoyed to have their son back.”
“They abandoned him,” Crispina said. “They couldn’t take care of him.”
“Well, that is easily solved. If I located his parents, or someone willing to swear he belonged to them, I would of course offer a hefty stipend to provide for his welfare.”
