“Maybe. But you are the one unknown variable that willingly came to me. You must understand that placing my trust in you blindly is not a risk I’m willing to take, especially with my best asset gone.”
Barbatos, who, like Reign, had simply vanished after the day Noah’s contract had been transferred to Lucifer.Was it connected?Noah didn’t know and didn’t think he would ever find out.
“It is unfortunate, but it seems we’ve hit a wall that prevents our relationship from continuing.”
The pause that followed suffocated Noah, his brain scrambling for a solution. His dreams, hopes and goals—or whatever scraps were left of them that he’d managed to gather in those two months since Reign had left—they all depended on it.
“I can fix this. I’ll figure something out and get you the data you need,” he promised, gnawing on his bottom lip.
“If you were to do that, then I suppose you could stop by the Foreign Affairs’ office and request to speak to Barry Galeman. I wish you luck.”
She hung up after that, the phone in Noah’s hand now useless to contact her. It had been a one-time thing in the case of an emergency, a precaution in place so nothing could lead back to the Intelligence Bureau.
Noah tucked the device in his pocket but didn’t go back inside immediately. He spent another ten minutes in the warm spring sunshine, watching the flight of nearby birds as the overwhelming sense of defeat slowly spread through him.
34
The view of Victoria Harbor at night from Hong-Kong’s International Commerce Centre was a sight that could enthrall anyone. This high up, the flickering lights of buildings and traffic shimmied in the reflective surface of the water like millions of small fireflies out on their nightly errands, which, Gabriel supposed, was what he was doing as well.
Stretched sideways on the armchair, he lifted the crystal glass to his mouth and sipped from the expensive wine he’d helped himself to. The silk curtains to his left swayed in hypnotizing motions at the caress of the midnight breeze, which slipped into the VIP suite through the wide-open balcony door. Even in late May, the air carried a chill, though perhaps that had more to do with the storm clouds cresting the bay area than anything else.
Gabriel was on his second glass when the apartment’s front door opened and the lights in the hallway came on, disrupting, if partially, the murky darkness of the lounge. Shoes were dropped onto the floor and clothes were tossed on the hanger, and then footsteps approached.
“Welcome home, Madame Teresa,” he greeted the woman as she walked inside, tilting his head in a slight nod he knew she wouldn’t even see.
Teresa gasped in surprise and stopped dead in her tracks, squinting in the direction of his voice. There was enough light from outside to accommodate outlines and big shapes, but her eyes would need time to adjust before they could pick those out.
Gabriel saw no point in waiting. “Perhaps you’d like to turn the lights on?” he prompted, feeling that fight-or-flight response flaring in her. He’d not announced his visit and she couldn’t see him, so that was to be expected.
Slowly, she approached the switch and flicked it, the recessed lights coming to life above them as he let his wings out and stretched them. Her eyes zeroed in on them and she seemed to relax, tension draining from her features as she examined his rather casual posture.
“Gabriel?” she surmised correctly, purring his name as she directed a radiant smile his way. “It is a pleasure to meet you in person finally, although…” She schooled her expression into pliant neutrality. “The Cardinal failed to inform me you’d be visiting.”
“Ah. That is because I am here on a separate errand. Jaoel is the one handling your intelligence mission,” he explained, waving her over to sit down.
“I see.” She smiled again and relaxed further. “Still, I’m sure you are curious to hear the updates.” She sauntered over to the breakfast bar where Gabriel had left the wine and poured herself a glass before claiming the sofa across from him. “Assuming you heard about the few breakthroughs we made a couple of weeks back.”
“I did, indeed, and it would be a lie if I said I wasn’t intrigued considering the rather slow start you had.” That was putting it mildly, in fact, when the Church’s initial efforts had led nowhere with that opinionated Asian diplomat.
And speaking of the red-haired man, Teresa’s meeting with him a few days ago had been an interesting development that Gabriel was curious to see unfold. The nature of it… had been unexpected, though not entirely surprising perhaps, given how resourceful she had proven to be. Still, Gabriel doubted she’d foreseen this exact turn of events or the kind of proposal the diplomat would put forth.
“Yes. Unfortunately, our initial plans didn’t work out, but… we are on track now and intend to start negotiations as soon as the Cardinal gives the green light,” Teresa explained, watching Gabriel’s glass.
“Why hasn’t he already? Or have you not told him of tonight’s meeting with the governor yet?”
She took a sip from her drink and leaned back into the luxurious leather. “He wants to time it right, so the Federation won’t get an opportunity to retaliate if it decides to refuse our terms. As for updating him… I was about to, but seeing as I have your company, it can wait until later.”
Gabriel swirled his wine, watching it swish against the crystal glass in a series of gentle waves. “It is my understanding that it was you who suggested this alternative course of action?” he put forth and ceased his fascination with the liquid, meeting her gaze instead. “Both the bug and how it was planted?”
“It was my idea, yes, but the Cardinal’s the one who ultimately decided to go with it.I—”
Gabriel raised his hand, cutting her off. His hunch had been confirmed, and he didn’t need any more explanations. It was evident that the woman would make the perfect agent for God’s cause, her dedication and her ambition the perfect tools to further His agenda.
“I’m told you are also the mentor of the person who installed our spyware?”
“Yes.” She smiled, but this time there was hunger in it. Lust. “I took Noah under my wing a little before his transfer to my department. He’s proven just as capable and trustworthy as I thought he would.” She crossed her legs, the change in posture causing the material of her burgundy skirt to ride up her thighs.
Gabriel didn’t know who this Noah was, but evidently, there was more going on between them than a professional relationship. It wasn’t quite what she envisioned, it seemed, for she had that dreamy look in her gaze humans showed when they couldn’t get what they truly wanted. In her case, a man. Fitting then, that Gabriel would give her what she needed to change that.
