by I. T. Lucas
Until he’d broken it himself by bringing Syssi up to his penthouse, but Yamanu wasn’t going to mention that.
Alena nodded. “My brother is in charge of the American arm of the clan. I accept that, and I don’t intend to undermine his decisions in any way. But I’m not under his jurisdiction. Think of me as Annani’s emissary, if you please. I make the decisions here.”
Talk about surprises. Alena, who looked like the angel of tranquility, was as assertive and as bossy as her mother.
Arwel glanced at Yamanu. “She has a point.”
“I beg to differ. Kian and Sari have a lot of experience safeguarding the clan. You don’t. And as I said before, bringing Mey up here is a security breach.”
Alena smiled and put her hand on his thigh. “I take responsibility, Yamanu, so you can relax. Worst case scenario, I will thrall her to forget about ever meeting us. But she is just a nice young woman who reached out to a stranger and offered her help. I appreciate it, and I’ve taken a liking to her. I would like to experience having a friend. Can you understand that?”
Manipulative daughter of a goddess.
Putting things that way was even worse than putting her foot down. How could he refuse her when she looked at him with those big eyes of hers and told him that she craved friendship?
Alena lived in isolation, dedicating her life to her mother and the clan. She deserved to unfurl her wings a bit.
“How good is your thrall?”
“Superb. I’m a very old immortal, and I am my mother’s daughter.”
He nodded. “Can I ask you not to invite Mey again? I would hate for her to sustain brain damage because of repeated thralls.”
“I’m not going to reveal anything I shouldn’t, so there will be no need to thrall her. This hotel is our temporary lodging, and we are not going to stay here longer than a month. I really don’t think we are risking anything here.”
Yamanu looked at her makeup-free face. “What about your disguise? Are you going to have Eva put it on you before Mey comes?”
“No need. Arielle has a look and attitude that are for public consumption, and she is different in private. I’m sure Mey will have no problem with that.”
Arwel chuckled. “I’m sure that she caught your accent fluctuating as well. You’re not very good at keeping it up.”
“Oh, well.” Alena leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m used to short bouts of acting, not keeping up a persona over time. I’ll tell Mey that this is part of my public image as well. As you can imagine, I’m good at making up stories.” She smiled. “Who do you think cleans up after Annani’s messes? She is not very careful, you know. She trusts me to smooth things over.”
Yamanu sighed and pushed to his feet. “I’ll be in my room, meditating.”
This was going to be hell.
There was nothing he wanted more than to spend time with the beautiful and alluring Mey, to get to know her, hear about her life, watch her eyes sparkle, kiss those lush lips of hers…
“Are you sure?” Alena looked up at him. “Both Arwel and I felt the attraction between you two. Why fight it?”
Aha. So that was what it was all about.
It wasn’t about Alena wanting a friend, it was about her taking a page out of Amanda’s book and playing at matchmaking.
And he was the gullible softie who had bought the bullshit she’d sold him.
Except, it was too late to backtrack now. He’d already agreed. Besides, it seemed that he wasn’t in charge of the operation like he’d thought he was, and neither was Kian.
Alena was the boss.
19
Lokan
Lokan knocked on the bathroom door. “Are you almost ready, my love?”
“Five more minutes. These damn fake lashes refuse to stay on.”
He chuckled. “Why do you bother? You have beautiful eyelashes.”
“Frankly, I don’t know. They are all over social media and everyone is wearing them, so I had to try. But I think this is going to be the first and last time. Or maybe I’ll get lash extensions at a salon.”
“Whatever makes you happy. But you really don’t need them.”
Carol was bored.
Their living room coffee table was covered with fashion and beauty magazines that she was adding to daily. Every morning she went out for a walk around the neighborhood and came back with a new stack.
Lokan had also noticed that her nails were painted a different color every day, and at first it had amused him, but then he’d started thinking about what had prompted her to do that. Carol liked to look pretty, and she took care of her appearance, but this was excessive.
He made a point of taking her out nightly. Plays, movies, restaurants, bars, clubs, Washington had plenty of entertainment options to offer. Tonight, they were going to see an opera. For tomorrow, he’d gotten them tickets to a hockey game.
But that was not enough to keep his mate from getting restless.
He even considered buying a café for her to run. But then he’d discarded the idea because he didn’t want her to work that hard. Besides, it wasn’t going to solve the problem of her being lonely.
Carol missed her friends and family.
Maybe a visit home would do her good. The problem was that she didn’t want to go without him, and he couldn't go. First, because he had lots of catching up to do after his month-long absence, and second, because he wasn’t allowed in the clan’s base.
Perhaps he should call Kian and ask him what could be done about that. They could stay at a hotel, and Kian could send someone to pick Carol up.
Actually, Lokan was going to do that right now.
After pouring himself a shot of whiskey, he took the glass with him and stepped out onto the balcony. The device William had installed inside the apartment was good at protecting their privacy, but it impacted cellular communication.
No great loss. Carol had ordered a nice bistro set and two loungers for the terrace. They’d arrived yesterday, and this morning he’d had a very pleasant time sitting outside and talking with his mother.
His mother.
It was still a concept he had to wrap his mind around. He and Areana were just getting to know each other, and the conversations they had during the ten-minute calls were quite formal and a bit strained. Mostly, Areana wanted to hear about his life. So far, Lokan had tried to stick to the nicer parts, creating the illusion that he hadn’t done anything she would have found reprehensible.
He’d just found her. He didn’t want to lose her.
Pulling out the special clan-issue phone Kian had sent him, Lokan selected the regent’s contact.
“Lokan, you must have read my mind. I was just about to call you.” There was a slight pause. “Tell me that it is not one of your talents.”
“It’s not. I wanted to talk to you about arranging a visit. Carol misses her family, but she refuses to go without me. Any way we can arrange for that? Carol and I can stay at a hotel, and you can send one of your guys to pick her up. Or maybe her friends can come over to the hotel. Whatever makes more sense to you and doesn’t trigger your paranoia.”
“Let me think about it. The hotel idea sounds good, but I need to tweak it. My paranoia whispers in my ear that you might be using Carol to find out where we are.”
“On my honor, I am not. But I know that you won’t believe me.”
Kian’s chuckle implied that he didn’t think Lokan’s honor meant much to him. “Sorry. But I can’t take chances with the safety of my people.”
Lokan shifted the phone to his other ear. “I understand. What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Losham. When is he moving to Los Angeles?”
“I suppose any day now. When we last talked, he said that they were moving in two weeks. That was twelve days ago.”
“Right. Can you find out exactly what day? And while you’re at it, can you inquire about how many men he has with him? I don’t need an exact count. Just a rough estimate.”
“Don’t worry, we are not going to do anything to your so-called brother. I have my people checking out real estate transactions for small apartment buildings. If I know how many men he has, it will narrow the search. We are going to find them and take them out. Not kill them, mind you, just put them in stasis.”
Kian’s request created a moral dilemma. Even if Losham didn’t get hurt or captured during the raid, he would still suffer from the consequences of losing more men. As it was, he had been most likely demoted because of similar failures in the past.
On the other hand, Lokan still had to find out whether Losham knew about the things his adopted son had done to Carol. And if he did, the clan could have him and do whatever they wanted with him.
Hell, he would help torture the information out of the bastard himself.
But it was neither here nor there until he had a talk with the guy.
“Losham will just get more men from the island.”
“Maybe yes and maybe no. But it will make him look bad and your father might replace him with someone else. All of that will take time, and in the meantime, female students in the Los Angeles area will be safe.”
“What about arousing Losham’s suspicions? If I call him asking a bunch of questions and then his base gets attacked, he will connect the dots. Losham is a very smart guy.”
“That’s why you need to be very circumspect about asking. If you’re coming down to Los Angeles anyway, you can call to schedule a meeting with him. That way you’ll know exactly when he is moving here. And during that meeting, you can throw in the question about his men in a roundabout way. You are a smart guy too. You’ll figure out how to do that.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“You are welcome.”
“While I’m meeting with Losham, Carol can see her family.”
“True. I’ll arrange for the hotel and text you the details.”
“I have to pay for the hotel. You can’t book it for me and pay for it.”
“You are right. I’ll text you the details about which hotel to make the reservations at. Are you going to use an alias?”
“Logan Roshmaoni.”
“Does it mean anything?”
“No. I made it up.”
20
Mey
As the taxi stopped in front of the Regent Hotel, Mey was relieved to see that it wasn’t super fancy. It was one of those new boutique hotels that were popping up everywhere. The trend was about catering to specific tastes and offering a personalized experience.
Still, those were pricey as well. How was Ari affording it? Other than a select few, models didn’t make a lot of money, and Arwel didn’t look like the billionaire boyfriend who was supporting his girlfriend’s career.
But then, with all the stories about tech startups being bought out by the big players, schlumpy computer nerds could become rich overnight.
Except, Arwel didn’t look like a nerd either.
Mey had a hard time categorizing him. He was handsome, athletically built, and he didn’t slouch like someone who spent his days over a keyboard. But he paid no attention to his appearance. His shoulder-length hair was messy, not in a stylish way, and his clothes looked rumpled as if he hadn’t bothered folding them after taking them out of the dryer. Which was the best indicator that Arwel wasn’t rich. Wealthy people had housekeepers who did their laundry and either folded their clothes or hung them in the closet.
But the thing that bothered Mey about him the most was the tormented look in his eyes. She wondered if he was suffering from a physical ailment or a mental one. Or maybe he was an artist. She didn’t know any personally, but literature often described them as tortured souls.
Yamanu, on the other hand, was well groomed, which she liked. But then he was Ari’s business manager, so he had to look more presentable.
With nervous butterflies flapping their wings in her stomach, Mey entered the lobby and looked around. Just as she’d expected, it wasn’t big, but it was tastefully done. Grays and light purples were the main colors, giving the lobby a contemporary feel, but the soft carpet and plush couches and chairs ensured that it didn’t look cold.
She was about to pull out her phone and call Ari when Arwel stepped out of the elevator.
“Hi, Mey. Arielle sent me to get you.” He offered her his hand.
Once again, she was struck by the suffering reflected in his eyes. “Do you have a headache?” she asked as she shook what he offered.
He smiled. “Do I look like I have one?”
“You look in pain. I can massage your temples if you like. It always helps my dad when he has a migraine. He says that I have magic fingers.”
“Thank you, but it’s not a headache that is bothering me.” He walked her over to the elevator. “You seem to have a good relationship with your father.” He held the door for her.
“I have a wonderful relationship with both my mom and dad.” She sighed. “I miss them so much.”
Arwel inserted his key before pressing the top button. “Do they live far from here?”
“The other side of the world.”
“China?”
She chuckled. “No, Israel.”
He lifted a brow.
“It’s a long story.”
Arwel didn’t press for details, which she appreciated. Telling a stranger her life story in an elevator was not something Mey would do.
In fact, she didn’t like to talk about it at all. As soon as she said that she was adopted, the pitying looks would come, and then she felt obliged to say that she’d had a wonderful childhood, but that sounded as if she was being defensive, which she was.
It was better not to say anything.
When they reached the top floor, Arwel led her down the wide but short hallway that had only four sets of double doors.
He opened the second set, and as she walked inside, Arielle rushed toward her with a big smile on a face that looked very different from the one Mey had seen the day before.
“I'm so glad you came.” Ari enveloped her in a warm hug as if they had been friends for years.
“Glad to be here.” Mey took a step back and gave her a once-over. “You look different.”
“Yes, I guess I do. No makeup. That’s for Ari the model.” Arielle led her to the couch. “She’s not really me. It’s a persona I assume for the camera.”
“You’re very beautiful.” Mey sat down and turned toward her new friend. “Why do you change your look so dramatically?”
Arielle shrugged. “It’s a look that sells. Besides, it allows me to go incognito when I wish to. No one recognizes me.”
“There is something to be said for that. I never know if people are looking at me because they think that I’m freakishly tall or because they recognize me from some advertisement I modeled for.”
Arielle frowned. “You’re not freakish in any way. You’re gorgeous. That’s why people stare at you.”
“Thanks. My mom keeps telling me the same thing.”
“She is a smart woman.”
The door opened and an older man in a suit came in. “I brought the refreshments, mistress. Where would you like me to serve them?”
“On the coffee table, thank you.”
“Yes, mistress.” He bowed.
Mey gaped, then leaned closer to whisper in Ari’s ear. “Does he come with the hotel or did you bring along your personal butler?”
Ari laughed, the bell-like sound raising goose bumps on Mey’s arms. “Ovidu goes wherever I go. I’ve had him since I was a little girl.”
Someone pinch me.
The woman sitting next to her had the face of an angel and a laugh to match, and she had her own butler.
“Who are you, Arielle? And is that even your real name?”
Arielle laughed again. “How are you at keeping secrets?”
“I’m an awesome secret keeper.” Mey wasn’t exaggerating.
Lean
ing closer, Ari whispered in her ear. “I’m the daughter of a very important person, and I have to keep my identity secret. That person has enemies who wish me harm.” She waved a hand at Arwel. “Arwel is not really my boyfriend. He’s my bodyguard.”
Well, that explained a lot. Like the money to pay for the expensive hotel suite, the excessive makeup, and the fake accent.
“But if you need to keep your identity secret, why do you model?”
Ari smiled. “I still want to live my life as I please. And I think I’m doing a good job pretending to be someone else.”
“Why are you telling me, though? We’ve just met.”
Ari lifted her chin. “I’m an excellent judge of character, and I know that you’re trustworthy.” She put her hand on Mey’s thigh. “And I also know that we are going to be good friends.”
“Thank you for that. And you’re right, your secret is safe with me. But I don’t think you should be so trusting. I worry that you might tell it to someone who will use it against you.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I know what I’m doing.” She lifted a platter of small sandwiches. “You have to taste these.”
Mey took one small triangle. “Carbs are not a model’s friend. But these look so good.”
“They are. Don’t fill up on them, though. I ordered us dinner.”
“Thank you, but I don’t think I’ll be staying that long.”
It was the polite thing to say, but the truth was that she didn’t want to leave anytime soon. First of all because the man she came to see wasn’t there yet, and secondly because she really liked Arielle or whatever her real name was.
“Nonsense.” Ari patted her knee. “You’re not going anywhere until we have dinner and you tell me all about yourself.”
21
Yamanu
With a curse, Yamanu yanked his noise-canceling headphones off and dropped them on the floor.