Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

sky, one eye winking at her. Her heart beat a little faster , and a ring of heat circled her neck . S he’d determined long ago that she had a screw loose somewhere to keep tempting fate. N ow , she was about to do it again.
    Lucier had gone home to change . She hadn’t heard him come into the house , but she turned to find him leaning against the frame of the bathroom door with an admiring expression on his face .
    “Are you ready?” he asked.
    After a dab of her bright red lipstick, a quick fluff of her curls, and one last check in the mirror, she said, “ Yup , r eady as I’ll ever be. Tonight ’s the big night. The night of the crescent moon.”
    “You’re sure you want to do this?”
    She drew a deep breath , let it out in a long sigh . “Positive. This is our chance to find out what’s going on. Five men think they can hide their inner sensations. I’m betting at least one of them will give off vibes that exposes their plans , whether he wants to or not. That’s all we need. Just one.”
    “I’m worried about ‘Diana of the Moon, we await you.’ T hey want to place you on an altar and worship you.”
    She snorted. “They’ve already done that.”
    “ Except this time I’ll be watching everything you put in your mouth. Drinks out of the same containers as everyone else; food the same way.”
    “They can’t drug me without drugging you, and how can they do that when your men know we’re there.”
    “ W e still have to be careful. These people think they’re above the law.”
    “In their world, they are the la w.”
    “I ’ve planned a few things of my own .” He put something in her hand the size of a dime .
    “What’s this?”
    “A GPS tracking device. Tuck it in your purse. I put one in my wallet and another on the car. My people will know where we are at all times. ”
    She shrugged and dropped it in her evening bag. “I feel like Mata Hari on some kind of spy mission.”
    He kissed her. “You’re my Mata Hari . Come on.”
    They left in Lucier’s car and arrived at Compton’s French Quarter residence five minutes after seven. Since o nly the men asked reading s , Diana wasn’t sure the women would be there , b ut they were, minus Anastasia Easley, each in slinky dresses. So slinky and close to the skin Diana could tell none of them wore underwear. A quick exchange with Lucier told her he noticed too. She scanned the room. No sign of Edward Slater . She wasn’t surprise d but thought he ’d be curious enough to show up.
    Dione Compton wasn’t there either.
    Everyone greeted them like old friends. Both Diana and Lucier decided earlier not to accept drinks before dinner, and a series of knowing glances passed among the group. Diana thought the Easleys might be late, but when they didn’t show after ten minutes, she said, “I thought I was going to read Mr. Easley. I s he not coming? ”
    “ Ah, um , unfortunately, Martin and Anastasia had another engagement,” Compton said, stumbl ing over the answer . “ They send their regrets.”
    Strange, Diana thought. “ Some other time.”
    “ Definitely .”
    “Well, this is exciting,” Fernando Reyes said.
    H e’d draped his hand over his wife’s shoulder and was tickling the side of her breast. “Tell me, Diana,” Reyes said. “How do you do this? Do we all get to listen while you read us, like in your performances, or do we l ock ourselves in another room?”
    “I’m sure everyone wants his reading in private, Fernando,” Compton said. “I certainly don’t want anyone to hear what Diana has to say about me this time. She ’s already told me things no one could possibly know. ” He chuckled. “ I hope you don’t blackmail me.” Compton leaned close to her, pretending his words were out of earshot. “No telling what other dark secrets you might unearth.”
    “ Y our decision,” Diana said, knowing in her heart there wasn’t a past reading unveiling Compton’s secrets . Her gaze wandered back to Reyes, who had finger-walked all the way to Sophia’s nipple , pinching and tweaking as if daring Diana to react. A taunting smile played across Sophia’s lips. Diana glanced at Lucier, who ’d been trapped again by Selene and didn’t notice.
    This was a blatant, provocative act. She had a strong urge to grab Lucier and get the hell out of there . Make some excuse , Diana. I ’ve a stomach virus , I feel a migraine coming on―something . A nything. Just get up and go .
    But she’d committed to this