Trusted Bond
Bruyere‘s sheseru. I will soon be Adam Bruyere‘s
sheseru, as he is next in line after Laurent‘s brother David, and as he took
part in your torture with his absence of aid, he has forfeited his place in the
tribe.‖
I stood there letting the sheseru hold my hand and look up into my
face.
―I never would have let—‖
―I know that,‖ I assured him, squeezing his hand tight before I let it
go. Mikhail was much more comfortable the moment I released him,
changing his stance so that he was sort of turned into me. The man was
very protective, and it was endearing because if we were in a real fight, I
would be the one taking care of him.
―Reah,‖ the other man began.
―It‘s Adam, right?‖
―Yes.‖
―Stand up, both of you.‖
They both gave me ghosts of smiles as they stood.
―What do you want?‖ I asked pointedly.
Adam cleared his throat. ―Before Laurent had you kidnapped, he…
there was….‖
―Just ask for what you need,‖ Mikhail said sharply, uncomfortable,
his hand on the small of my back. He didn‘t normally touch me at all, but
now he was in protector mode. It was nice, as my anxiety level over what
Adam was going to ask was starting to rise.
―Okay,‖ he said, and Mikhail moved his hand to the side of my neck,
reminding me to breathe.
―The man that Laurent kidnapped and beat and raped and killed,
he….‖ Adam took a breath, and I saw his eyes start to water, redden. ―I‘m
so sorry, this is so—‖
Robert cut him off. ―The man, his name was Emilio Fiori. He was an
artist,‖ Robert explained. ―His family… we need you to meet with
Laurent.‖
―No,‖ Mikhail said flatly, firmly. ―Absolutely not.‖
―Wait,‖ I said, hand on Mikhail‘s chest as I looked at Robert. ―Tell
me why.‖
Trusted Bond
195
―Because Laurent buried the boy somewhere, and his family wants
the body as well as the portfolio of his work that was taken. If you
cooperate and go see him, Laurent promised that he would tell us where
both are.‖
I crossed my arms because I was suddenly freezing. ―Tell me about
the portfolio.‖ I couldn‘t ask about the body, I just couldn‘t. It was too
final.
―It was… it….‖ Robert raked his fingers through his hair, obviously
anxious. ―Emilio‘s work was just recently accepted into an art gallery in
Dallas, and now that he‘s gone, the gallery still wants to have the
opening.‖
―The portfolio is important because the gallery wants to publish the
book to accompany the opening,‖ Adam told me. ―His mate, she found
pictures of the artwork, of the paintings and sculptures, but Emilio‘s
notes… all handwritten… those are only in the portfolio. She wants it.‖
Of course she did. It was a piece of him. She could read the words
and know they were his words. Run her fingers over the ink on the paper
and know he had put it there. In her place, I would have done anything for
the portfolio.
―Reah?‖
―Yes, I understand.‖
―Yeah, so they‘ve been looking for his portfolio, and his mate
realized that the reason she couldn‘t find it anywhere was because he must
have taken it with him the night he went to see his semel alone in his
home.‖
―All right.‖
―So when Adam asked Laurent if he knew where it was, he said he
had buried it with the body,‖ Robert said, his eyes locked on my face,
searching. ―Laurent said that ‗if Jin comes and asks me‘, he‘ll tell him
where both are.‖
I nodded, and my eyes flicked back to Mikhail. ―So of course I hafta
go.‖
He let out a deep breath. ―No.‖
―Mikhail.‖
―No.‖
―I should, for Emilio‘s family,‖ I told my sylvan. ―For his mate.‖
196
Mary Calmes
His face was pained, brows furrowed, muscles in his jaw working.
―I should.‖
―Yes,‖ he finally agreed. ―For his mate… yes.‖
Now that we were in agreement, I felt better. ―I think just you and
me go, all right?‖
―You‘re nuts if you think I would let you go without alerting your
semel.‖
―But before the challenge?‖ I looked at him.
―Yes,‖ he assured me. ―Especially before the challenge.‖
I was concerned with telling Logan, not wanting to shift his focus
from anything but his upcoming challenge in the pit, but Mikhail was not
about to listen to me. He firmly believed that telling Logan, informing him
immediately, was the only course of action open to us. In the end, there
was no argument to be
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