Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Gedeon was more intrigued than ever. He often got strong hunches, and so far, those premonitions had always been right.
He knows we’re here, Gedeon. I don’t know what we did to tip him off, but he’s aware we’re here.
Meiling was extremely sensitive to changes in energy. He had no idea how she would know that Gorya had been alerted to their presence, but he believed her.
We have to make up our minds if we’re going to talk with him. The element of surprise is gone. I don’t believe he has an ambush set up. On the other hand, we’re walking into something Slayer doesn’t like. Gedeon was honest with Meiling. His leopard was still warning him they could be in trouble. What is Whisper telling you?
Gedeon and his male were fierce, brutal fighters and generally riled other males the moment he came into close proximity with them. Meiling and her female calmed other leopards. Ordinarily, Whisper had no problem around any leopard.
She’s uneasy for Slayer.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up. It was unprecedented for Whisper to be in the least concerned for Slayer. He was an elite leopard, one of the few in the world. Slayer was faster than any other leopard they had ever encountered. He was a brutal, experienced fighter. He killed in seconds, all business. Whisper was well aware of Slayer’s fighting abilities.
That puts an entirely different perspective on things, doesn’t it? Stay or go?
Meiling emerged from the shadows to stand next to him. She looked up at him and then at the building.
She was quiet a moment, thinking the problem over as was her way. Meiling didn’t make snap decisions. “I think we have no choice now, Gedeon. We need to find out who Gorya Amurov is and what his interest in us is. There is no doubt he arranged for us to be here, and he wants to speak to us alone.”
Gedeon agreed with her. “Then we do this the way we always have, Lotus. We treat him as a hostile enemy. His leopard will dismiss yours and rage over mine. Slip inside and set up to take him out. I’ll keep his attention focused on me. Hopefully this interview will be legitimate, and we won’t have to go after every one of his cousins. He has the kind of family that if you kill one of them, they don’t stop coming after you until you’re dead.”
“If we kill him, Gedeon, we’ll have to go after the others immediately and then disappear.”
That was Meiling. Practical. With him. She didn’t like their lifestyle, especially if it involved killing, but she would stand with him.
“Self-preservation, baby. Let’s hope Drake Donovan is a good judge of character.”
There was no sense in putting off the meeting once they decided to go. Gedeon entered the room first, careful when he pushed the door open that the heavy frame partially blocked the opening. As he did, his large body filling the entrance, Meiling slipped inside behind him, moving along the wall. The moment Gedeon opened the door, Slayer reacted, snarling and clawing, despite Meiling and Whisper, his mate, being close.
Across the room, Gorya sat behind a desk, rolling a bullet between his fingers, a gun in front of him. He glanced at Meiling, and then his gaze fixed on Gedeon. Gorya’s leopard had to have reacted to the aggression in Gedeon’s leopard, yet the man didn’t so much as blink. That was a huge red flag to Gedeon.
Gedeon stopped close to the door, keeping Slayer under control when the leopard fought him for supremacy, clearly feeling a threat to Gedeon and Meiling.
“Gorya,” Gedeon opened the conversation. “You came without any backup. Do you think that wise?”
“The things I have to say to you require complete privacy. I did my research. You will keep what is said confidential whether you take the job or not.”
Gorya was soft-spoken. His voice mesmerizing. Gedeon had to resist glancing at Meiling to see her reaction. The quality in that voice edged on compelling. A gift.
Gorya turned his attention once again to Meiling. “We haven’t met officially, Meiling. I’m Gorya Amurov. I hope I didn’t offend you when I first asked Drake to speak with your husband about working for me. I knew the two of you were partners. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how competent you are; I do my research very thoroughly.”
Gedeon found that low voice so compelling it was impossible not to focus on it. Instinctively, he knew that leopards could inch closer without listeners being aware. That voice, although low, was powerful, embedding the need to hear every word. It was an amazing weapon.
“Knowing that we work together and that you were risking offending me, why would you have Drake only approach my husband?” Meiling asked.
Gedeon wanted to smile. Those long lashes of hers fanned her cheeks, making her look so innocent and demure, not at all calculating and brilliant as he knew her to be. She wasn’t getting trapped in Gorya’s voice.