Page 29 of A Touch of Treachery (Section 47 #3)
Henrika let out a merry, mocking laugh. “Don’t we all have troubles from time to time? It was nothing serious, and the situation will soon be resolved.”
She smirked at me over the rim of her glass.
My hands tightened around the plate on my lap, and I resisted the urge to chuck the expensive crystal at her head.
Nothing had been resolved , and the only reason the Section strike teams hadn’t moved in was because Henrika was holding the undercover agent list like a sword over our heads.
“Troubles? How odd, Henny. I thought your mysterious benefactor took care of all your problems,” Niles piped up, his voice even more snide than Oriana’s.
“Benefactor?” Steig asked in a sharp, suspicious voice. “What benefactor? I thought you were the only one involved in this transaction.”
Henrika shrugged off his question. “Redburn is entirely my creation.”
Truth , my inner voice whispered.
“Aw, there’s no need to be ashamed, Henny,” Niles said. “It’s okay to admit you’ve accepted help from others. You took full advantage of your big break way back when, and look at everything you’ve accomplished since then.”
He waved his champagne glass around at the luxe library, although his lips curled back with disgust. I got the sense Niles was wishing he’d gotten that big break instead of Henrika. And who was the mysterious benefactor he kept mentioning?
One of the things I grudgingly admired about Henrika was how she’d used her brains, skills, and determination to pull herself out of poverty and build a pharmaceutical empire, even if a large part of that empire was devoted to hurting others.
In all my months of research, I’d never come across anyone giving Henrika money for anything, other than the weapons she invented, but Niles made it sound like someone else was responsible for her initial success. Curious.
Henrika’s fingers tightened around her glass like she wanted to toss the champagne in Niles’s face, but she kept her expression neutral.
“You’ll have to forgive Niles. The two of us are old friends, and we’ve competed for several of the same contracts.
I just happen to have been more successful in securing them.
Then again, I don’t skimp on ingredients, cut down processing times, and hire lackluster talent. ”
An angry flush stained Niles’s cheeks, and he threw back the rest of his drink.
“This is quite a group of bidders you’ve assembled,” Oriana chimed in. “But I’m curious about one thing: Why is she here? Because I’ve never heard of Charlotte Locke.”
She looked at me, a clear challenge in her dark eyes. Niles and Steig also stared at me. Henrika watched the proceedings with obvious amusement, as did Bryce. Beside me, Desmond tensed again.
I gave Oriana a flat stare. “I handle Desmond’s money. That’s all you need to know.”
“Oh, yes,” Henrika murmured. “Charlotte is quite good with numbers.”
She said the words calmly, as though they were a fact that was not up for debate, but something about her tone bothered me. It almost sounded like Henrika wanted me to be good with numbers for some reason.
“First, some ground rules,” Henrika said.
“We’re all paramortals, and each of us is dangerous in his or her own way.
But this is my resort, which is currently hosting more than a thousand guests and workers for my annual charity fund-raiser.
So no using your abilities where the regular humans can see them—and absolutely no using the humans to amuse yourselves. ”
She stabbed her finger at Steig. “That is especially true for you, Mr. Helseth. My resort is not your latest hunting ground.”
Steig let out an aggravated huff. “I suppose I can dial back my expectations for the weekend.”
Henrika kept staring at him.
After a few seconds, he harrumphed. “Fine, fine. No hunting humans.”
Lie , my inner voice whispered, but I didn’t need my synesthesia to know that Steig would go after whoever caught his eye, just like a predator stalking its prey. I held back another shudder.
“And the Redburn formula?” Niles asked, an excited note creeping into his voice. “When do we get to see it in action?”
“I have a few final details to sort out, but everything will be ready tomorrow,” Henrika replied. “Everyone will meet in the lobby at eight a.m. to go to the demonstration site.”
All three paramortals grumbled at the delay, but Henrika ignored their discontent and gave everyone a bright smile.
“For the moment, you are free to do as you please. Explore the resort, go skiing, get a massage. But I expect you all at my party tonight. Eight o’clock sharp in the grand ballroom. The theme is Casino Night, so wear formal attire and be prepared to play a few games of chance.”
Henrika glanced at first one person, then another. All the paramortals gave reluctant nods, including Desmond and me. “Mr. Finkley will show you out. I have work to do.”
She drained her champagne, set the empty glass on the fireplace mantel, went to her desk, and sat down. Henrika hit a few keys on her laptop and focused on the monitor, ignoring us.
Oriana left the library without a backward glance, as did Steig. Niles stared at the worktable full of beakers and burners, his gaze flicking from one thing to the next as though he was cataloging the items to concoct his own formula. Then he too left.
Bryce stepped forward, along with the two guards, forming a wall between Desmond and me and Henrika. All three men put their hands on their guns, and Desmond and I couldn’t get to the other woman without getting shot.
Frustration surged through me, but I climbed to my feet, as did Desmond. He eyed Bryce like he wanted to try his luck and tackle the other man, but I cleared my throat. This was just the start of the weekend’s games, and it wasn’t time to make a move against Henrika.
Desmond stared at Bryce a moment longer, then turned his back to the former cleaner and held out his arm to me. Together, the two of us walked out of Henrika’s library, leaving our enemies behind—for now.