Page 67 of Brushed By Moonlight

I looked at Roux. He liked to pretend he was in charge here, right? Let him handle the tricky stuff.

“No, but he’s our most likely suspect,” he admitted.

“Because…?” Mina rolled her hand impatiently.

“Because he hates us?” Bene offered, then held up the coffeepot. “Seconds, anyone?”

Mina, Roux, and I held out our mugs.

“Now, as hard as it is to imagine anyone hating any of you…” Mina let her gaze sink into Henrik. “What if that’s the case? Who could possibly hate you? And why?”

Bene chuckled into his coffee. “Very diplomatic.”

“I try,” she mumbled.

“Szabo is a vampire,” Roux started. “He was slated to…er, work for Gordon, like the rest of us.”

Mina pursed her lips and looked at Bene. “Translation, please.”

“We all fucked up. Gordon offered a way to clear our records.”

“Records that say…?” Mina asked, alarmed.

“Um… Embezzlement, unauthorized conversion, attempted murder…” Roux’s eyes jumped from Bene to Henrik and me as he spoke.

I glared. “The guy owed me money.”

Not the whole truth, but part of me wanted to test Mina. To see if she could really accept me in spite of my past.

Her jaw dropped.

“Don’t forget insubordination,” Henrik growled at Roux.

“Random examples,” Bene said with a winning smile.

“I bet,” Mina said dryly.

“Being accused of a crime doesn’t mean you committed it,” Roux muttered.

“True — or the ‘victim’ might be the real criminal,” Bene added. “Like Marius’s guy.”

“Notmyguy,” I growled.

Bene chuckled. “I mean the guy Marius nearly killed. He ran an illegal fight ring and shanghaied people off the streets whenever he needed ‘extras.’ Picture the Roman Colosseum at its bloodiest, if not as big. Am I right, Marius?”

I clenched my jaw and gave a curt nod. So much for testing Mina.

“He also ran a sex trafficking ring. Our man here put an end to that too.” Bene patted me on the back.

I showed him my teeth.Too much information, asshole.

You want her to think you’re a lowlife?Bene spoke into my mind.

No, I wanted to keep her expectations realistic. I was no saint, and she needed to be clear about that.

“Too bad the guy’s cronies stepped in before Marius killed him,” Bene finished.

Truly too bad, because I’d made a dangerous enemy. Gordon had promised to deal with him, but I wasn’t holding my breath on that.