Page 86 of Marked By Moonlight

Bene’s phone beeped, and he looked at it. “Oh goody,” he said in a flat tone. “Celeste is on her way back.”

“What a day,” Roux grumbled, looking at his watch. “And that’s before I brief Gordon.”

“Who do you think the client will go for?” Henrik asked.

“Jensen,” Roux and I said at the same time.

Mina’s expression soured. “Bogdan might have a chance.”

I doubted it, but I kept that to myself.

Roux’s phone rang, and he answered with a roll of his eyes.

“Hello, Gordon.” He paused. “Yes, everything went well.”

Now Mina was the one rolling her eyes.

“Is there a clear front-runner at this point?” Roux passed Gordon’s question to Mina.

I would have put the odds at nine-to-one in Jensen’s favor, not that I would admit as much to Gordon. It was always good to hold back a little information, just in case.

Maybe Mina was learning, because all she said was, “Hard to say at this point.”

Roux relayed that to Gordon on the way back to our suite.

“Quick, before Celeste turns up,” Bene joked, following him.

Mina’s face went hard. Thinking fast, I stepped inside, grabbed our jackets, and turned to Mina, who was still out in the hallway.

“Come on,” I murmured, pulling her toward the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Henrik demanded.

“Out,” I muttered.

“Out?” Mina asked.

I nodded firmly. “Out.”

Henrik knew me too well to protest, and minutes later, Mina and I slipped outside via the hotel’s back door. Yes, the back, to avoid Celeste.

It was barely noon, but I already wanted the day to be over. Hell, I wanted this whole mission to be over. I wanted to be back at the château, sitting over a good meal after an honest day’s work clearing out the stables or tearing out old plumbing.

Then I caught myself. Since when had home repair and countryside living featured in my fantasies?

Since Mina,my dragon murmured dreamily.

I looped an arm over her shoulders and led her down the back alley. Mina zipped her jacket high and hunched against the wind. Clouds chased each other across the sky, barely allowing the sun to spear through before the next cloud blotted it out again. Leaves whirled across the grass of Hyde Park, and anyone wearing a hat kept one hand firmly over it. A blustery day, in other words, but a refreshing change from the stuffy suite.

“Where are we going?” Mina asked.

“Wherever you want.”

She sighed. “Does home count?”

I flashed a thin smile. Apparently I wasn’t the only one thinking along those lines.

A little voice reminded me the château was Mina’s home, not mine. But I just didn’t have it in me to listen.