Page 18 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

Zeyla had her phone out already. “I’ll ask your pal Maizie if she can find anything.”

Ramon headed down the street. “Do you have some kind of problem with her?”

“How can I? Everyone thinks she’s just the best ever.”

“So you’re what, jealous? I wouldn’t peg you for the kind of person who needs to be the center of attention. Or are you justmad that you want to have a problem with her, but you actually like the girl?”

“If I was jealous, I would probably sound like that woman back there.”

Ramon shook his head. She really didn’t want to talk about this. Probably because she was still figuring out how she felt about Maizie. The old mix of protectiveness and respect that the rest of them felt, coupled with the fact that none of them had a whole lot of friends. They could use all the quality people in their lives that they could find.

He almost asked Zeyla then if she was interested in being friends with him. The worry over what she would say and how she would react kept his mouth shut. It wasn’t like he wanted to get laughed at.

It would be far better to just focus on the case.

“While we’re waiting for Maizie to get back to you, why don’t you tell me about this Count of Shadows guy?”

She tensed in the seat. “What do you want to know?”

“How about everything? Have you ever met him? Where did you hear about him? How do you even know he’s a person? Why do you need to find him?”

She waved a hand. “Okay, fine. I get it.”

“Who is he?”

“Find me a place that will make me a giant salad for lunch, and I’ll tell you everything.”

CHAPTER

NINE

Zeyla tossedher fork into the container that now had only a couple of limp pieces of romaine and none of the spicy chicken, cheese, and chickpeas she had been eating. Along with a whole bunch of other things she’d asked them to add—which they had upcharged Ramon for.

“You were going to explain about this guy?” He took the final bite of his hot roast beef sandwich.

She tensed in her chair, looking at everything but him. Wiping her hands on a napkin. “People think he’s just a myth. Like the boogeyman.”

“It seems like there’s a lot of those withinDominatus.” This wasn’t the first time he had heard a term like that about someone within their organization. Unsurprising, considering how readily they used fear to manipulate people.

Zeyla winced a little. “He’s real. He’s one of the only leaders who stays out of research or furthering the cause. He’s so quiet that no one knows where to find him. But I know he votes in their elections. I’ve seen his signature in the logbook.”

Ramon lifted his brows. “You know all their names?”

“It’s not like you can look up Count of Shadows in the phone book. You already looked for him online, right? So you know he’s basically a myth.”

“If he’s a person, then he’s not a myth.” Ramon took a sip of his drink. “That means he’s someone we can find. Have you ever thought that he could be the big honcho, leader guy?”

She shook her head. “The man over the whole group always lives in Europe. I’ve heard that he’s got a huge castle, but I’ve never seen it.”

From that the fact that she didn’t want to say or hearDominatusaloud, Ramon gathered she also didn’t want to mention the name of the leader—theImperatoris.“How did you get a look at the logbook?”

“Milo Hargrove, actually.” Zeyla sighed, as if she had been reluctant to tell him all this before, but now she was realizing she had no choice. “He was one of them, years ago. He managed to get out and stay hidden. But if the Count of Shadows is the one who sent your friend to kill him, then he must have realized who Milo is.”

Ramon’s brows lifted. “Getting out is a serious accomplishment. I bet he had all kinds of knowledge about what they did and howDominatusis run.”

“After a while, most of it was obsolete. But he never gave up looking for the Count so he could expose the guy.”

“Did he want justice or revenge?”