“Dr. March! At last! I am so, so, so happy to meet you. You have no idea. I’m such a huge fan of your work.”
I wonder which work that is, mused Horatio.
Me too, said Justin.
But again, Justin played it cordial and unassuming. “Why, thank you. That’s very kind of you to say, Mr….?”
“This is Director Francis Kyle, from Internal Security,” said Cornelia.
Just Internal Security. When no one assigned you a subdepartment, it meant you were high up. Very high up. Certainly higher than Cornelia, who was having a difficult time hiding her dislike for her superior.
“Please, please, just call me Francis. I want this little gathering to be as friendly as possible.”
At least someone does, Justin thought, casting another look at Cornelia. The circumstances of this meeting were still a total mystery, but one thing Justin knew at a glance was that Francis wanted to be here and Cornelia did not.
“We should order drinks then,” Justin told him. “I’m sure they have some sort of room service to—”
The words died on his lips as another person slipped into the room.
It was her.
She wasn’t naked or even in a mauve dress, but there was no mistaking Mae. She was dressed simply in blue-gray linen pants and a white cotton T-shirt. From the way her hands hastily tied her hair back in a ponytail as she walked, she’d probably only just finished taking a blow dryer to it. The makeup was gone too, not that her complexion had really needed it. She looked brisk and efficient in her sportier attire, though still devastatingly beautiful.
Also, devastatingly surprised.
She came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the room when she saw Justin. Her hands dropped to her sides, and her eyes widened. Justin felt his own face mirror her shock as he lost control of his casual fa?ade. For a few seconds, he was almost able to grasp at some sort of explanation. She was support staff for a Gemman military attaché, so perhaps it wouldn’t be that unreasonable that she would be here for a—
“Ah, Pr?torian Koskinen,” said Francis, beaming at her. “You’re back. How splendid. This is Dr. March.”
Mae gave a weak nod, her eyes never leaving Justin.
The words hit Justin like a slap to the face. “Pr?torian?” His sluggish mind suddenly started working again as a terrible thought popped up. “Are you…are you here to kill me?”
After several more moments, she seemed to regain her own control too. Her astonishment vanished, replaced by a cool and composed face that was much frostier than the one Justin had gotten to know earlier that night. “Dr. March,” she said calmly, “if I wanted you dead, you already would be.”
CHAPTER 5
A BURNING BRIDGE
Even Cornelia seemed to find that comment funny, probably because it was something she wished had actually happened.
“She’s joking, Dr. March,” said Francis, taking a seat beside Cornelia.
Justin, studying Mae’s face, wasn’t so sure. Pr?torian. His blood ran cold. He’d been such an idiot. He prided himself on his powers of observation and ability to draw out the truth of a situation from the finest details. How had he really let himself believe that someone’s “research support” had taken out the Jessup thugs back in the alley in so short a time? In heels and a dress? He hadn’t been able to watch the fight as it happened, thanks to Miguel, but even so, anyone looking at the carnage Mae had left behind should’ve been able to deduce that something wasn’t normal there.
You weren’t looking at the carnage, said Horatio.
Justin couldn’t deny the accusation. He’d been dazed on alcohol and ash, high on the idea that a pretty Gemman woman was charmed by him. With a distraction like her, who could pay attention to details or ask uncomfortable questions about his impending death?
Francis glanced back and forth between them. “Did you deliver the message personally?” he asked Mae. “You must’ve been at the party around the same time.”
“No. We missed each other,” she said.
“She must’ve been tied up,” added Justin, deadpan.
Mae gave him a sharp look that made him wonder if baiting a pr?torian was such a smart idea. A pr?torian. He’d slept with a fucking pr?torian. Who did that? And who lived to tell the tale? That beautiful exterior took on a sinister edge as he allowed himself to contemplate all that she was capable of. Why had she lied? Her initial shock upon seeing him suggested this turn of events had caught her off guard too, but Justin suddenly wasn’t so sure. Had she sought him out at the party and lied about her identity to get close? Was this part of Cornelia’s larger scheme? For all he knew, they’d orchestrated the Jessup assault to conveniently give Mae a reason to “save” him. It sounded far-fetched, but Justin had learned long ago never to underestimate the RUNA’s government.
Forget all of that, said Magnus. And just remember your deal.