I had to give it to Nilo: now that the shock had worn off and his mask was affixed, it didn’t budge. “It’s a pleasure,” he said with a charming grin.
Lexi gave him her emptiest smile. “Same, I’m sure,” she murmured. She looked perfectly relaxed, but I heard the murder in her saccharine tone. Nilo Shoren had better sleep with one eye open.
“No stabbing,” I warned her over the comm.
“No promises,” she replied just as quietly.
Chapter Seventeen
We made it to our rooms without anyone getting murdered. Torran’s house was as beautiful on the inside as on the outside, full of curving lines and warm, cozy spaces. The front door opened into a huge kitchen, dining, and living area, showcasing the importance of hospitality in Valovian culture.
The guest wing was tucked away off the back left of the house, separated from the main building by a long, glass-enclosed hallway that offered a delightful view of the careful landscaping. And wing hadn’t been an overstatement. There were at least a dozen small but exquisite bedroom suites lining two separate corridors, as well as a pair of doors leading outside, so guests didn’t need to walk through the main house to enjoy a bit of nature.
Torran’s team had taken rooms in the first hallway, so we chose rooms in the second. It gave us all the illusion of privacy, though I had no doubt that we were under surveillance.
Torran left us to unpack after our trunks of supplies were delivered. We dropped our bags in our chosen rooms and then shuffled the trunks around. Eli and I split the general supplies while Kee got her trunk full of tech goodies.
By unspoken agreement, once everything was put away, we all converged on Lexi’s room. She just rolled her eyes and waved us in.
“Spill,” Kee demanded.
Lexi sighed. “I met Nilo six months ago. Of course, that wasn’t the name he used, and I didn’t know that he worked for Fletcher. I was supposed to do a lucrative little job for a Valovian businesswoman, but Nilo stole it out from under me. Don’t let the charming facade fool you. He’s smart, cunning, and ruthless.”
She didn’t mention the hotel bar, so I didn’t bring it up, but I did ask, “Is it going to be a problem?”
“For him, maybe,” she said with a sharp grin. When I just stared at her, she relented. “I will be on my best behavior. It will not affect the job.”
“Do you want me to try to keep you two separated?”
She shook her head. “I’m the best suited to keep an eye on him because I know his tricks.”
Lexi’s expression remained a little too sharp and dangerous, but I let it go. She could look after herself, and I trusted her to let me know if there was a problem. “Tell me what you and Kee found earlier.”
She switched topics without missing a beat. “I scoured my usual haunts but there wasn’t a peep about a job on Valovia. So we’re either tracking an independent team or someone who knows how to clean up their tracks—either way, they’re professionals. This isn’t a rookie job.” She waved at Kee. “I’ll let you tell them what you found.”
Kee grinned. “Because we’re so close to the palace, there are more cameras on the streets here than elsewhere in the city. I did a little poking and found some surveillance footage that might be our thieves. It’s hard to tell because they hit in the dark and the angle isn’t the best, but it’s a start.”
“How many?”
“Four or five. Maybe more if they split the team. The camera I found is on the corner of the block. I’m still tracking down alternate angles.”
“Excellent work. Now that we’re here, I’m hoping that General Fletcher will be more forthcoming with details. His system should’ve caught something, too.”
“I hope so,” Kee said. Then she switched to sign language, her hands flashing through the words. “I am going to set up my system and breach his security. Until then, be careful because we are likely being monitored, including our comms.”
Eli, Lexi, and I nodded our understanding. Kee had learned sign language during childhood because her father was deaf, and she’d taught the rest of us during the war, when totally silent, untraceable communication had been even more useful than the subvocal comms.
Anja frowned at us but didn’t say anything. If she decided to stay on, we would have to teach her, too.
“I’m going to walk the perimeter while the sun is up,” I said. “I know our body clocks think it’s afternoon and the sun is going to set in a few hours, but try to stay up because we’re in the first half of the double day. The faster we adjust to local time, the easier it will be. If you’re hungry, Torran said we’re allowed to use the main kitchen.”
“Two sunsets in a single day will be interesting,” Eli said.
“Could be worse,” Lexi said. “The last planet I was on had an impossibly long day. Do you know how hard it is to sneak around when it looks like high noon outside all the time?”
Eli grinned. “I’m sure you made it work.”
Lexi’s mouth curved into a small, satisfied smile. “Damn straight I did.”
I dug a meal bar out of my pack and split it with Luna before I ventured outside. I took the little burbu with me. We could both use the fresh air and exercise. Eli tried to join me, but I sent him off with Lexi and Anja to check the property in the other direction.
Kee had decided to remain holed up in her room with her electronics.
I understood the desire to hide away. I loved my team like family, but I needed five minutes of solitude to settle my nerves.
Torran’s property was beautiful. It was carefully landscaped but retained a wild kind of beauty with a profusion of native plants, none of which I recognized. I’d studied the offline map Kee had sent to my comm. The property had to be nearly a hectare, but it was hard to judge the size from the ground because the winding paths were obscured from each other.
I had just begun to relax for the first time since Valovia had shown up on Starlight’s display when Torran just happened to appear on the random path I’d chosen. He’d changed back into civilian clothes, though the dark slacks and thigh-length, long-sleeved tunic were far nicer than the casual clothes he’d worn on Starlight.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Did you sprint down the other path so it would look like you ran into me by chance?”
He shook his head, amusement in his eyes. “Believe it or not, I was merely enjoying a walk. I’ve been away for a long time and while Starlight’s garden was nice, it’s not the same.” He frowned at me and looked around. “Are you alone?”
Warning tingles licked up my spine. If they felt more like anticipation than concern, I ignored it.
“Luna is around here somewhere,” I hedged. “Why? Is your property unsafe? If so, you should’ve told me. My people are out, too, and I need to warn them.”