Romani Armada by Tracy Cooper-Posey Page A

since the Vienna Ball last year?”
    Ryan laughed softly, then shut up. He sat, smiling, watching Brenden.
    Brenden’s face was actually turning a soft shade of pink, which was a remarkable feat for a vampire, who had little blood to spare for blushing.
    Nayara’s lips were pursed, her eyes twinkling. Tally had her head turned into Rob’s shoulder so that only her eyes were visible, but they were alive with merriment. Christian was grinning openly and Rob’s lips were curled upwards.
    Deonne still couldn’t see Justin’s face. Instead, she looked back at Brenden as steadily as she could, lifting her brow enquiringly.
    “If you told them a single bloody thing…” Brenden began.
    “But they threaten me with bodily harm if I do not tell them,” Deonne replied. “Just as you did and this time, I only have a silly contract to keep me silent. I have no morals or ethics or concern about my professional reputation to guide my actions. I would most likely sell you down the river, and screw the contract – I can always make reparations later. It’s much better to be a live contract breaker than a dead body some organization has efficient means for getting rid of. Don’t you agree?”
    Brenden opened his mouth three times and each time he shut it. He looked at everyone sitting around the room, but no one stepped in to help him. Christian made a sound that was suspiciously like a choked guffaw of laughter, but otherwise, everyone was looking politely at either her or Brenden, even if their eyes were very wide and bright.
    All except Tally, who had given up any pretense at control and turned her face into Rob’s shoulder, hiding it completely from Brenden’s gaze. Her shoulders were shaking.
    Deonne knew she had pushed it as far as she could. Brenden was the wrong man to make an enemy out of. She smiled at him as warmly as she could. “It’s a good thing I have my morals and business ethics to guide me instead of your cast-iron contract, isn’t it?”
    Brenden sat back. “Why the bloody hell did you sign it, then?” he asked, with a deeply baffled tone.
    “I believe it might have had something to do with getting paid,” Nayara said, interceding.
    Justin stood up. “Speaking of pay, I believe you said something about Deonne earning her keep tonight. I’ll see her to the safe house Kieren arranged, so she can recover to earn tomorrow’s.” He looked down at her. “Ready?” His expression was passive, with no trace of mirth anywhere.
    She uncrossed her legs and picked up her carrysack. “Sleep sounds heavenly,” she lied with complete conviction.
     

Chapter Seven
    Stockholm, Sweden, 2264 A.D.: Even in the little runabout they didn’t have complete privacy, because Kieren and one of his team were squeezed in with them. Justin made no attempt to speak to her and Deonne took her cues from him and remained silent herself. She didn’t know Kieren all that well, although he seemed to have become a semi-permanent part of the Agency’s operations, especially since the station had exploded.
    Justin was probably just being cautious.
    Kieren piloted the vehicle through the late evening traffic to the sleepy little neighborhood where the agency kept an apartment for transient guests. His men had secured the apartment and the area for the last few hours, making it a temporary safe house. When they arrived, Kieren still insisted on waiting in the vehicle until his companion had gone ahead to check the route into the building.
    “It’s tiresome, I know,” he told Deonne. “But it’s the small slip ups because you’ve grown bored that they take advantage of.” He gave her a small smile—merely a glimmer of anything other than rigid attention to duty. “So it pays not to grow bored.”
    Justin didn’t speak, so Deonne gave Kieren a smile in return.
    Kieran’s second moved a little way out of the glass and steel foyer and stopped several meters down the path and nodded. Kieren stepped out of the vehicle and held