Bitten to Death

Chapter Three

At a prearranged hand signal from me, our third dropped from his perch in the tree he’d chosen for its panoramic view of the courtyard and emerged from the thick forest of fir, oak, and chestnut south of the lane leading up to the villa. He wore the uniform unique to his military position—green and black camo over full-length body armor, matching bucket hat, and equipment out the wazoo. This included a field knife, night-vision goggles, first-aid kit, and sat phone. He’d left his urban assault weapon at home, but his Beretta M9 currently rode a shoulder holster similar to mine under his jacket. We’d provided the crossbow.

Biting my lip to suppress the worry that twisted my gut whenever I recalled why SOCOM had, once again, partnered us with one of their best Special Ops commanders, I turned to Disa. She, alone, remained in the courtyard, having dismissed the rest of the Trust. They’d seemed eager to get back to whatever festivities we’d interrupted.

“This is David,” I told Disa as our backup joined us at the table beside the garage. I omitted his last name. Hoped she wouldn’t smell the whiskey on his breath. Or notice the fact that we were twins. Someone less self-absorbed might have caught the resemblance. We share the same green eyes and stubborn chins. But Disa wasn’t interested in a man she saw as our servant. She didn’t acknowledge him as he came to stand at my shoulder. Probably wouldn’t even have raised an eyebrow if I’d turned around and belted him one. And I was tempted. What the hell was he thinking? No time to ask now. Disa had launched into conversation.

“Did you ever think I’d come this far?” she asked Vayl.

He regarded her with eyes the icy blue of a mountain lake. “Hardly.”

Her smile reminded me of a teenager who’s gotten away with a huge kegger while her parents were out of town for the weekend. “And really, I have you to thank for it.”

“You are welcome.”

Now, why would that smooth answer irritate her? I wasn’t sure, but she suddenly looked like she wanted to pick him up, swing him around her head a few times, and throw him into a crowd of stake-wielding priests. I darted a glance at my boss. To my surprise, he looked just as pissed, though only somebody who’d hung with him as long as I had would’ve been able to tell. A master at damming his emotions, Vayl leaked them with the smallest alterations of expression. Just now the minuscule lowering of his slanted brows accompanied by a tighter than usual grip on the blue jewel that topped his cane let me know he wouldn’t mind if Disa went the way of Binns before we completed our mission.

She sat forward, steepling her hands before her catalog-model face, her crimson nails practically glowing against the paleness of her skin. “You know, left to my own devices, I never would have called you.” Disa spoke directly to Vayl, as if Dave and I had gone boneless and oozed into the cracks beneath her heels. “I can take care of myself.” She nodded to emphasize the point. “And the Trust,” she added, almost as an afterthought.

“I know,” said Vayl, after a hesitation that lasted long enough to make me think he’d meant to say something else.

“I never meant to ally with Samos. Hamon was right in that point at least.” Her tone said he’d screwed up royally in plenty of other areas. “At any rate, negotiations begin tomorrow, two hours after sunset.” She jumped up from her seat, startling Dave enough that he’d trained his crossbow on her chest before her chair stopped moving. “Would you put that thing down?” she snapped.

“Perhaps it would be better if you stopped making sudden moves,” Vayl murmured. Before she could retort, he added, “As for our contract, and the part we intend to play in the negotiations, maybe it would be wise to discuss those issues now?”

She brushed us off with a limp-fingered wave that let us know such conversations fell outside her job description. “I will send the Vitem to discuss those details with you after the Sonrhain.”

The what? But nobody thought to translate and Disa had barreled on. “That was always your problem, Vayl,” she said, leaning over to pat his hand almost merrily, her breasts pressing so hard against the material of her bodice it creaked in protest. “You never learned how to delegate. Now, we have really missed enough fun for one evening. Follow me.”

Vayl shuttered his expression so tightly, no matter how high I arched my eyebrows, I couldn’t get a response to my What the hell? and Are we dealing with a lunatic? looks. Which meant I followed my boss into the freak show without any warning at all.