Kiss of Midnight_ A Midnight Breed Novel - Lara Adrian [636]
Yes, Fabien thought, as he reached into his suit coat pocket for his cell phone and dialed the Enforcement Agency detail who reported to him.
Tonight he would clean the slate of a couple recent mistakes, and when he presented himself to Dragos at the gathering, he would do so bearing fortuitous news and a charming little gift that his new commander was certain to enjoy.
CHAPTER
Twenty-two
Do you think he’ll hurt her?”
Renata’s voice was quiet, breaking the prolonged silence in the humid apartment. She was seated across from Nikolai at the card table, wearing an extra-large gray T-shirt and her own jeans, laundered and returned earlier in the day, courtesy of Jack. Her shoulder wound was looking a hell of a lot better, and every time Niko had asked, she insisted she wasn’t feeling much pain. He figured his blood would carry her for a few hours at least. They’d been out of bed for a while now, both of them bathed and dressed, and carefully avoiding the subject of all that had happened between them today.
Instead, Nikolai kept himself busy cleaning and prepping Jack’s twin Colt .45s, while he and Renata put plans together for their trek out to Yakut’s lodge shortly. Although Niko doubted Lex would willingly cough up information on his alliance with Edgar Fabien, he had a feeling a few strategically placed rounds would loosen the bastard’s tongue.
He hoped so, because without a solid lead on the Darkhaven leader’s probable location, the odds of finding Mira unscathed by Fabien’s twisted proclivities were diminishing by the second.
“Do you think he will… do anything to her?”
Niko looked over and saw the dread in Renata’s eyes. “Fabien’s not a good man. I honestly don’t know what he intends for her.”
She glanced down at that, her slim dark brows drawn together. “You didn’t tell me everything your friends back in Boston learned about him.”
Shit. He should have known Renata would call him on this. He’d deliberately skimmed over the worst of what Gideon had told him, figuring the sordid details wouldn’t help them locate Mira any faster and would only make Renata worry more. But he respected her too much to lie to her.
“No, I didn’t tell you everything,” he admitted. “Do you really want to know all of it?”
“I think I need to know.” She met his gaze again, her pale green eyes sober, as steady as a warrior girded for battle. “What did the Order find out about him?”
“He’s second-generation Breed, easily several hundred years old,” Niko said, starting with the least of Fabien’s offenses. “He’s been the leader of the Montreal Darkhaven for the past century and a half, and he’s also got far-reaching ties into the upper tiers of the Enforcement Agency, which means he’s politically connected too.”
Renata scoffed quietly. “That’s a resume, Nikolai. You know what I’m asking. Give it to me straight.”
“All right.” He nodded, not bothering to hide his admiration. Or his concern. “Even though he’s got a lot of friends in high places, Edgar Fabien’s not what you’d call a model citizen. Apparently he’s got some fairly sick kinks that have caused him a bit of trouble over the years.”
“Kinks,” Renata said, all but spitting the word.
“His tastes tend to run on the sadistic side, and he… well, he’s been known to enjoy the company of children from time to time. Particularly young girls.”
‘Jesus Christ,” Renata exclaimed in a tight rush of her breath. She closed her eyes and turned her face aside, all of her going very still, as though it took some work to keep from breaking down. When she finally looked back at Niko, there was a murderous glint in her unblinking