Page 122 of Soul Sucker

“Drinking alone isn’t good for you.”

Vadim held up his mug. “You want to share?”

“I’m not talking about now. I’m talking about last night.”

“Spying on me again?”

Alexei frowned. “It’s my job. You know that.”

“Hopefully it will soon be over, and you can return to your lover and whisper sweet nothings in her ear about me.”

“What makes you think Madame and I are lovers?” Vadim just stared at Alexei who eventually shrugged. “So what if we are?”

“Doesn’t that compromise your objectivity in this case?”

“Why should that bother you? You lost your objectivity the minute you fucked Ella Walsh.”

Vadim stared at Alexei. “Whatever you think you know is probably incorrect. I suggest you don’t pass it on to Madame. She won’t thank you.”

“I know the truth. You’re so desperate not to fail again that you’d do anything to keep Ella Walsh happy and she’s been dying to get into your pants since you got here.”

“My reasons are my own. Keep your remarks about Ms. Walsh out of it.”

Alexei shook his head. “You’re hosed, Vadim, whatever way you look at it. What’s wrong with you? Did you think you could fuck Ella before she goes nuts and no one would know or care? Madame Dubinsky cares and she won’t like the fact that you probably used your magical power to enthrall Ella.”

Vadim found himself smiling. “That’s right. Ms. Walsh is so easy to overpower.”

“Empaths of her age are notoriously easy.” Alexei closed the door and came back to sit on the edge of Vadim’s desk. “I have to report back to Madame about you. She has me over a barrel.”

“And do you like it?”

“She says if I don’t complete my job here to her satisfaction, she will expose our relationship.”

“But won’t that hurt her?”

“Not the way she intends to spin it.” Alexei shrugged. “Let’s just say I come out of it looking like a psychotic, deranged blackmailer and she a pure white dove.” He hesitated. “I haven’t told her about your physical relationship with Ella yet.”

Vadim searched Alexei’s gaze and then skimmed his mind. Since mating with Ella he was getting far better at sensing the subtle nuances of the flow of people’s emotion.

“I appreciate that.”

“Depending on how Drew Spencer’s plan goes, I might not have to.”

“You mean if Ms. Walsh dies?”

“It seems likely, doesn’t it? The good thing for you is that if Spencer’s plan doesn’t work, the blame will be on him and not you.”

“And Ms. Walsh will be dead.”

Alexei waved a casual hand. “Collateral damage, my friend.”

Vadim looked down at his coffee and concentrated on not annihilating his old associate. It was surprisingly hard. He thought about Ella instead. She’d asked him to go to Otherworld with her and immediately retracted her request when he’d seemed reluctant. Why was he afraid to go to Otherworld now? What else could go wrong? He’d already been punished. He pushed back his chair.

“Have you seen Ms. Walsh since the meeting?”

“She was in her office with Liz for a while. I have no idea whether they are still there.”

He had a bad feeling he knew the answer to that. Her helpful attitude toward Spencer in the meeting hadn’t fooled him at all. She was up to something.

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