Page 39 of To Catch A Rogue
Sergey? Sergey Grigoriev?
"... not the only Grigoriev out there in the world..."
What the hell had he meant by that?
"Gemma and Obsidian are mine," the woman said coldly, her voice dragging Lark back into the present. "They killed Ghost and I want—"
"You will do as you are told, Dido," Balfour interrupted. "Ghost's arrogance is what got him killed. He thought he could take matters into his own hands instead of sticking to the plan, and now he is dead. And I'm not done with Obsidian yet."
Lark pressed her ear frantically against the cabinet door. Obsidian? What did he have to do with all of this?
"He's my insurance against certain arrogant princes who think they can control events. And speaking of arrogant aristocrats.... How is my good friend Malloryn holding up?"
"Malloryn's tucked away nice and safely where they'll never find him," Dido replied.
"You're keeping a tight leash on Jelena?"
"Malloryn's a blue blood, Balfour. He can survive a great deal."
"Good. Because I want him to live to see me crush everything he's ever built. I'd love to pay a visit, but circumstances being what they are.... Do give him my regards."
"Oh, Ishall." Dido's heels marked her as striding toward the door. "Have fun with your little schemes here."
The door clicked shut, presumably behind her.
Crystal chinked as Balfour poured himself a brandy. "There's nothing little about them, my dear."
* * *
"That was spectacularly close,"Lark whispered, as Charlie opened the cupboard she was tucked inside and helped her unfold. Every nerve in her body was on edge, and her vision ran a little dark around the outside, as if the hunger of the craving had awoken within her.
"I thought he'd never leave."
Balfour had rifled through some papers and drank his brandy before finally leaving. Lark had practically held her breath as she listened to the oddstep-thumpof his cane as he left the room.
"Well, at least we know Malloryn's not here at the palace," Lark pointed out. "That's a start."
"And he's still alive."
Lark heard the rough edges in his voice. "You weren't certain?"
Charlie eased out a breath. "Obsidian said they wouldn't kill him, but I had my doubts."
She opened her mouth, and then swallowed. "What was Balfour saying about Sergey Grigoriev? And Obsidian?"
Charlie waved a hand at her, cocking his head as if listening to something. Stillness settled over her. All she could hear was her own heart pounding.
He strode to the window and shoved the curtains wide. "It sounded as though Dido was going to pay Malloryn a visit."
Later. You can ask him later.
Right now, she needed to focus on the immediate danger.
"Any sign of her?" Lark joined him by the window.
Charlie shook his head. "No. But she's only got a ten-minute head start on us. Why don't we go see if we can discover where she was going?"
* * *
