Page 9 of Marked By Moonlight
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
I rolled my eyes, then pressed on. “Where did he go?”
“I don’t know.”
“Whydid he go?” I tried.
“I don’t know.”
A good thing we hadn’t sat down to dinner yet. I might have thrown a platter or two.
“And Gordon doesn’t know Marius is gone,” I surmised.
“No. Gordon doesn’t know where Marius is or what he’s doing,” Roux clarified.
I made a face. “That makes two of us.”
Roux’s eyes hit the floor, and I studied him closely.
“You really don’t know?”
He shook his head. “I don’t. And Gordon can’t find out Marius is gone.”
“Because it will get him in hot water with Gordon?”
“Because it will getallof us in hot water with Gordon,” Roux growled.
“That was part of the deal,” Bene explained. “We work for Gordon for six months, and our records are cleared. But we’re all responsible for each other. If anyone causes trouble, we all pay.”
Damn, did my sweet godfather/shady business magnate drive a hard deal.
“That hardly seems fair,” I said.
Bene shrugged. “Those are the rules.”
I shook my head. Men were truly unique creatures, accepting some rules as gospel while flaunting others — especially the ones I made, dammit.
“Maybe those are your rules,” I said. “But not mine. Why should I lie to my godfather to protect someone who doesn’t even bother telling me where he is?”
Tigers didn’t plead, and neither did military men, but Roux looked close. “You’ll be protecting us all.”
Too bad I wasn’t feeling my most charitable that day.
“Oh, I see. I should lie to protect you, even though you won’t tell me shit. Sure, Roux. Just give me a second to turn off my intelligence and do whatever the hell you want, no questions asked.” I let a beat pass, then growled, “On second thought, forget that. I won’t. But if you explain…”
He grimaced. “Trust me on this one, Mina. I can’t.”
“Trust works both ways, and communication helps.” I pointed out.
Roux grimaced, then shook his head. “Just don’t tell Gordon. Please.”
I didn’t intend to, because frankly, I needed the rent money if I was ever going to fix the roof or the dozen other things in desperate need of repair.
As I weighed up the consequences, Madame Picard swept into the room with two platters.
“Et voilà!Dinner is served.”
She stopped, picking up on the mood of the room, then thrust a platter toward Roux.
