Master of the Shadows by Lynn Viehl Read Free Book Online Page B

friends only, and that neither of us wanted a serious affair. Somehow last night we strayed beyond that, I think.”
    She didn’t know whether to laugh or scream. She had to know more, though. She couldn’t go through with her mission if she didn’t. “How do you feel about that?”
    “How do I feel?” He laughed. “I want more.”
    “More of the same?”
    “More of you.”
    He would have her, in a sense, but he would never know—and that was probably the kindest thing she could ever do for him. “You may change your mind before the next time you see me.”
    “I think not.”
    “Okay.” She got out of bed. “As much as I’d love to chat with you, I have to go and get ready for work now. My boss wants me to stop by the office before I drive out to Rosethorn.” She closed her eyes and added a flirtatious lilt to her voice. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”
    “You will wait for me?”
    Had she ever done anything else? “Always.”
     
    It took Will only a few hours, a quick trip to the auction house, and a number of phone calls to discover that the mortal female who had seduced and then so angered his master was not, in fact, whom she appeared to be.
    The final revelation came down from the Darkyn suzerain of Chicago himself, Valentin Jaus.
    “This woman has gone to some length to conceal her true identity,” Jaus said after relating what he had discovered about Chris Renshaw. “My people have been unable to discover any connection she might have with the Brethren, but that, too, is a possibility. Perhaps Robin should consider relocating to the country until your people can deal with her.”
    Will rubbed his eyes. “I do not think the suzerain will be of the same opinion, my lord.”
    “I would come to provide my aid directly,” Jaus added, “but I have promised my sygkenis that I will not travel by plane for some time.”
    “I must agree with your lady, my lord.” Will remembered how desperately they had searched for Jaus when his private jet had been hijacked and forced down by a Brethren agent. Robin, who had originally invited Jaus to fly to Atlanta, had blamed himself for the terrifying incident, and had not quit searching until word of Jaus’s rescue had been sent. “I thank you for your assistance with this matter.”
    “I have never repaid your master for sending my grandfather’s sword to me, Will,” Jaus said. “Give Robin my compliments, and please call on me if he has further need.”
    After speaking with Jaus, Will left his office and went to the gallery where Chris Renshaw worked, where he fortunately encountered a mortal who provided him with the reason the woman had created a false identity for herself.
    Chris Renshaw was not an art dealer, but a federal agent.
    Upon his return to the Armstrong building, Will first checked in with the guards. Robin refused to travel with more than a few men, so Will felt obliged to arrange for the most competent, experienced warriors from the jardin to accompany them when they came to the city. He found Sylas and Bergen warily attending to a small group of Italian cavalieri in one of the reception rooms on the first floor.
    “Seneschal.” Sylas came over to him to report. “We have divided the contessa’s men into small groups and provided them with stores and beds in the barracks.”
    Will scanned the faces of the cavalieri sitting at the table with Bergen. “What of these men?”
    “They are the contessa’s bodyguards. They await their mistress.” The castellan nodded toward the corridor, and Will followed him out of the room. Once out of earshot, Sylas said, “These Kyn have no lord with them. Only the lady.”
    “The contessa is a widow, and a recluse,” Will said. “After the jardin wars, she would not permit another to take the place of her late husband. It seems she and the master are old friends.”
    “Old friends or not, a woman cannot control more than seventy Kyn males.”
    Will shrugged. “Jayr of the Realm has five times