"Jeanie London - Retrieval" - читать интересную книгу автора (London Jeanie)

He'd expected an interrogation, had prepared for it.
But he felt like he was fighting for information about the woman he needed by his side to win the battle. He didn't like going through these men for that information. "My business is with Ms. de Lacy." Damian gave a snort of disgust.
Gray drilled Roman with that hard stare. "You're sure you've located her?"
"I'd like confirmation as a formality. But yes, I'm sure." Gray and Damian exchanged glances of such profound familiarity and understanding that Roman couldn't tell whether or not he'd surprised them.
"You want us to confirm her identity," Gray said.
"Yet you won't tell us what you want with her?"
"I thought providing her location would be enough incentive, since it's my understanding you haven't been able to locate her yourselves."
His words fell heavily, emphasizing how quiet the afterlife was. Not the sort of collective breath that happened in an auditorium before a presidential address.
This was a true absence of sound. No vibrations. No acoustics. As if they stood inside a vacuum.
Both men squared off in a way that suggested neither liked the reminder that they'd lost their companion and hadn't been able to find her. It also suggested they'd do whatever it took to retrieve her--perhaps even deal with a newly-dead stranger who didn't look newly dead.
Exactly what Roman had been hoping for.
He possessed a skill for assessing people, a skill he'd relied heavily upon in his work. Clearly that skill had followed him into the afterlife. He knew he was dealing with two strong, smart men, who were obviously loyal to their lost companion, which made him

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wonder about the kind of woman who had earned this devotion, had proven worthy.
Damian Hart looked resentful when he said, "This sounds like extortion. If you've already found Nina, why involve us?" His gaze widened, and he gave a sharp laugh. "Oh, I get it. She's in the living world, and you're newly dead so you can't get there to taJk to her. You need our help."
Roman nodded. Not all of the reason, but enough for now.
"What aren't you telling us?" Gray demanded.
"Very good, Lord Westbury." Clearly he had no idea why Nma resided in the living world. Clearly the man knew Roman had the advantage. "I propose a mutual exchange of information."
"Mutual," Damian said. "Sounds like you want more information than you want to give."
"As I said, I thought knowing Ms. de Lacy's whereabouts would give me the upper hand."
Gray gestured to stop the conversation as if a question had just occurred to him. "How do you know this? For a man who claims to have just died you're displaying remarkable knowledge about what's happening in this realm."
"You must make friends fast," Damian agreed. "I thought we lingering souls were a cautious bunch, or pathetic. Pick one."
That assessment revealed a lot about this arrogant Scot, but Roman kept his opinion to himself. Instead he debated how best to reply, how much to reveal to these men. He could have taken the noble route to win their cooperation--Nina was in trouble and needed help.
It was the truth.
But Roman chose a different truth instead. After all,



18

JEANIE LONDON

his reasons for wanting to retrieve his target weren't altruistic. "Ms. de Lacy possesses an ability I need. I'm hoping to convince her to work with me on an important project."
"You were assassinated," Damian said. "Is this about some unfinished business you left behind?"
"Of a sort, Mr. Hart." Gray frowned.
"Vengeance?"
"Justice. People died with me. I left behind a lot more. If there's a threat to my organization, 1 need to know about it."
"Did someone forget to mention you're dead?" Damian asked. "What do you think you can do?"
"I don't know yet," Roman admitted. Another truth. "I intend to find out."
Gray eyed him as if trying to fill in the blanks to this story. "Why do you think Nina will help you?"
"I don't, but 1 can't even present the situation to her until we're in the same place." Roman shifted his gaze between the men. "I can convince her that my cause is worthy."
Silence fell again, complete. These men had no reason to trust him. Roman understood that. He respected that. He wasn't surprised when Gray said, "Excuse us."
Nodding, Roman watched his guests relocate out of earshot in that swift, impossible move. Scanning the park, he located the living host who'd secured her errant dog to a bench where she sat to open a folder filled with documents.
He imagined Nina. An unusual woman in an unusual situation. Did she have any awareness that she existed inside another woman's body? Or did she believe she was this living woman? Roman didn't have enough

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