Page 72 of Dark Gambit: The Play

They were supposed to float toward each other on a cloud of love and admiration, embrace each other passionately, and hop on a jet to Buenos Aires, where they would make love in the bedroom of their private jet, three thousand meters above the Earth.

Right.

Damn romance novel and the unrealistic expectations it had planted in her head.

But what was the alternative?

Expect abuse of the verbal, emotional, or physical variety and call it life?

She'd had enough of that in Igor's compound.

Marcel returned a couple of moments later. "He said it was okay as long as Eleanor compels you to keep everything that happened since you were caught a secret."

Sofia grimaced. "Eleanor can't make it until dinner. She has a class she's teaching."

Marcel lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck. "I asked her to rearrange her schedule and come as soon as she could. She will be here in a few minutes."

As Sofia's heart made a happy flip, she put the book aside, rose to her feet, walked over to Marcel, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you. I appreciate you going to all that trouble for me."

55

MARCEL

Marcel knew that he was in trouble, and he didn't know how to avert the storm that Sofia was about to unleash on him.

He could pretend that he'd called Eleanor over only to compel Sofia so she could rejoin the retreat, and perhaps she would hold her tongue while Eleanor was compelling her to reveal more information about Igor's compound. But then her wrath would be even greater.

Would she forgive him once he told her about her potential Dormancy?

Not in the mood she was in. She would probably throw him out of the room without giving him a chance to explain.

Gently removing her arms from around his neck, he took her hand and led her to the living room. "Just as you had to follow commands from your boss, I have to follow commands from mine. It's true that he doesn't have to compel me to do that, and I follow because I trust his leadership and his judgment, and I know that his motives are good, but I'm still a cog in this machine, just like you are in yours."

She frowned at him. "Now I'm worried. What was that preamble about?"

"I asked Eleanor to come over after my initial conversation with the boss. He needs you to disclose more information about the compound and how to get there. We have a team on the ground in Karelia, and they were not able to traverse the last river on your map because of the rapids. You mentioned tunnels, and we need to know where they are."

Her face fell. "And here I thought that you were making an effort for me."

"I'm making a tremendous effort for you. I asked permission to do something that I would have never asked for anyone else."

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you tonight. It's not something that can be covered in a two-minute conversation, which is all we have before Eleanor gets here."

"I have to admit that I'm curious, but I'm even more curious, or rather worried, about what your boss wants to do with the information he's about to force me to reveal." She smirked. "By the way, I don't think that Eleanor will be able to get it out of me, and Tom is not here. Tom freed me to say what I want to say, but since I don't want your people invading my community, and I don't want to tell you where the tunnels are, Igor's compulsion might hold."

Marcel was afraid of that as well, but he was glad that Sofia had inadvertently admitted to knowing where the tunnels were.

"I hoped that Eleanor's services wouldn't be needed. My boss, whose name is Kian, is just collecting information. We don't have enough people to offer Igor and his warriors a challenge, but we need to know who and what we are dealing with. And in case your family needs rescuing, we need to have a contingency plan for that."

That seemed to finally penetrate her stubbornness. "I believe that you sincerely believe that, but what if your boss is not telling you the truth?"

"We don't operate like that. Kian is not a dictator, and he's not operating in a vacuum. We have a council, and if he does something that's not justified, the council will have his head. On top of that, he's not the ultimate authority. We have several establishments, each with its own regent, and the lady who is in charge of our entire organization is the most loving, compassionate person you will ever meet."

That put a sparkle in Sofia's eyes. "Am I ever going to meet her?"

Marcel grinned. "There is a very good chance of that."