Page 107 of Dark Gambit Reliance

Kian let out a breath. "That's a lot of people to keep locked up until we catch him. I'd rather risk losing the money than risk letting Igor get away. When we eliminate him, we can leave Jade in charge of the compound, sign a treaty of cooperation with her, leave a couple of people to monitor her, and be done with this mess."

Turner pursed his lips. "But if we don't move the money, and Igor still figures out that the compound was compromised, we won't have the funds to relocate them. It's either a win-win or a lose-lose. I don't like these odds."

"Neither do I. Let's hope the Fates shine upon us and lead Igor into our trap."

78

SOFIA

Yamanu wiped his mouth with a napkin and pushed away the plate with the chicken carcass. "Thanks for the meal, Sofia. The chicken was delicious." He turned to her father. "Do you grow them here? I heard a rooster crow."

The Guardian had demolished an entire hen with a mountain of potatoes on the side. The quantity could have fed four humans, but he didn't look full. Sofia would have offered him more, but that was all the cooked food she'd found in the refrigerator.

"We do." Her father smiled. "Wait until breakfast is made. I'm told that our eggs taste better than anything you can get in a supermarket."

"They do," Sofia confirmed. "Our eggs are delicious, especially when fried with homemade butter."

Yamanu sighed. "I wish I could stay and enjoy breakfast with you, but I need to check on my men." A guilty look crossed his handsome face. "All they have to eat are field rations." He rose to his feet and bowed his head to her father. "Thank you for feeding me."

Her father inclined his head. "Thank you for freeing us."

"You are welcome."

When Yamanu walked out of the kitchen, Sofia pushed to her feet. "Does anyone want more coffee?"

She had a feeling that her father was forcing himself to stay up so he could have a private talk with Marcel. It was sweet of him to do the fatherly thing.

He lifted his cup. "Please. I can't keep my eyes open, but how can I go to sleep when there is so much going on?"

"You can't stay awake for much longer." She lifted the carafe and poured more coffee into his cup. "You should get some sleep. I'll wake you if something happens that needs your attention."

"Aren't you tired?"

She smiled. "For me, this is daytime. I'm still on Oregon time."

"I see." He cast a sidelong glance at Marcel. "Maybe now you can tell me how you met Marcel, and how and why you two got engaged so quickly."

There were so many things that Sofia couldn't tell him. Her potential immortality was the most essential part because without it she couldn't explain the special bond between truelove mates, and without that it was difficult to explain why she and Marcel were technically engaged but didn't plan on getting married anytime soon.

Not that she was sure that she and Marcel were indeed bonded. It was supposed to happen between immortals and Dormants, but not Kra-ell Dormants.

She refilled Marcel's cup and her own before sitting back down. "I'm not pregnant, if that's what you were worried about."

He laughed nervously. "I wasn't worried. I was hopeful. I imagined a new life for you away from this place with a nice husband and a child. My grandchild."

"Fates willing, it will happen." Marcel took her hand and lifted it to his lips for a kiss.

The display of affection was a little embarrassing in front of her father, and she pulled her hand away. "The mission I couldn't tell you anything about was to spy on Marcel and his people." She cast an apologetic smile at Marcel. "Long story short, we fell in love, but then I was found out, we had a rough patch, but love triumphed."

"That's a very short story." Her father cut a reproachful look to Marcel. "What is Sofia not telling me?"

"A lot. She's under compulsion not to reveal certain things. I can fill in the blanks for you, but I will have to erase them from your memory."

Her father lifted his hand. "One moment. How will you erase things from my memory, and why?"

"What happened here tonight needs to remain a secret. Tom has the ability to compel, and I have the ability to reach into your mind, erase recent memories, and replace them with false ones."

"What about my old memories?"