Hydromancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 4)

“Joss?”

“What is it, Maya?”

“May I ask you something personal, about you and Clelia?”

She could almost hear the frown in his words when he said, “What do you want to know?”

“When you kidnapped Clelia, there was a very probable chance she was going to end up dead. If Cain had ordered you to kill her, would you have done it?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Maya knew Joss didn’t like to talk about that time, when he had Clelia bound and under his mercy in his old house in France. Finally, he said, “No. No, I wouldn’t have killed her. Ever.”

“Even at the risk of being hunted by Cain and all of us? You knew he’d turn on you if you disobeyed his command.”

“Yes, even risking all that, I’d never have lifted a finger against her.”

“Why?”

“Because I knew in my gut she was innocent.” There was another pause. “And I’ve always loved her. It just took her a while to convince me that a bastard like me deserves her love.”

“You’re a pain in the ass, but you’re not so bad. Clelia is lucky to have you. You deserve each other.”

“What’s going on Maya? Talk to me.”

“Nothing.”

“This isn’t like you.”

“What isn’t like me?”

“For starters, you haven’t cursed once since we’ve started this conversation.”

“I just haven’t been sleeping well. I’ll be back to cussing your ear off after a good night’s rest.”

His voice turned sympathetic. “Is it the dream?”

Only Joss, Lann, and Cain knew about her past, about Darren. For now, she’d blame it on that. It wasn’t that far off anyway.

“Yes. It’s the water,” she said quickly. “The sea, the diving … it brings back memories of Cape Town.”

“If you need me to pull you out, just say the word.”

“No, I can do this.”

“Maya?”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you can get the info?”

“Yeah. I’ve managed to plant a bug in Tim’s study at the San José residence. I’ll dial in next week again, if there’s no info before.”

“Take care, Maya.”

“Sure.”

She disconnected.

Not wasting time, she slipped the tablet, her weapons, and other equipment into a dive duffle bag. Together with the bag holding her clothes and personal items, she carried everything down the ladder.

Cesar approached to take her luggage.

She handed him the one with the clothes and motioned at the one in her hand. “This one’s my dive gear. I’ll leave it at the center and be back in a sec.”

He clicked his tongue and snatched the bag from her hand. Fighting the urge to hold onto it, she let the bag slip from her fingers.

“I’m three times your size,” Cesar said. “I know you’re a tough woman, but let me get this.” He lifted the bag in the air. “Shit. This is heavy. What have you got in here? Bricks?”

She couldn’t argue, not without making it seem suspicious. Instead, she shrugged. “Fine. I’m just not used to this babying.”

His smile was friendly. “Get used to it. Tim’s going to do it a hell of a lot more than me.” He held out his palm. “Give me the keys. I’ll lock it inside.”

She took the key from her pocket and did as he’d asked. Holding her breath, she got into the buggy, watching his back as he walked down the path. If Cesar went through the bag, she was screwed. The operation would be ruined.

The minutes ticked by. Why was he taking so long? Finally, his shape appeared in the darkness. She gave a silent sigh of relief when his face became visible in the light and she saw that he was smiling.

When they arrived at the condo, Tim waited on the veranda. Maya got out and walked into his open arms while Cesar carried her travel bag inside.

“Welcome home, baby girl.” He gave her a tender kiss. “We have a few hours before I have to go.”

“You’re going back to San José tonight?”

“I’m afraid so. I have to be in the office first thing tomorrow.”

“It’s already late. You’ll be driving half the night.”

He smiled. “I bask in your concern, but don’t forget, I’m a creature of the night.” He kissed her deeply and whispered, “At least I’ll know that you’re sleeping in my bed.”

Lee appeared in the frame. “Evening, Miss Martin.”

“Hi, Lee.”

He addressed Tim. “Permission to speak openly?”

“Maya’s living here now. You can speak freely. There’s nothing you need to hide from her, except business she shouldn’t be concerned about.”

“We need to feed. I’m off first. Cesar will go when I get back.”

Tim nodded. Lee got into the buggy and started the engine.

“Where do they, I mean you, go to find donors?” she asked.

“The village has a lot of bars. There are always women around somewhere.”

“You don’t drink from men?”

“Not if we can help it. We prefer the taste of female blood. It’s an inborn preference, I suppose. Women prefer men’s blood.”