He finally led me back to the table, and I heaved a silent sigh of relief. I was bruised and aching and only partially satisfied, and knew it was intentional. He was making me pay for what he saw as a betrayal
I slid onto one of the benches and grabbed a beer off a passing waiter. I didn't drink it immediately, instead pressing the icy bottle against my fevered forehead
Misha sat down on the opposite side. "Ask your questions."
His silver eyes gave nothing away
"Tell me why you had a file bearing the name Genoveve Confectionary on your desk a year ago."
"It was a company I was considering buying." He raised a pale eyebrow. "You have a very good memory."
"Exceptional, considering the circumstances."
The smile that played across his lips was at odds with the ice of his gaze
"And did you?" I prompted, when he didn't say anything
"No."
"Who did?"
"Konane."
"The same company who owns Moneisha?"
"Yes."
I flipped the cap off the beer and took a long drink before asking, "So who is the owner of Konane?"
He smiled. "Try another question."
His expression said he'd tell me. Eventually. I wondered how many hours' "payment" he would exact before he did. "So what has chocolate and research got in common?"
"Maybe the owner was simply diversifying his portfolio."
Something in the way he said that itched at my instincts. "You don't believe that."
"No."
"Why not?"
He leaned back in his seat and studied me for a second, his expression both arrogant and amused. "Because the owner of Konane and I share similar interests, and have, in the past, been business partners."
I forced a smile. "You never told me you were interested in chocolate."
There was something cold and hard about his expression. I had the strangest feeling that this man, the man who had taken me so ruthlessly that night, was the real Misha. That the Misha I'd been allowed to see the previous twelve months was merely a means to an end. What that end was I had no idea, but had a bad feeling I'd better find out
I lowered my shields and reached out with my mind. I wasn't surprised to hit a wall around his thoughts - but it wasn't electronic. His shield was as natural as mine and just as strong
I took another drink of beer and tried to ignore the urge to leave. I had a job to do, and besides, the moon still burned through my blood
"It wasn't the chocolate that caught our interest," he said softly, "but the fact that Genoveve was supposedly built over the top of a military installation."
Would the plans in Alan Brown's office match the installation Genoveve was supposedly sitting on? Probably. "I've read about the World War II tunnels and arms caches they've uncovered in and around Melbourne, but never have I heard a whisper about anything bigger."
"No one knew about those tunnels until they were excavated. All the plans were supposedly destroyed after the war and most of the tunnels concreted up."
If the plans had been destroyed, how had Alan Brown gotten hold of them? And why hadn't he destroyed them? I finished my beer and pushed the bottle away. "So why would you think there's any truth to the rumor about what's under Genoveve?"