flat, his face emotionless. “I’m on duty, sir. Protection detail.”
Victor’s eyes met mine just as Karen joined our group.
“Evelyn.” She beamed, and I gave her a greeting and a smile much more genuine than the one I’d given Victor.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here, Karen.” I was beyond happy to see a familiar face.
“Oh, it was last minute. Lucian wasn’t able to attend, and the other board members asked me to step in. I don’t usually deal with this side of the organization.” She smoothed the front of her blue velvet gown, looking almost as uncertain as I felt.
Lucian was usually the one to attend these events, and more public ones like the gala, but despite returning to work, the pain from his injuries was sometimes too much. Tonight he was home in bed, sedated into a painless sleep while one of his nurses kept an eye on him.
Victor interrupted our conversation. “Let me get you a drink, Karen. We should let Mr. Gabriel focus on his task.” He took her by the elbow and was already turning away when he addressed Tyler. “Report to me in the morning, before the meetings, so we can debrief.” He walked away, barely giving Karen an opportunity to wave goodbye.
“Dick,” I muttered under my breath. I couldn’t help it—the man had no manners.
Tyler shushed me, even as he chuckled, and led me the rest of the way to the bar.
“There are ears everywhere.” Alec leaned in and tapped the earpiece that allowed him to communicate with the other agents. “Both electronic and of the Variant kind. Several people here have enhanced hearing.”
As if I could know which ones they were by looking at them, my eyes scanned the room. Enhanced hearing was one of the common abilities, often overlooked and easy to hide once the Variant learned to turn it on and off. But it was probably one of the most underrated too, especially in the spy game. I made a mental note to watch my words and accepted the champagne flute Tyler offered me.
I took a sip and was not at all surprised to find it tasted incredible. I looked behind the bar; instead of Dom Perignon, as Alec had insinuated, they were serving Cristal. Just as expensive, and it would be just as much of a shame if it ended up being vomited out in a back alleyway.
My nerves calmed significantly once I realized how little attention most people were paying me, and the next hour crawled by. Tyler and I floated about the room, engaging in brief and seemingly insignificant conversations as I sipped on my champagne and he nursed a scotch. Waiters carried around finger food, and the band kept playing pleasant background music.
We schmoozed with dignitaries, military leaders, and directors of intelligence organizations and other private security firms. None of them were recognizable or particularly famous, but the people in this room, if they chose to work together, could change the world . . . or control it.
Occasionally, I was even included in the conversation.
It seemed like boring chitchat on the surface, and for the most part it was, but Tyler was getting more from it than anyone could possibly know. I kept transferring Light to him in controlled doses as he needed it.
It felt good to know I was doing my part, despite it being a bit boring. Seeing as how I couldn’t just glow in the middle of a crowded room, I had to stay right at his side, and because he was wearing a suit, I had to be crafty in how I transferred.
It was a brush of our fingers there, a straightening of his perfectly straight collar here, a push when his hand came into contact with the bare skin at my back. I was quite literally glued to him.
And Alec was glued to me. He wasn’t always in sight, but I could feel him nearby, feel his eyes on me. I would look over my shoulder, and there he was, giving me a slight nod, his blue eyes piercing into mine.
As I finished my second glass of champagne and dropped it on a nearby high table, another couple approached us.
The Japanese couple both looked to be in their late forties. The man wore a perfectly tailored blue suit, and the woman was in a stunning traditional kimono, her black hair in an elaborate updo.
They bowed, and the man spoke in perfect, if slightly accented, English. “Good evening. I am Itsuki