“I’m not sure Zoran even knows what’s happening,” Aidan said. “He’s been in Brussels for weeks now in his capacity as head of the bank. It’s possible Nikola is doing this all on his own.”
“Alone, together or with one thousand of his comrades, it doesn’t matter,” Gabriel said. “There can be no connection between the Council and a band of jewel thieves.”
“My friend,” Aidan said, coming to place his arm on Gabriel’s shoulder. “These thieves no doubt are all members of the Serbian Mafia. And half, if not all, of the mafia are Others, mostly werewolves and vampires that have survived for centuries, outliving the Nazis, Stalin, even Tito. Why would they care if their presence disturbs the Council?”
Gabriel stood up, a thin, brittle smile on his face. “I’m not a fool,” he said. “I know they don’t care. And I know that many of them have little regard for humans. But we must find out whether Nikola has compromised the Council and its operations to help a crime ring. Our organization has existed for centuries to help in subtle and not so subtle ways to ensure the survival of our kind. Acting as a home base to a ring of international jewelry thieves falls outside the parameters of our mission.”
Elsa and the rest of the group wore pained expressions.
“Nikola is shrewd and ruthless. He will not like us looking into his affairs,” she said.
“Then I shall have to do it with the utmost care,” Aidan said. “The utmost care.”
****
CHAPTER 32
“Wake up, sleepy head,” William said, as he opened the shutters on the windows in my bedroom. It took me a few moments to remember where I was, thanks to my recent vagabond status. When I finally opened my eyes and focused, I found William standing over me, a steaming mug in his hands.
“You brought me espresso? Now I really am serious; you can never leave,” I said, gratefully.
He was smiling, but said nothing as he handed me the cup. I sipped the coffee, savoring its warmth as I slowly awakened. Not long after, my stomach growled, reminding me that I was overdue to eat. It had been a late night and dinner had been an early affair—mainly snacks inside the Council as we watched the videos.
“I’m going downstairs for a bowl of cereal,” I said. “Care to join me in the kitchen?”
William nodded and we descended to the kitchen. Once there, I quickly got the impression that there was something he wanted to talk about.
“What’s on our agenda today?” I asked, pouring some shredded wheat into my bowl. “I can tell you have something in mind.”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” William said. “I’d like to take you to meet someone. He owns a school that teaches fencing and other forms of self-defense. Interested?”
The prospect of meeting a new person from William’s world was intriguing. He was my lover and my confidant. But other than seeing his band mates, I knew very little about where he went, what he did or with whom, when we were separated. I was eager to change that and here was a chance to do so.
“I’m game,” I said. “What should I wear?”
“Workout clothes would be a good idea,” he said with a smile.
“What are we waiting for?” I said. “Let’s go.”
An hour after our conversation, we pulled up in front of a nondescript brick warehouse in a part of San Francisco known as Dogpatch, an eastern neighborhood near the waterfront. There was a small sign painted on the door of the building that read San Francisco School of Fencing, in large black cursive letters. William walked up to the door and knocked three times. A man opened the door, looked me over and then embraced William. They began to converse in a language I didn’t recognize. I stood there awkwardly, wondering when I would be introduced. Finally, the two of them turned to face me.
“Olivia, this is my brother, Josef,” he said. “Josef, this is Olivia.”
A petite, wiry man with short black hair and intriguing dark eyes peered back at me. He looked nothing like William and then it dawned on me that he wasn’t his brother by blood—at least not in the human sense.
“Your father,” I said, knowing I didn’t have to finish my sentence.
“Josef is Czech,” William explained. “My father saved him from dying alone in a field after the Nazis had wounded him.”
“I was a member of the Resistance,” Josef said. “I