“Is there a problem?”
I didn’t have a goddamn clue.If he’d brought me out here several hours ago, I would’ve said no in an instant. But with his mood, the time of night, and the fact we had several heavily armed men around us, I was suddenly thinking thatImight have a very big problem.
At the bottom of a Venice canal.
“Benoit?”
“Uh,non, no problem. You just surprised me, that’s all.”
Dimitri arched a brow but turned and gestured toward the dock. “After you.”
I swallowed and chanced a quick look behind me, wondering if this would be the last time I saw solid ground, then headed toward the waiting gondola.
I took a seat, and as the gondoliers pushed the boat away from the dock, all I could think was,Thank God for Alessio and his fancy tech shit, because his chip in my arm might be my only way out of this.
20
DIMITRI
MY ENTIRE BODY remained tense as the gondolier navigated the narrow passage that led to our final destination. The only light came from the lanterns hung sporadically along the walls, but they didn’t pierce far enough into the fog to do much good.
None of this made for an ideal situation, but it had to be done, and it had to be now.
Benoit was quieter than usual, not a cheeky remark to be heard as he sat beside me, my guards positioned at our backs. I wondered if he had any clue what was about to happen next.
He was smart, though, and he’d been to Venice before. No doubt he knew exactly where we were headed, which would piss me off to no end. I wanted the element of surprise when it came to him. He deserved that much.
“Up ahead, sir,” the gondolier said, but as I peered through the darkness, I couldn’t see a thing. Guess I’d have to take his word for it, something I didn’t fucking like. At all.
Benoit cleared his throat. “And just what, exactly, is up ahead?”
“A surprise,” I said, but didn’t elaborate. The less I said, the better this would go for him.
My hands curled into fists where they rested on my thighs as blue lights up ahead did their best to shine through the fog, lighting our way. Before every meeting with buyers, the potential for danger made my adrenaline spike, but tonight my heart hammered louder and faster than on any of those nights.
Because the man sitting beside me was more of a threat to me than any of those armed, paranoid clients.
The loading dock came into view only as we pulled up alongside it, several men in suits standing there silently, staring down at us. The blue lights we’d seen lined the doorway behind them.
“Don’t move,” one of my guards said gruffly behind us, before stepping up onto the landing, his hand staying close to the gun tucked into his side.
“Dimitri.” Benoit kept his voice low, and it didn’t escape my notice that he called me by my name and not the nickname he preferred to use. “What is this?”
After a brief talk with the men on the dock, my guard looked back at me and nodded.
“Let’s go.” I stood up, offering my hand to Benoit, who looked at it with a puzzled expression, like he didn’t know whether he should take it.
Good.He didn’t have a clue where we were or what we were doing. Or, apparently, if he should even trust my intentions.
That was a first. It also proved he was sharp enough to sense danger, and that wasn’t something he needed to forget with me. I wasn’t a good man. I wasn’t safe. Which meant he wasn’t either.
Benoit took my hand, rose to his feet, and threw his shoulders back, almost like he was steeling himself for whatever was ahead. He stepped up onto the dock and I followed behind, grabbing hold of his hand again as we were led to the entry.
I side-eyed him and arched a brow. “Ready?”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to be ready for,mon monstre.”
Ah, there it was. Even if there were nerves overriding him, that confidence was there, back to taking the lead. It was one of the things that had attracted me to him in the first place, and why I’d arranged this late-night escapade.
