Right.
Well, at least that made her feel a little better about lifting any valuables he’d happen to leave lying around. His ill-begotten gains would become hers. Unfortunately, during her recon, she hadn’t noticed much that would be easily removed. The letter opener. Maybe some of the silverware. Maybe he left some cash in his bedroom, the one place she hadn’t failed to notice they hadn’t gone.
Would the visitor be there long enough to serve as a distraction? She could hear Bast’s voice and that of some other man not too far away. As tempting as it was to peek around the corner just to see the other individual, it was more tempting to shuffle back to the office, if she could find it quickly, and have another look at the bric-a-brac. Torn, unable to decide between waiting or going, she held her breath and listened hard.
“If not tonight, when?” the man asked. His voice had risen, and she couldn’t tell if he was closer or just plain angry. There was an edge to his words that put her own nerves on notice.
“Things have come up.” Sebastian’s tone, on the other hand, remained even-keeled. He was patient, as if explaining the concept of calculus to a child.
“Things? What kind of things could have come up which make you forget your duty to the Council and the community?” Louder now. “If this responsibility is more than you can bear, step down, Bast. There are at least another dozen men who would happily take up the task, and at least half of them deserve it more than you.”
Whoa. Alice froze in place, all plans for leaving vanished. Sebastian might not be a drug dealer, but whatever position he held must have been in a precarious place. And she thought things had already gotten interesting tonight.
“Is that a challenge, Cicero?” There was a level of calm menace in his words. “Any time you want to challenge me for leadership, you only have to say the word.” His voice dropped lower. “Go ahead. Say it.”
God, she wanted just a teeny peek at this guy. Anyone stupid enough to want to take on Sebastian on purpose must have balls the size of Africa.
Fortunately for her, she didn’t. She’d stay tucked away and out of the path of two heated males. Maybe figure out if his bedroom was the third doorway on the left or the second one on the right. Had she been in either? Damn, she couldn’t remember.
Their voices dropped, deflating her growing curiosity, and Alice took that as her sign. With as much stealth she could muster, she backed into the hallway.
She counted darkened doorways, sorting through her memory to identify where each one led. A few she recalled; some she couldn’t. Something told her she’d been down most of them though.
Doing an about-face, she peered in the other direction and almost cursed. If she was right—and she was pretty certain about it—Bast’s mystery bedroom lay this way. Wouldn’t matter if she could get there without passing the main hallway, where Bast and his friend were convening. But she couldn’t. Not without being seen if one or both men faced this way.
Okay, so do a little recon. Figure out if she could sneak by and then make a decision from there. That ought to work.
Coming to a crouch with painstaking slowness, Alice prodded herself to dart her head out, eyes trained toward the direction of their voices. It didn’t have to last more than three seconds. Just long enough to capture their image in her brain and then decide if she could dash across the opening.
She inhaled and exhaled twice. Once more. Ignoring the riot of voices telling her this was a bad idea, Alice peered around the corner. When her gaze collided with the two men standing in the foyer, she forgot all about stealth.
Sebastian easily stood six foot two or three. There was no way he weighed less than two hundred pounds. But Cicero?
Crap. He just about towered over Sebastian and looked like he could take her benefactor down without much problem. Pitch black eyes peered out over a prominent nose and thin lips. Dark skin was sensual against a silken fall of long black hair. He was Middle Eastern in looks. Alice hadn’t thought tall, dark and handsome meant much these days. But staring at him now, she reconsidered. While he didn’t have the same innate magnetism as Sebastian, Cicero made her swallow in appreciation.