Rooks and Romanticide by J.I. Radke Page B

more. When had he…?
    Levi thought about it a moment, gnawing his lower lip.
    He was certain there would be no recognition past the black mask on the Earl’s side of their acquaintance. His anonymity as Ruslaniv heir, thanks to his father’s protectiveness, had never failed him before. However, this was the enemy. This was like laughing in the face of the devil.
    Well, the alcohol made it an easy choice. With fleeting hesitation, Levi pulled his mask off and let it dangle idly from his fingertips as he met the Earl’s gaze again, steadily.
    â€œI’ve been dying to meet the head of the Dietrich family,” Levi declared, and there was a moment of silence in which his heart pounded below his throat and he wondered if the clouds slipping through the Earl’s eyes were those of recognition. He needed a sign, a code word, some sort of impending meaning.
    But the Earl just shifted, drew his gun back, and smiled thinly along the barrel before it went out of sight. “If it’s death you want, I can arrange it,” he retorted, low, below his breath, a joke and a promise all in one. The relief washed through Levi, cold and refreshing, and he wondered if it was too soon to accept it.
    â€œSo you admit that the intrigue is mutual?” he tried a second time.
    â€œI admit that you entertained me, and that’s hard to do.” The Earl propped his chin in one palm, raising his brows. “So, congratulations. And now that I finally see your face, sir, what do you want?”
    â€œTo talk to you.” Levi shifted, passing his mask from hand to hand. He tried to soften his smile, to make it more pleasant. It seemed the Earl really had no idea who he was, he who stood below him, but the Earl was known to be a scrupulous businessman, so Levi couldn’t be certain yet. He had to keep on his toes.
    â€œAnd what makes you think I want to talk to you ?” The Earl sniffed daintily, drumming an idle finger on his cheek. Scrupulous businessman or not, he was flirting. This was the notorious Earl Dietrich flirting .
    â€œEven the most capable of men need a confidant,” Levi insisted. “Especially those as young and encumbered as you.”
    â€œOh, hell. You’ll rot me like sugar on the teeth,” the Earl mumbled dryly, the words barely audible on their descent from the balcony. “Why the devil should I trust a complete stranger beseeching me from below my window ? Which, by the way, you’re the first to ever do as much. Congratulations are in order again, I’m afraid.”
    Levi shifted, smile fading. With his mouth bitten into a thin line, he peered up at the Earl somberly. “Because even as a complete stranger,” he husked, and — he had no idea where the words came from, or if they might work for BLACK’s scheme, but they felt right — “I think you might find me reliable. And… talented . I was sure someone of your standing could use that, someone to rely on, someone skilled . A man who you might find useful in conducting your business as a Dietrich, to whom you might go for opinion or information—”
    â€œI have someone like that. He’s called my secretary. But, stop, let me guess.” The Earl held up a hand, eyes hooded. “You’re a gunslinger who no longer has a regular payment coming your way—I won’t assume any circumstances—and you thought that maybe I was in need of someone with your abilities .”
    Levi floundered for just a moment, gawking. He considered arguing, considered trying to sweet talk a little more, but then he just swallowed and smiled humbly, because the Earl had so flawlessly set up the perfect opening for him.
    Levi called up, in true gunslinger spirit, “If that’s what you want me to be, that’s what I am.”
    The Earl squinted down at him, and his expression was something that caught Levi momentarily rapt—soft, childlike eyes at half-mast and