depths, aren’t you?” Laszlo said.
She glanced at him. He was turned on the seat to face her, his back against the door. The dashboard had few working dials or lights, so he was a dark shadow against dimly-lit jungle on that side of the track. There was only one working headlight, too.
“Make sure that door is locked if you’re going to lean against it that way,” she told him. “It might not hold your weight, otherwise.”
“You don’t get to change subjects now. There’s no one around to hear but me. Will you tell me what happened with the account? How did we pay Mathieu?”
“We haven’t. Not yet.”
“Yet you said we went to a great deal of trouble to do so. Not that I recall doing any such thing.”
“You will.” She frowned. “That’s the problem with playing around with time. There’s no language you can use that adequately describes it.”
“Wait… time ?” He gave a soft exhalation. “Of course, of course . Time travel. Your agency’s specialty. We went—we will —go back far enough in time and do something so the money arrived in Mathieu’s account. That ’s why you wanted the exact time.”
Mariana nodded. “It might not be us who goes back. But the money arrived in the account at the exact right moment, which tells me that someone did—someone in our future at this point in time.” She glanced at him. “I can scrape up almost half of the five hundred thousand, if you don’t mind providing the rest?” She had a robust savings account since she rarely spent the money the agency paid her. Everything she needed was right there at the villa.
“Don’t be stupid,” Laszlo said. “You’re a working girl. Half the ransom would cripple you. Of course I’ll pay it all. I owe you that much for getting us out of this jam.”
Mariana smiled at his description. It had been a long time since anyone had called her a girl and even longer since she had stopped thinking of herself as one. “Thank you for the offer. But if you don’t mind, I don’t want to feel I owe you anything.”
He stayed silent. Mariana listened to the sound of the wind whipping past them through the broken window. She could hear the jungle, live and busy.
“You really must think I’m a monster.”
“No, that’s not it—” she began, uncomfortable.
“Why did you agree to come out with me, if you think so little of me?”
Mariana recognized the position she was in, from watching Nayara and Ryan maneuver through political discussions strewn with verbal landmines. Nothing but truth was going to do, now. She sighed. “I was so flattered you asked me, of all the women in the world you could have asked, I couldn’t resist saying yes. I’m not your….usual type.”
“And now that any hope of having a quiet romantic evening has blown itself completely out of the sky and you’re stuck with a Lothario as a companion in this adventure you’re in, you’re wishing it was someone with a more sterling character?”
“No,” she said flatly. “That, you most definitely have wrong. I did want to find out why you have such a way with so many beautiful women. That part is true. I just….I don’t know why you asked me .”
“You distrust my motives,” he finished softly.
Truth , she reminded herself. “I’m sorry, but yes. It’s a horrible thing to believe that someone has an ulterior motive, but I just can’t see how asking me out has anything to do with wanting to know me better. I’m afraid your reputation is making me very biased.”
He was silent for much longer, this time.
“That’s why I want to pay my half,” she added, after the silence stretched on too long.
Again, he didn’t rush to respond. She couldn’t see his face. It was too dark. So she couldn’t tell if he was angry, or what his reaction was. Cáel Stelios was fond of saying that truth-telling was a delicate and dangerous thing. Mariana was learning that first hand.
When Laszlo did answer, his voice was low. “Very
She glanced at him. He was turned on the seat to face her, his back against the door. The dashboard had few working dials or lights, so he was a dark shadow against dimly-lit jungle on that side of the track. There was only one working headlight, too.
“Make sure that door is locked if you’re going to lean against it that way,” she told him. “It might not hold your weight, otherwise.”
“You don’t get to change subjects now. There’s no one around to hear but me. Will you tell me what happened with the account? How did we pay Mathieu?”
“We haven’t. Not yet.”
“Yet you said we went to a great deal of trouble to do so. Not that I recall doing any such thing.”
“You will.” She frowned. “That’s the problem with playing around with time. There’s no language you can use that adequately describes it.”
“Wait… time ?” He gave a soft exhalation. “Of course, of course . Time travel. Your agency’s specialty. We went—we will —go back far enough in time and do something so the money arrived in Mathieu’s account. That ’s why you wanted the exact time.”
Mariana nodded. “It might not be us who goes back. But the money arrived in the account at the exact right moment, which tells me that someone did—someone in our future at this point in time.” She glanced at him. “I can scrape up almost half of the five hundred thousand, if you don’t mind providing the rest?” She had a robust savings account since she rarely spent the money the agency paid her. Everything she needed was right there at the villa.
“Don’t be stupid,” Laszlo said. “You’re a working girl. Half the ransom would cripple you. Of course I’ll pay it all. I owe you that much for getting us out of this jam.”
Mariana smiled at his description. It had been a long time since anyone had called her a girl and even longer since she had stopped thinking of herself as one. “Thank you for the offer. But if you don’t mind, I don’t want to feel I owe you anything.”
He stayed silent. Mariana listened to the sound of the wind whipping past them through the broken window. She could hear the jungle, live and busy.
“You really must think I’m a monster.”
“No, that’s not it—” she began, uncomfortable.
“Why did you agree to come out with me, if you think so little of me?”
Mariana recognized the position she was in, from watching Nayara and Ryan maneuver through political discussions strewn with verbal landmines. Nothing but truth was going to do, now. She sighed. “I was so flattered you asked me, of all the women in the world you could have asked, I couldn’t resist saying yes. I’m not your….usual type.”
“And now that any hope of having a quiet romantic evening has blown itself completely out of the sky and you’re stuck with a Lothario as a companion in this adventure you’re in, you’re wishing it was someone with a more sterling character?”
“No,” she said flatly. “That, you most definitely have wrong. I did want to find out why you have such a way with so many beautiful women. That part is true. I just….I don’t know why you asked me .”
“You distrust my motives,” he finished softly.
Truth , she reminded herself. “I’m sorry, but yes. It’s a horrible thing to believe that someone has an ulterior motive, but I just can’t see how asking me out has anything to do with wanting to know me better. I’m afraid your reputation is making me very biased.”
He was silent for much longer, this time.
“That’s why I want to pay my half,” she added, after the silence stretched on too long.
Again, he didn’t rush to respond. She couldn’t see his face. It was too dark. So she couldn’t tell if he was angry, or what his reaction was. Cáel Stelios was fond of saying that truth-telling was a delicate and dangerous thing. Mariana was learning that first hand.
When Laszlo did answer, his voice was low. “Very
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