Lily and the Lion by Honey Phillips
Chapter Twenty-Two
“You must be mistaken.” Leotra glared at Captain Nargan.
“I am afraid not,” the guard said apologetically. “Based on everything that I have been able to discover, the business is being used as a front for a slaving operation.”
A sick feeling filled his stomach. If whoever was running the operation had chosen to conceal its activities, that meant that they were not obeying the Imperial laws concerning slavery. Just like the bastards who had stolen Lily in the first place.
“I will not permit it. And as soon as I find out who is behind it, they will be lucky if they ever see daylight again.”
“Yes, sir. I will start assembling a squad. I suggest that we wait and move after dark. That way, we may be able to catch some of the buyers as well.”
“Make it so.”
Nargan departed, leaving Leotra staring down at his desk. How was he going to tell Lily that one of his own companies had been used as a front for slavery?
The thought of the female he had left sleeping in his bed made his chest ache. He didn’t like this pretense. It was time to tell her that she was his true mate. That it was not an act on his part. He thought—he hoped—that she was beginning to feel the same way about him.
But he needed to resolve this matter first, and as much as he hated it, that meant he needed to speak to his father again. The registered owner of the company was Bintir, one of his father’s long-standing business associates. He owed it to his father to let him know what the treacherous male had been doing.
He reached for the communicator, then hesitated. He suspected that if he tried to convey the information from a distance, his father would simply hang up on him. Perhaps it would be best to confront him directly.
“Good morning.” Lily’s soft voice interrupted him, and he looked up to see her standing in the doorway of his office. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, her hair tousled, and she was dressed simply in one of his shirts, her long bare legs peeking out from beneath the hem. His collar was still fastened around her neck. He held out his hand, and she came to him immediately, curling into his lap with a contented sigh.
“I left orders to let you sleep,” he murmured against her head.
“I woke up when you weren’t there. I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“More work?”
“I’m afraid so. I will need to go and speak to my father today.”
She sniffed disdainfully, and he almost laughed. Most females were impressed by his parent, but Lily had seen through him immediately.
“Will you come with me?” he added. “There’s someone else I want you to meet.”
“If you want me to come.”
She didn’t sound enthusiastic, but he laughed and hugged her. “I think you will find this visit far more entertaining.”
“All right. How soon do we have to leave?” Her fingers brushed lightly across his cock.
“Not that soon.”
She laughed as he picked her up and carried her back to bed.
Unfortunately, that laughter had disappeared by the time they pulled up in front of the mansion once more.
“Do I have to meet him again?”
“No, love.” He thought for a moment, then led her around the side of the main building and through a door concealed in an ancient brick wall. The garden that awaited them was slightly wild but lush with flowers, full of private nooks and hidden grottos.
“It’s a secret garden!” she exclaimed in delight.
“Yes, it was dedicated to my grandmother. No one will disturb you here.”
She nodded absently, bending down to sniff at a flowering bloom. She looks at home here, he thought, just as she did in the jungle. The natural environment suited her better than the more elaborate surroundings that were so much a part of his life.
He kissed her, and left her there, assigning a guard to wait outside the wall. No one ever entered the space without permission.
Lily exploredthe garden after Leo left, discovering new delights around every corner. As she ducked under a low-hanging vine, she saw an old Tajiri male, digging in the dirt of one of the beds. Since Leo said no one ever came here, she decided he must be a gardener. She was about to retreat and leave him to his work when he looked up at her.
Surprisingly sharp blue eyes studied her face and she half-expected him to demand to know her business. Instead, his gaze slipped down to the collar around her neck and he snorted, then shook his head.
“Newfangled ways. The boy should have mated you properly.”
“The boy? Do you mean Leo?”
A bushy eyebrow arched, the expression oddly familiar.
“Are you mated to anyone else?”
She laughed and shook her head. She should have realized that the servants would know everything.
“No, he’s more than enough for me.”
“Is he?”
“Yes.” She had the oddest desire to burst into tears. “He’s been very good to me.”
Another snort. “I can see that. Got an Emperor’s ransom around your neck.”
“That’s not what I meant. I don’t care about the jewelry.”
“Then what did you mean?”
He was considerably blunter than any of the other servants she had encountered, but then again, perhaps his age gave him courage—and she had never minded plain speaking.
Somehow, she found herself telling him everything that had happened from the moment she woke up on the slavers’ ship. He kept working, shooting her an occasional glance from underneath those bushy brows, but he asked very few questions.
“Good thing you came along,” he said finally when she brought him up to date.
“What do you mean?”
“Too many females chasing him. I never trusted one of them.”
It was sweet that even the servants were protective about Leo, but she had noticed that they all seemed to care about him.
“I’m glad I came along too.” But will it last? she wondered. He had never said that he wanted her to stay forever, but she had begun to suspect that he was considering it.
“Would you like some help with the weeding?” she asked, changing the subject before she started tearing up again.
“You’ll mess up your pretty clothes.”
“I know,” she laughed. “I told Leo they weren’t very practical. I miss my jeans.”
“Jeans?” he asked as she knelt down next to him. He handed her a trowel.
As they worked, she told him about her life on Earth. He listened, grunting occasionally, and only rarely asking a blunt question.
They had just reached the end of the bed, when Leo stormed up, his face like a thundercloud.
“He is impossible!” he snarled, then saw her companion and flinched. “Grandfather!”
“Oh, so you still remember who I am?”
“Of course I do. Lily, this is my grandfather, Kubwan.”
“He’s your grandfather?” She suddenly realized why some of his gestures had seemed so familiar. “I thought he was dead.”
“Why did you tell her that? I may be old, but I’m not dead.”
Leo scowled. “I never said that.”
“I misunderstood,” she said quickly. “He said that he hadn’t seen you in a long time and that he missed you. I just assumed that you were gone.”
“You didn’t have to miss me,” the older male said gruffly. “You knew where I was.”
“Father said you didn’t want to see me.”
“And you believed him? I told him I didn’t want to see him, but it never extended to you.”
“I hoped you would forgive me. I heard you were back and I was bringing Lily to see you. But I had to deal with Father first.”
Leo sighed, looking tired and frustrated, and she climbed to her feet and went to his side. He put his arm around her, and she felt some of the tension leave his body.
“Every time I think he can’t get any worse, he manages to do just that,” he muttered.
“What is it now?”
Leo shot her guilty look, and her heart started to pound.
“I am truly sorry, love, but it appears that one of our companies is being used as a front for a slave ring. It’s owned by one of his cronies, and he refuses to believe what I told him.”
“A slave ring?” Her heart raced. “You don’t think they might have my friends, do you?”
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out. We are arranging a raid on the place tonight.” He tugged her tighter against him as he looked over at his grandfather. “You don’t seem very surprised.”
“I still have connections in the city. I heard rumors that he was pursuing some undesirable income streams.” For the first time, the old man looked his age. “How did he turn out so poorly?”
“It wasn’t him,” Leo protested. “Bintir is responsible.”
His grandfather shot him a look, but didn’t comment. Instead, he extended a hand to Leo and, when Leo stepped forward and took it, pulled him into a bone crushing hug.
“You are always welcome in my house, boy,” he muttered. “I should have ignored my foolish pride and told you directly.”
“You always were a stubborn old man.”
“And you were always an impudent youngster.”
The two of them grinned at each other, and Lily rolled her eyes.
“Did your father tell you anything else?” Kubwan asked.
“What do you mean?”
His grandfather sighed. “I must admit I’m not really surprised. Give me a minute to clean up and then the three of us will talk to him.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Oh, yes. Wait here.” Then he looked at Lily. “Or maybe you had better get her cleaned up as well.”
“I would like to at least wash my hands,” she agreed. “Although I’m not sure that the outfit is salvageable.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Leo assured her. “You are still beautiful.”
Kubwan grunted and led them out of the walled garden and into a part of the mansion she hadn’t seen the previous night. The rooms were still oversized, but it had a much cozier feel.
“These are my private quarters. At least Chinit hasn’t tried to confiscate them yet.”
“Can he do that?” she asked.
The old man grinned. “He could try, but he wouldn’t get very far. I’ll be right back.”
While he was gone, Lily washed her hands but decided her pants were past saving. Leo stared off into space as she brushed them down the best she could.
“Hey. What are you thinking?”
“That I don’t like not knowing what’s going on.”
“I have a feeling you’re about to find out.”
He gave her a reluctant smile. “I’m afraid so.”
Kubwan reappeared a few minutes later, unexpectedly imposing in a formal robe.
“Follow me,” he ordered.
They dutifully obeyed as he shepherded them back into the main part of the mansion and then into a study. Unlike Leo’s office, the room did not seem to be designed for work. There were no papers on the enormous desk and Chinit was lounging in front of the fire with a female kneeling at his feet.
Kubwan snorted. “Hard at work as usual, I see.”
“Father. What are you doing here?” His dislike was obvious, and it didn’t lessen as he looked at Leo. “And why are you back? I told you that I had no further interest in your wild speculations.”
“It’s not speculation—” Leo began, but his grandfather shook his head.
“We’ll come back to that. I believe there is something your father forgot to tell you, isn’t that right, Chinit?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Chinit said arrogantly, but Lily thought he looked frightened.
“You mean you’ve forgotten the clause in our agreement that gives Leotra full control of his inheritance once he is mated?”
The girl at his feet gasped, and Chinit scowled at her. “Leave us. And keep your mouth shut.” As she scurried out of the room, he turned back to them, his arrogance firmly in place.
“What difference does it make? Leotra has no interest in the company.”
“That’s a lie and you know it. You’ve done your best to keep me out of it, but it wasn’t because I wasn’t interested,” Leo growled at his father and turned to his grandfather. “What do you mean full control of my inheritance?”
“What I mean is that you now have a controlling interest in the company.”
“No wonder you were so upset when I told you that Lily and I were mated,” Leo said.
“A human mate doesn’t count.”
“Of course she does,” Kubwan snapped.
“That’s why you sent Jinga to distract him,” Lily said, putting the pieces together. “You didn’t want him mating anyone, and you knew he’d never choose her.”
Three sets of eyes fastened on her face. Kubwan looked disgusted, Leo appalled, and Chinit furious.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snarled.
“Yes, I do. I was in the library last night. I’m sorry,” she added, turning to Leo. “They never mentioned your name, and I didn’t realize until now who they were discussing.”
“It’s not your fault.” Leo turned to his father. “I am calling a board meeting tomorrow morning to inform them of the change in leadership. You are not welcome.”
“You can’t just shut me out!”
“Of course he can,” Kubwan cackled. “I think I’ll enjoy attending that meeting.”
“I look forward to seeing you there,” Leo said. “And perhaps, we can talk afterwards?”
“Aye. Now take your pretty mate home. I have more things to say to Chinit.”
Leo didn’t hesitate. He put his arm around her shoulders and urged her out of the room.
