“That was completely unfair.” Saiman pointed his index finger at him while still holding the glass. “Let’s cut to the chase. I know that a delegation of shapeshifters disembarked in Charleston, I know that Desandra Kral, formerly of the Obluda pack, is having twins, and I know that you have been invited to act as her bodyguard and mediator of the inheritance dispute and that you will be paid in panacea to do so.”
Saiman in a nutshell. I had no idea how he knew all of this, but he did.
“You need a ship. This vessel will have to be oceanworthy, will need an experienced crew, and will require cabin space for at least fifteen people. What’s the destination?”
“Gagra on the northern coast of the Republic of Georgia.”
Saiman blinked. “You mean the Black Sea? Do you really want to go to the Black Sea?”
“Yes,” Curran said.
I nodded. “We do.”
Saying things like We think this is a trap and We would rather cut off our left foot than go would endanger our ship acquisition and our badass image.
Saiman poured himself more scotch. “I can’t help but point out that the three packs involved could’ve found someone in the immediate vicinity to act as a neutral fourth party.”
“Your opinion is noted,” Curran said.
“Have you ever tried to reverse engineer the panacea?” I asked.
“Yes, as a matter of fact I have,” Saiman said. “I can give you the exact list of ingredients and quantities. The secret isn’t in the chemical composition; it’s in the process of preparation, which I’m unable to replicate. To put it plainly, they cook it with magic and I don’t know the specifics. I’m also reasonably certain that the panacea is manufactured by a single entity or organization and then distributed throughout Europe.”
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s a well-known secret that five years ago your partner offered three hundred thousand dollars and Pack protection to anyone willing to sell him the recipe and demonstrate its preparation. If the panacea were manufactured by each pack individually, someone would’ve been desperate enough to take him up on his offer.”
Curran grimaced. “It’s five hundred thousand now.”
“Still no takers?” Saiman arched his eyebrow.
“No.”
Saiman swirled the whiskey in his glass. “Suppose I provide a vessel. Crossing the Atlantic is a dangerous venture. Between the hurricanes, the pirates, and the sea monsters, there is a very real possibility that your ship will sink and not at all in a metaphorical sense. I’ve been in shipping for over a decade and I still lose two to four ships per year. If you were to meet your untimely demise, your thugs would blame me.”
“Most likely,” Curran said.
“If you die—through no fault of my own, of course—the probability of my survival drops rather drastically. I’m expected to risk my ship, my crew, and my finances for some tenuous promise of possible goodwill. I’m looking for the silver lining and not finding any.”
“You risk your ship, crew, and money, while we will be risking our lives,” Curran said. “And since we’re on the subject, I guarantee that if another vessel from your fleet pulls up next to out ship in the middle of the night and its crew attempts to murder us and scuttle our vessel to hide the evidence, you won’t survive.”
Saiman leaned back and laughed.
“What do you want?” I asked him.
“Friend of the Pack status,” Saiman said. “Granted prior to departure.”
Friend of the Pack would make him an ally. It guaranteed that shapeshifters would stay out of his business and protect him if one of them observed Saiman in imminent danger. It would also grant him the ability to visit the shapeshifter offices without being immediately detained.
“No,” Curran said. “I won’t give you that much access.”
“Not only that, but if you become Friend of the Pack and then sink your ship with us on board, the shapeshifters can’t come after you,” I said.
“Do you really think I would drown you, Kate?”
“In a heartbeat,” I told him. “You still owe me, Saiman.”
“And I’m trying to work with you, but you must meet me halfway.”
“No,” I said. “You won’t be getting Friend of the Pack status until we return.”
Saiman smiled. “Then we’re at an impasse.”
We looked at each other.
“What if I come with you?”
“What?” I must’ve misheard.
“I’ll join you on your wonderful adventure, Kate. That way, if our vessel does sink, I cannot be blamed, because I was on board.”
“Why would you be doing this?” Curran asked.
“I’m overdue for a trip to the Mediterranean. I have business interests there.”
“No,” I said.
The two men looked at me.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Curran said.
“Have you two gone crazy? This is a horrible idea. First, the two of you hate each other.”
“I don’t hate him.” Saiman shrugged. “It’s too strong a word.”
“If I hated him, he’d be dead,” Curran said.
They were nuts. “How long does it take to cross the Atlantic?”
Saiman frowned. “Depends on the magic waves, but generally between twelve and eighteen days.”
I turned to Curran. “We’ll be stuck together on a small boat for at least two weeks. What happens when on day two he gets bored?”
“It will be fine,” Curran said. “We can handle it. If he gets out of hand, we’ll tie him to the mast.”
Saiman gave him a derisive look. “We will be taking the Rush. It runs on enchanted water, steam, and diesel. It doesn’t have a mast strong enough to hold me.”
Curran exhaled. “Then we’ll lock you in a cellar.”
“Brig,” Saiman corrected.
“Whatever.” Curran dismissed it with a wave of his hand.
“Draw up a formal contract,” I said. Saiman was egotistical and sometimes cowardly, but he had a ridiculously strong work ethic. If we could lock him in with a contract, he wouldn’t break it.
“Oh, we will,” Curran assured me. “Let’s talk numbers.”
Fifteen minutes later a satisfied Saiman left, escorted by Shawn. He was carrying his suitcase and ours. He was happy, the Beast Lord was happy, so why was I so uneasy?
“You’ll regret this,” I told Curran.
“I know. We don’t have a choice. We have to get the panacea.” He leaned over and kissed me. “I love you. Thank you for the ship. Thank you for doing this with me.”
A little thrill ran through me. “I love you, too.”
Getting the panacea meant that each baby born to the Pack would have a forty percent better chance of survival. It meant Maddie could become herself again. To make this happen, Curran would swallow his pride. He’d make a deal with Saiman, he’d bargain with Carpathians who had humiliated him, he’d cross the Atlantic and half a continent. And I would back him up every step of the way. Curran was responsible for the welfare of the Pack, and so was I.
“We have to get the panacea,” I agreed. That was all there was to it.