Page 88 of Saint
He almost smiled, in a way that made him look a little more like himself. “You’re right.”
He swallowed his rye, letting the glass come down hard on the table. I studied him, still trying to sift out that look in his eye.
“Want to count it?” I asked.
“No.”
“What are we trading this time?”
“We’re not,” he said. “I’m wrapping up my business in the Narrows.”
I stilled, hand tightening on the bottle. “Wrapping it up? Why?”
“My father’s died.”
He said it so matter-of-factly that I was almost certain I’d heard him wrong. But Henrik met my eyes, letting the truth of it settle. There was a grief there. One I knew well.
“I’m sorry,” I offered.
“I’m needed in Bastian and I’ll be focusing my trade there.”
I nodded. “Understood.”
Henrik was the oldest of the four Roth siblings and I guessed he would be taking his place as the patriarch of the family. That had likely always been the plan.
“It was just a matter of time.”
He sounded as if he were trying to reassure himself. Like there was some open wound it might stitch closed if he remembered.
“You’ll let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”
I studied him, unsure if I’d heard him right. That was a rare, generous offer on his part, but I nodded just the same.
He refilled his own glass, not waiting for me. There was more behind the words than he was saying. A request.
“Is there something you need from me?” I asked.
Henrik stared into his glass, turning it once. “Yes.”
I sank back into the booth, unbuttoning my jacket and letting if fall open to the cooler air. I had a feeling I’d need it. “Then I do have something I need from you.”
“Name it.”
I pulled Isolde’s purse from the pocket of my vest, slidingit toward him. He took his time opening it, letting the stone fall into his open hand. When it did, his brow wrinkled.
I watched him study the gem for a few seconds before he lifted it to the light. “What the hell is it?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“What do you want me to do with it?”
“Put it in something. Something small that can be carried or worn. Anything that will hide what it is.”
“I can do that.”
I watched him slip it back into the purse. “No one lays eyes on it except for you,” I insisted. “No one.”
“All right.” He tucked it into his jacket, along with the coin.
