For a moment, Landon stared at her.
Then Cole burst into laughter. "I like her," he announced.
Raine straightened and pointed toward him. "You see? Someone here has excellent judgment. He recognizes honesty when he sees it."
Landon rubbed his temple, as though both of them were giving him a headache, while Raine gave him a sweet smile.
"Continue the investigation," Landon ordered grimly.
Cole grinned. "With pleasure."
Landon’s gaze returned to Raine. "And your reward," he said, "depends on whether you keep your mouth shut."
Raine tilted her head. "Well," she drawled, and her eyes sparked, "that sounds like motivation already."
Truth be told, Landon was beginning to regret asking her.
At first, it had seemed like the simplest solution. If Raine were so worried about the implications of keeping his investigation secret, then offering her a reward should have solved the problem quickly.
Unfortunately, he had forgotten who he was dealing with.
Raine stood at the foot of his bed with her arms crossed, looking entirely too pleased with herself. "Well?"
"What do you want?"
She did not answer right away. Instead, she tapped her finger thoughtfully against her chin as though she were considering something very important. Then her expression brightened. "I want my indenture."
"Rejected," Landon answered without hesitation.
Raine frowned. "That was very fast." She sighed and tried again. "Fine. Then I want to be free from punishment if you didn’t make it. Of course, I will try my best, though."
Landon looked at her with an unreadable look. "Rejected."
"You didn’t even think about it." She complained.
"I did."
Raine muttered something under her breath, to which Landon chose not to comment, even though Cole, near the window, let out a chuckle, he seemed to enjoy this a lot.
She lifted her head again. "Then I have another request." Landon waited. "I would rather not deliver your food every day," she said firmly. "From now on, I will only come here when it is medically necessary."
"Rejected." Landon didn’t even bother to blink.
Raine threw her hands in the air. "You are impossible!"
Looking unimpressed, Landon commented. "You are negotiating poorly."
"Poorly?" Raine lifted an eyebrow. "You’re the one rejecting every request I made without even considering it."
"Your requests are impossible."
She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, I haven’t even really started yet."
Cole, who had been leaning casually against the window for most of the conversation, shifted his weight slightly. His arms were folded, and his expression was full of amusement. Watching the two of them argue seemed to entertain him far more than it should.
Raine lifted her chin. "Fine. Then I have one more request."
Landon gestured lazily. "Go on."
She clasped her hands together behind her back and showed a sweet smile again. "I want a handsome man with a good personality to entertain me every night."
The room went quiet for half a second before Landon said calmly with a straight face, "I can do that for you."
Raine blinked at that response, and Cole choked on his own breath. She then waved her hand immediately. "Pass." She would catch a nightmare if she had to see Landon more than this. "I said a handsome man with a good personality." Landon clearly failed in the second category.
Cole chuckled with delight.
Meanwhile, Landon maintained his expression devoid of any emotions and stared at her in silence while Raine kept her sweet smile on her face.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke. The tension in the room slowly grew thicker.
Cole was the first to break. He straightened and rubbed his face. "You two argue like an old married couple."
"No way!" Raine snapped at him with ultimate annoyance, while Landon threw him a dagger look.
Cole lifted both hands in surrender. "Okay. Okay. Just an observation." But he didn’t try hard to hide his smile.
"This is going nowhere." Raine turned back to Landon with a sigh. She looked irritated.
Landon didn’t disagree. "Then make a reasonable request."
Raine tapped her finger against her arm, deep in her thoughts once more, thinking about what she wanted that Landon wouldn’t reject again. Both men waited, looking at her with curiosity.
After quite a long moment, her expression changed. The sarcasm faded just a little, and she showed a genuine, sweet smile. "I know. I want a house."
"A house?" Landon raised an eyebrow.
Raine nodded. "Yes. A small one," she clarified. "A house inside the pack territory, but somewhere quiet." She gestured vaguely with her hands. "And I want it with a yard big enough to grow plants and herbs I want."
Landon studied her for a moment. "That’s all?"
"For now." She looked somewhat cunning.
He looked at her, considering the request. He had to admit that compared to everything else she had suggested earlier, this one was far more reasonable and something he could provide with ease. Landon made a decision and nodded. "Granted."
Raine blinked. She was surprised. "That was... easy."
"It’s because you asked for something sensible."
Crossing her arms, she asked, "So my other requests were not sensible?"
"You think?" Landon responded curtly.
Cole stepped away from the window and wandered closer to the table, enjoying the outcome. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "I’m not sure I understand what the point of a permanent residence is if you’re going to die."
Raine turned toward him slowly; her eyes glinted. "Did you just jinx him?"
Cole froze. His plan to annoy Raine turned sharply on him, leaving him at a loss for words.
Raine pointed at him and shifted her gaze toward Landon. "You heard that, right? He basically predicted your death."
Cole immediately covered his mouth with his hand. Then he shook his head quickly. "No."
Narrowing her eyes, she said with a hint of mischief, "That was suspiciously fast."
"Don’t put words in my mouth."
"Enough." The room quieted. Landon shifted against the pillows before looking toward Cole. "Now, tell her what you’ve got."
Cole lowered his hand. "Right." His playful expression faded a little and turned more serious as he leaned one hip against the table. "We’ve found a lead," he said. Raine’s attention sharpened immediately. She threw a questioning look toward Cole. "Someone has been purchasing silver powder on the black market recently."
"That isn’t surprising, though." Raine frowned.
"No," Cole agreed. "But the interesting part is where the transactions were traced." Cole met her eyes. "This pack," he added.
"So, it has been proven that someone inside the pack is buying silver powder." Raine nodded.
"Yes." Landon’s voice was calm but cold. "And that’s not all." He continued, "The Azicus flower... came from here as well."
For a moment, none of them spoke, weighing the lead.
Cole sighed, brushing the hair on the back of his head. "Which means," he said, "it also confirms the fact that someone inside this pack wants Landon dead. It has been an insider job like you expected."
The air in the room suddenly felt much heavier.
Raine glanced between the two men. Then she muttered, "Well." They turned their attention toward her. She sighed. "I suppose my new house might not be as peaceful as I hoped."