"Liam…" Mezos pinched the bridge of his nose. "You are not going to be part of the mission."
Liam's pout deepened into something that would have been childish if it had not belonged to a man capable of designing illegal ether infrastructure beneath a hostile capital.
Mezos raised one hand before Liam could begin saying something undoubtedly intelligent, persuasive, and deeply inconvenient.
"You and Arik will be at the engagement reception," he said. "You will be visible. You will be watched. You will be the center of the room, because that is the entire point of the reception. We," he gestured to himself with the tired elegance of a man who had argued with royalty before breakfast and survived, "and the Shadows will handle Canmore Manor."
Liam stared at him.
Then his red eyes narrowed.
"You said we."
"Yes."
"You are going."
"I am coordinating."
"That means going."
"I'm the Chief of Security."
"Mezos."
Mezos looked at him calmly.
Liam looked back.
