Ryenne met the others for dinner with renewed determination to stick out this job no matter what might happen. And to beat the sexy Frenchman.

“Good evening,” Steven greeted her warmly as she entered the dining room. “You look refreshed.”

He offered her a selection of drinks from a sideboard against one wall. She took a glass of white wine and nodded her thanks.

She joined Lucien at the table and glanced between the two smiling men. Hmm. Dinner with two handsome men. Not a bad way to start a new job.

Steven introduced his housekeeper, Eleanor, and houseboy, Jomo, when they brought in platters of roast beef, roasted vegetables, fresh avocado slices, and rich brown gravy.

Jomo offered her the avocado and she noticed how thin the boy was. She had a feeling that without this job, he’d be in even worse shape. Their gazes met and one side of his mouth rose in a lopsided grin, just for an instant. He glanced at his boss and his serious face returned.

The food was delicious. Steven kept her wine glass filled and the conversation flowing.

Good food, good drink, good company. She’d definitely worked worse jobs.

“It was lovely to meet your mother and siblings today,” she said. “What a beautiful setting to grow up in.”

“Hmm, yes, it was. I have siblings closer to my age, as well, and we used to run through the coffee plants together and play games,” Steven explained with a faraway expression on his face. “Until my father caught us and set us to work picking or in the roasting shed, depending on the season and what needed to be done.”

“So you learned the business from the ground up, so to speak,” Lucien said.

Steven nodded. “My father was very hands on with his business, and also very lucky. He had friends in high places which allowed him to export our coffee all over the world.”

“What happened to your father?” Ryenne noticed he always talked about his father in the past tense and they hadn’t met him today.

A shadow passed over Steven’s already dark face and his smile faltered. Maybe it was too soon to ask such a personal question. She began to apologize.

“No, no, it’s fine,” he said. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and took a sip of his beer. “My father died about ten years ago in an encounter with a rogue.”

Ryenne and Lucien murmured their apologies.

“I was thrust into a position of power both in the business and in my family, very suddenly. But I think we have managed well.” He drank his beer and replaced the glass on the table.

Ryenne looked around the room. Beautiful wood furniture, a mix of African and European art on the walls, the food and wine. Yes, he had definitely managed well.

Dessert consisted of servings of fresh local fruit. Chunks of pineapple, mango, and papaya nestled on plates with a scoop of coconut ice cream in the middle.

“Eleanor, you are a wonder,” Ryenne exclaimed to the plump and smiling housekeeper. “Thank you for this delicious meal.”

The woman lowered her gaze but couldn’t suppress a smile. “Thank you, miss.”

“And thank you both for coming all this way to help me with my little problem,” Steven said, standing. “I have some papers to go over before bed so I will leave you now and wish you a good night. Please let one of my staff know if you need anything at all. And help yourself to anything you see.” He gestured to the sideboard and then strode from the room.

Ryenne and Lucien shared a glance. She was feeling warm and satisfied from all the food and wine but wanted to get an early start on the investigation in the morning. Standing, she nodded at Lucien. “See you tomorrow.”

He rose as well. “I look forward to it.”

In her room, she undressed quickly and prepared for bed. Placing her dagger under her pillow, she made sure other weapons would be close at hand, and checked the locks on the door and windows.

She fell asleep within seconds.

Sometime later, she became aware of sounds. She snapped awake and listened. Her room was filled with an opaque darkness which amplified noise. A clang came from outside her window, and a screeching like a hard substance scratching against metal. This was followed by snarls.

Ryenne jumped out of bed and ran to the window, pushing between the heavy drapes. Outside was barely less dark than inside her room. There was no moon. But she could see the bars outside her window, probably the source of the clanging and metallic noises.

She peered into the darkness. Across the street, between two hulking and low-slung shadows that might have been houses, two glowing points of light were barely visible.

Eyes.

Animal eyes.

***

Breakfast the next morning took place in the same dining room as dinner the night before. It was a somber meal. Ryenne was groggy from jet lag and her interrupted night of sleep. Steven seemed preoccupied.

“I must leave you shortly to attend to some work,” he said. “Ask any questions of anyone here to further your investigations into who is threatening me.”

“Do you need us to accompany you?” Lucien asked. “To protect you?”

“That is not necessary. I have John.” He removed his napkin from his lap and placed it on the table next to his plate of half-eaten scrambled eggs. “Most of the men do not drive, but you may use my second vehicle. I only have the one so you will have to share. Despite being rivals, you must work together.”

Ryenne glanced at her competitor. The Frenchman dabbed at his mouth with the napkin, long eyelashes lowered over his brown eyes. There were worse people to have to share a car with.

A commotion from the hallway made them all look to the door. One of the guards burst in and spoke in a fast stream of words she didn’t recognize. Steven responded, clearly asking questions.

“I’m sorry to speak in Gikuyu in front of you,” Steven said. “Some of the men speak English but it depends on their level of education and experience with foreigners.”

He asked another question and the man answered.

“Oh my,” Steven muttered. “He says one of the men found a piece of a human body outside in the street on his way here this morning. They are all quite disturbed, of course.”

“A piece?” Ryenne asked.

“Which piece?” Lucien asked.

“An ear. A few of the guards are going through the village to find out what happened and see if they can find the ear’s owner. Hopefully, this person survived.”

Ryenne and Lucien surged to their feet, breakfast forgotten.

“Any idea how the ear was removed?” she asked, joining Steven and the guard at the door.

Steven relayed the question to the man. “He says it looks like an animal bit it off.”

Ryenne remembered the animal watching her with glowing eyes from across the street last night. “Where was it found?”

The man said something in Gikuyu and hurried away.

“He said he’ll show us,” Steven translated.

They all followed him out of the house and through the gate to the street running in front of the compound. He went down the street, along the line of the house and past several windows. Stopping in front of a set of windows, he pointed to the ground. There was a divot in the earth, but now there was no way to tell if the divot had been caused by an ear or a boot or anything else.

Ryenne turned her attention to the windows and peered inside the room. It was her room.

The rogue had brought her a gift.

“Okay,” she said, all business. “We need to find the person the ear was taken from. He or she may need medical attention.” And she hoped he or she was still alive so she could question the victim and find out what kind of animal did this.

Just then, men’s shouts at the gate drew their attention and they hurried back.

“Eh, it was Moses Ruto’s ear,” one of the men said. “He was attacked last night by a wild animal on his way home from work. The neighbor took him to the hospital in Nakuru. His wife is about to go see him. The same neighbor offered to drive her.”

“We’ll take her,” Ryenne said. Then she and Lucien could question him about the attack. And maybe the wife could tell them something about the other attacks during the drive.

“Yes, thank you,” Steven said. “How disturbing. I must go to the office, but I’ve already called the Nakuru police to request they send over the files on the two deaths. Luckily, my wealth and position here afford me some influence. The files should be here sometime this afternoon. I will see you at lunch and you can tell me the details. I wonder if it is the same rogue.”

Ryenne wondered the same thing.