Wounded Beast (Gypsy Heroes Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

detailed picture about a person that would have taken months of research before, but it has no intuitive powers. The department relies on investigators and analysts like me to validate the data and pick up unnatural patterns.’
    ‘Unnatural patterns? Like what?’ he asks, fishing for information.
    Well, he’s not getting anything but the obvious from me. ‘Like everything I’ve seen tonight. Like the clothes, the car, this restaurant.’
    ‘So, you noticed my clothes,’ he notes cheekily. It’s hard to imagine that this is the same tormented man from this afternoon.
    ‘One can hardly fail to notice that they’re not off a department store’s rack.’ My voice is mild.
    He widens his eyes innocently. ‘I saved up for years to buy these clothes. The car belongs to the company, and I only come to this restaurant when I’m feeling particularly flush or on a really big date.’
    ‘It’s all a big joke to you, isn’t it?’ I accuse. I can feel myself losing my cool.
    ‘It’s not just a job for you, is it?’ he asks curiously.
    ‘No, it’s not. It’s a personal crusade.’ I lean back as the waiting staff move in to efficiently and quickly clear away our plates. My wine is replenished and a fresh glass of whiskey is placed before Dom. I notice that he’s not drinking any wine at all, which means that he ordered the bottle solely for me.
    ‘So, you must hate people like me.’
    ‘Hate might be too strong a word. Detest might be a bit closer.’
    He looks at me with a perplexed expression as if he’s trying to figure out a three-headed, ten-limbed, purple-striped creature. ‘Why do you care so much what tax I pay? I couldn’t give a rat’s ass whether you pay yours or not.’
    ‘Because people like you play the legal game and screw the country,’ I accuse hotly.
    ‘Trying to avoid paying more tax than you have to is not screwing the country . On the contrary, it’s doing one’s best to avoid being screwed by people like you . I’m paying the right amount of tax within the rules. Only a sanctimonious, pompous zealot would criticize someone for seeking every legal means possible to reduce their tax bill. Tax avoidance isn’t wrong. It’s perfectly sensible behavior.’
    ‘Wow,’ I gasp. ‘This is a turn-up for the books. The tax dodger decides to take the moral high ground!’
    He shrugs nonchalantly. ‘Let not he who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built—Abraham Lincoln.’ He leans back, a smug smile on his face.
    My main course—Dorset crab and black quinoa with tomato and Meyer lemon sauce—is put before me. It’s a world-class visual treat, but I find I’ve completely lost my appetite.
    ‘Bon appétit,’ Dom says when we’re alone again, and digs with relish into his Ahi tuna topped with caviar. It is lined with slices of zucchini that are so thinly sliced they’re almost transparent.
    I fold my arms over my chest. ‘So, you think that you have a perfect right to pay little or even no tax if possible, because you’re wealthy enough to have access to devious accountants, slick lawyers, corrupt bankers and tax havens while the rest of us subsidize your operations by paying for the education and health care of your workforce, the roads you and your companies use, and the police deployed to guard your restaurants and nightclubs from trouble.’
    He leans forward, his eyes glittering dangerously. ‘If you truly feel that way then why don’t you do something about the really big tax avoiders like Google, Starbucks, Microsoft and Apple?’
    I sit up straighter in my chair. ‘My mandate does not cover multinational companies.’
    He raises one mocking eyebrow. ‘Your mandate doesn’t cover multinationals? How fucking convenient.’
    ‘Another department deals with them,’ I defend tensely.
    He bursts into a sarcastic, cynical laugh.
    I stare