Under the Rose - Kathryn Nolan Page 0,25

at me. The man was much shorter, with a gray mustache and wire-rimmed glasses. They appeared star-struck, surprised—and deeply pleased.

We were the rock stars of rare books.

Before we could prepare, Freya and I were having our hands shaken by the pair. Their badges identified them as Thomas Alexander and Cora Alexander. I could see the gears of Freya’s mind working.

“Thomas and Cora,” she said, “what an honor to finally meet you in person.”

“What an honor to meet the convention’s most notable guests,” Thomas exclaimed “Come, come. He’s about to give his opening remarks, but he’ll be very happy to hear you’ve made it. When we’d learned you’d been struck down by illness, we were simply aghast.”

Thomas and Cora were already on the move through the crowd, heading toward a machine I was very familiar with.

Beep-beep went the metal detector.

“We’ve been anticipating meeting you as well,” I said. “This event is one we look forward to every year.”

A quizzical look from Cora. “But this is your first year attending though. Isn’t it?”

“Absolutely,” Freya jumped in. “What Julian means is that we’ve always looked forward to it even though we could never attend. It’s a dream come true for us.”

The flash of concern across Thomas’s face mirrored my own. This was why I hadn’t wanted to be Julian and Birdie. Too easy to make mistakes when you had no clue about the relationships you held.

“Is that so?” Thomas asked. But his tone had a crisp edge to it. Freya heard it, fiddling with the pearls at her neck.

“As you know, Julian and I have had an empty house for a week now. We’re looking forward to…meeting everyone.” Freya said this in a low voice, holding eye contact with the couple.

Empty house. It was the code word she had unearthed online. The one I’d given her a ton of shit about. Yet as soon as the words left her mouth, it was like a switch had been thrown.

Thomas and Cora exchanged tiny smiles. They both took a step closer to us.

Maybe Freya had been right. Not that I’d ever say that to her face.

“We as well,” Thomas replied. “And if you’re concerned about keeping in touch, rest assured we made sure to book the hotel room next to yours. You won’t be able to escape us this weekend. And I think you’ll be truly impressed with the festivities. Most first-timers usually are.”

“Wonderful,” Freya said. I gave a nod. We were six feet from the metal detector now.

“I’m afraid everyone needs to go through these blasted things,” Thomas said. “Cora and I will be waiting for the two of you inside. Dr. Ward’s remarks begin in ten minutes.”

“Great,” Freya and I answered in unison. The very second the couple was out of earshot, Freya and I spun toward each other.

“I told you we were sexy thieves with a code word,” she whispered.

“We have bigger issues right now,” I whispered back. Beep. Beep. “Seems unlikely that a rare bookseller would be carrying a weapon, right?”

Freya fake-laughed and hissed. “Oh my god, you brought your gun inside with you?”

I fake-laughed in response. “Oh my god, you didn’t?”

“We’re chasing after stolen letters, you nit-wit.”

“You’d know this if you hadn’t dropped out of Quantico, but the world of antiquities theft is pretty cozy with violent crime. Safety should be our priority.”

Her eyes scorched the brightest green I’d ever seen.

“Right this way, sir,” the security guard interrupted, waving us through. I froze, mind searching for a way out.

All of a sudden, Freya was shoving me out of the line. “We’ll be right back,” she said to the guard. She dragged me down a narrow hallway and pushed open a swinging door with one shoulder.

The men’s bathroom, thankfully empty.

“Not a bad move,” I admitted, searching for a hiding space.

“Especially for a dropout like me, huh?” She didn’t turn around, but hurt creased the words.

Which made me feel like shit for once.

Freya kicked open a stall, hands searching. She opened trashcans and the toilet tank. I glanced up, saw the paneled ceiling. I stood on the toilet, reached behind me, and removed my gun from its holster. Ejected the magazine. Pushed the panel above me and carefully slid everything inside before sliding the panel back.

Freya was leaning against the bathroom door with her arms crossed.

“Evandale.” Her eyebrows rose in response. “Listen, I feel—”

The bathroom door opened with a loud creak. Freya’s feet would be visible from beneath the stall if we didn’t move fast. I crouched down, hoping whoever entered hadn’t