if the Bureau truly thought there was much risk, they wouldn’t be this intrigued, nor would they be allocating any of their precious resources,” Abe replied. “The truth of the matter is that Samuel and Freya have managed to uncover a tight-knit circle of criminals who claim Bernard Allerton as their leader. We all know the man wouldn’t deign to show his face this evening. But a capture of any of these suspects could lead to Bernard’s future arrest.”
Andrew pursed his lips. “And your little firm will get money.”
“A sinful amount, yes,” Abe replied immediately. “You see, it’s a win-win.”
Andrew’s sneer was full of vitriol. “I do see,” he said. “The Bureau will provide agents on the ground that will be listening in along with the Codex team. If Samuel or Freya are in apparent danger, we will send them in. The goal, of course, would be to arrest everyone in attendance on sight.”
My pulse spiked with pure excitement. Sam slid his gaze toward mine, nodded.
“Freya and Sam will be provided with earpieces that are on their way to being delivered as we speak. I understand Sam will have his weapon?”
“Yes, sir,” Sam said.
“Evandale?” Andrew looked at me. I held up my palms.
“My hands are considered weapons, sir.”
Sam shot me an uncharacteristically wolfish grin.
His father continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “The teams will wait in unmarked cars parked within a two-block radius of the location of the auction. Do you believe it’s in the hotel?”
“That’s our best guess,” Sam said. “But I can make sure Freya or I give clues throughout the night.”
Sam’s father waved his hand on screen, and an assistant delivered a slip of paper. “My staff is setting up a bank account for Julian King. I’ve located fifteen million dollars.”
Henry let out a low whistle as I said, “Well, fuck me.”
Andrew looked directly at his son. “Samuel, fifteen million is the maximum amount I can get in that account. Will you be doing the bidding for the Sand letters?”
“I will,” Sam said.
“Bid smart. I’ll need a visual confirmation that it is, in fact, the George Sand love letters. Once your hands are on those letters, my agent on the ground will give the team the call to move.”
A heaviness settled throughout the room—an acceptance of what we were all about to do tonight.
“Do we know anything about their capacity for violence?” Andrew asked.
Sam and I exchanged a glance. “I think they could be a violent bunch, yes. But for the most part, it’s all talk. No action,” he said.
“Your getting wounded would be a nuisance,” Andrew said. “Please don’t.”
“Your concern is truly endearing,” Abe said.
Andrew ignored him. “I need to get to a meeting, but my staff will be calling shortly to coordinate. Do we need anything else?”
“No, sir,” Sam said.
Andrew nodded, then disconnected without saying goodbye. And I had to physically fight the urge to get up and wrap my partner in a hug.
“That’s your father?” Henry asked.
“He has a unique communication style,” Sam said. He slipped his hands into his pockets, affecting a relaxed stance.
“Sam’s father and I disagreed often,” Abe said. “If you couldn’t tell.”
Delilah hummed next to me. “He must have been pissed when you started Codex.”
Abe tugged on his cufflinks, but his lips were tipped into the tiniest smile. “Words were said, yes.”
Delilah squeezed my hand. “I’ll run point with the Bureau agents, get you set up with the earpieces. Henry can pull together information on any open cases we have. If the letters aren’t there, we should be on the lookout for anything hot and currently missing.”
Henry pushed his glasses up his nose. “I’ll pull together a list of any books we weren’t able to recover. We can even do a little light Sherlock Holmes studying, get you prepped for any additional code words.”
“Speaking of,” Delilah interjected, “we need a verbal code if the two of you are in direct danger and need rescuing.”
“What about help, we’re in danger?” I suggested.
“Something a little less obvious.”
“Mention the Copernicus,” Henry said. Delilah squeezed his knee—it was a reference to the manuscript they’d recovered from Victoria Whitney’s mansion.
Sam was nodding along. “Is that a Copernicus?” he tossed out. “Wouldn’t set off any alarm bells necessarily.”
“I like it,” I said. “Although I very much doubt we’ll be in danger. We need to bid, get the letters, have the money wired from the Bureau’s fake account, and get the hell out of there.”
“Without blowing our cover,” Sam added.
“You can do it,” Abe said firmly. “I