me.”
“What does that mean?”
“That necklace is a century old, and property of the British government. It disappeared fifty years ago. It’s worth a large enough fortune to have the Italian and French mafia looking for it, and now, it appears, Raul and the cartel, as well. In any of their hands it’s dangerous, but considering Niccolo is twice as powerful as the others, in his it’s downright lethal.”
“And you’re trying to get to it first.”
“I’m going to get to it first and return it to the British government, where I know it won’t be used to profit Niccolo or anyone else.”
“Because it’s stolen?
“Because it represents the kind of power we can’t allow someone like Niccolo, or anyone in his class of pursuers, to have.”
“When you say fortune, how much money are we talking?”
“It’s valued at a hundred and fifty million euros, but there’s a private collector willing to pay double that.”
“Oh my God. I didn’t even know a necklace could be worth that much money.”
“There’s some history to this one, including the trail of ownership.”
“And it was stolen from the British government?”
“Fifty years ago. And when I say stolen, I mean, it vanished. There were occasional rumors of its reappearance, each time starting a frenzied search. Interestingly, considering your involvement, none of those rumors placed it in the United States.”
“But it must have been, if I was used to transport it to Europe.”
“Maybe,” he says. “But I’m not convinced you weren’t wearing a decoy, meant to draw attention away from the real necklace.”
“Why would you think it was a decoy, if I’ve obviously ended up on Niccolo’s radar?”
“Because from what I know of the original’s construction, there would be no place to slip a note inside. And you found one.”
“Could the note give the location of the real necklace?”
“More likely, it was about a payoff for transporting the decoy. But whoever’s behind that transaction knows where the real necklace is located.”
“In other words, I really need to remember where that necklace is.”
“Not necessarily,” he says. “If the necklace was a decoy, as I suspect, then the important piece of the puzzle is what was on that note.”
“Which wasn’t in English, so my memory won’t help us. I’d have to find it, and/or the decoy, to be of any help.” I tilt my head to study him. “So I’m the key to what you’re trying to achieve. Why didn’t you just tell me this, Kayden?”
He leans forward, his hands settling intimately just behind my knees. “I fully intended to tell you, but I wasn’t ready yet.”
“What exactly would have made you ready?”
“Some way to prove to you that I wasn’t using you to gain the necklace. I selfishly wasn’t ready for that divide. Which backfired, and delivered us to that shower, with a gun between us.”
“It could have been worse,” I say with a halfhearted laugh. “I could have shot you.”
“Your distrust is the only bullet I care about dodging right now.” He sits up again, his hands settling back on his knees. “And that’s exactly why I need you to think about that alleyway.”
“I have been. I don’t remember it.”
“I’m not talking about what happened once you were there. I’m talking about what brought us both to that place.”
“Oh,” I say flatly, hating where this is going. “The necklace.”
“Yes. The necklace and—”
“Niccolo,” I supply, his name ice and fire, and not in good ways. “I am so confused right now. If he’s the man from my flashbacks, I wanted him dead. The last thing I would do is meet him to hand him a necklace that makes him more powerful.”
“Unless you didn’t know it was him.”
“Or he’s not the man from my flashbacks at all, and I’m more deeply involved with Niccolo than I think.” I swallow hard and stand, putting the chair between us. “Is this the real reason you didn’t tell me about this?” I demand, my fingers closing around the wooden back. “Do you think I’m part of that man’s entourage? Were you trying to prove that before you revealed everything else?”
I blink, and he’s beside me. “Don’t create nightmares that don’t exist. You were running from Niccolo’s men when I found you.”
“I can think of no good reason why I was there to meet him, Kayden. Not one.”
“Then let me help you with three. Blackmail, survival, and revenge.”
“You think he was blackmailing me?”
“Blackmail is what he does. He threatens people, those they love, or the general public, to get what he wants. And if he doesn’t,