damn focused he wanted to kiss her senseless and drag her off to bed like a caveman and let her tame him in any way she wanted. Which was nuts considering everything she’d put him through in the last two days.
“I sent it to him,” Kat said. “There’s something inside that could be crucial to an international investigation.” She shrugged in indifference. “Of course, it’s your choice whether to keep it or give it to us. But if you keep it, the Feds could charge you with impeding an investigation. Or even collusion.”
Doubt colored Maria’s features. She swung her gaze back his way. “An international investigation,” she said blankly. “Involving one or both of you. Recently?”
Pete shook his head. “Long time ago.”
Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Why do I get the feeling there’s more to this than that?”
Because there was. And because she was a smart woman. Pete didn’t answer.
Neither did Kat.
Maria’s mules clicked as she crossed to the sideboard and poured herself a glass of wine. She took a long swallow and looked toward Pete again. “I’m afraid it’s not here.”
“Where is it?” Kat asked quickly.
Maria shrugged as if she could care less about Kat’s question, in the same way Kat had shrugged moments before. “In storage.”
“Here in New York City?”
“Possibly. I’ve had several shipments sent back to Athens in the last few days. It’s possible it was in one of those.”
Kat sent Pete a worried look.
“Or,” Maria went on, “It’s possible it’s still in the vault.”
“Then let’s go check,” Pete said. “We can’t wait until your shipments arrive in Greece and your employees unpack the crates.”
Maria laughed. “Peter, it’s nearly eleven o’clock. The building is closed, the vault is locked and even I can’t get access to the security codes until the morning. I’m afraid you’re stuck until tomorrow.”
Kat turned away in a clear sign of frustration and glanced around the apartment. And Pete felt the first stirrings of unease.
He’d hoped to get the necklace and get Kat the hell out of New York before dawn. He didn’t like being here, where they could be seen driving around the city or walking into a hotel. Odds were they hadn’t been followed, but he couldn’t be sure, and he sure as hell wasn’t risking his life—or Kat’s—on a handful of maybes. He’d seen firsthand what these guys were capable of.
The more he thought about the fact they’d been set up, that Busir had used him to get to Kat in the first place, the more determined he was to make sure she got out of this alive.
Options ran through his head. And though he knew the one that popped up strongest was the worst of the bunch, it was also the safest.
“Fine,” Pete said. “We’ll go with you to get it in the morning. But in the meantime, I need one more favor.”
Maria lifted her brows in question but didn’t respond.
“We need a place to stay tonight.”
Kat whipped back toward him in a blur.
“What?” both women asked at the same time.
“Just for tonight,” he said, ignoring Kat’s reaction. “As soon as we have the necklace, we’ll be out of your hair.”
“No way,” Kat exclaimed. “I’m not spending one single—”
A sly smile spread across Maria’s face as she, too, ignored Kat’s reaction. “That could be interesting.”
She lifted a bell on the sideboard and shook it. The housekeeper scurried in from the kitchen. “Mabel,” Maria said. “Show Ms. Meyer to the guest room. She”—her gaze ran up and down Kat’s damp, dirty clothing—“looks like she could use a towel.”
The air chilled at Pete’s side, and he could feel Kat’s eyes boring into him like icy daggers, but he didn’t turn to look. This was the safest place for her right now, whether she liked it or not.
Maria glanced back to Pete with a victorious smile that made his blood run cold. He knew Kat saw it, just as he knew he wouldn’t do a damn thing about it.
“I, on the other hand,” Maria said, “would like some time alone with you, Peter. We have some unfinished business, don’t you agree?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Maria watched Katherine Meyer stalk up the stairs. The dark-haired woman didn’t bother to look back, which was just fine with Maria. She was happy to finally have her out of the room.
Maria turned toward the sideboard again when they were alone. “Drink, Peter?”
He cut his gaze from the stairs with a scowl. “You can be a real bitch when you want, you know that?”
Maria laughed, poured a finger of bourbon and handed