Page 11 of To Catch a Sub

Landon and Colette spoke at the same time. Landon looked stony.

“I’m sure whomever did rob the museum,” Colette said, “hypothetically speaking?—”

“Hypothetically, of course,” Landon mocked.

“—did it to make the entirely valid point that the British Museum’s main argument about why they should keep all the art and antiquities they stole—that the items were safer with them than in their home countries—is a lie. The museum doesn’t have a complete catalogue of all items, and their security is laughable.”

“That doesn’t justify stealing eight hundred items and then listing them for sale on an online auction site,” Landon countered, his voice hard. “You included ‘from the British Museum’s storage room’ in the item descriptions.”

Colette smirked. She’d rather liked that touch. “That must have made it nice and easy for the museum, and possibly the handsome lead detective, to track down all the relevant auctions.” She fluttered her lashes at him.

Landon thumped his head against the back of his chair in frustration, surprising a real laugh out of her. The amusement was followed by relief. This was the man she’d met years ago, back in the Duveen Gallery. Not that she didn’t like the dangerous, more aggressive version, but for a moment she’d worried the man she’d known was entirely gone…and that she might have been responsible for that.

Landon looked at her, an odd expression on his face as her laughter faded.

Colette felt inexplicably vulnerable under his gaze. She pulled her hands into her lap, fingers twisting.

“Landon, what evidence do you have that she’s the thief?” Anu asked.

“For which incident? The museum or this diamond?”

“Either.”

There was a long pause. Colette didn’t bother to hide her smile

“Nothing actionable.” He spoke through his teeth.

Hehe.

“Nothing?” Anu asked.

“I know she robbed the museum, based on our…interactions.”

Colette took a slow breath, her skin hot and prickly at the memory of those interactions.

“She told you she did it, but there was nothing actionable?” Anu demanded incredulously.

“She never explicitly said…” He made a frustrated noise. “I know she did it.”

Colette began quietly working the cuffs. To an outsider, it should look like she was nervously twisting her hands together in her lap.

“Barry, are there any active warrants for Colette Beaumont?” Anu asked.

Barry tapped his tablet screen. “No. Her name comes up in a few files, but they’re requests for her to contact various lead investigators. No warrants.”

“I wonder…” Colette leaned forward, elbows on her knees, chin propped on her fists. “How long did it take the British Museum to realize anything was missing?”

Landon opened his mouth to answer, but his gaze dropped to her wrists.

Her cuff-less wrists.

He looked to the table, where she’d stacked the cuffs neatly atop one another after silently removing the one he’d locked on her.

Landon snatched up the cuffs and grabbed Colette’s forearm, jerking her towards him. Colette gasped as her butt slid to the edge of her chair, her knees now jammed between his thighs. Landon leaned in, their faces only a foot apart. His eyes were warm, dark, and dangerous. She dropped her attention to his lips.

“Agent Malik.”

Anu’s voice snapped like a whip, and Landon froze, quickly releasing her arm. Colette hadn’t exactly forgotten other people were there, but had stopped paying attention to them. A stupid mistake.