“Ah, yes. The Cidade da Lua,” Pierre said. “One thing I’ve learned in all my years in this business is to never trust anyone and to always, and I mean always, have a plan B. I always plan for contingencies. Fortunately for me, I had a team waiting for me in Caracaraí who’d come to find me after I’d escaped.”
“You mean, after you scurried away like a rat,” Theo said, pointedly.
Pierre rolled his eyes. “What did you expect me to do? Let those glorified Amazonian equivalents of grail protectors lock me in jail? I don’t think so, Dr. Galanis,” he said, wagging his finger and shaking his head. “I’m not finished with my world travels. Besides, this is much better than a Brazilian prison cell, don’t you think?” he said, holding his hands up and displaying his surroundings.
Dani scanned the luxurious estate that looked straight out ofa Restoration Hardware Modern catalog. Yeah…she may not have known anything about jail, but this place wasdefinitelybetter.
Pierre looked up toward the house and smiled as Maurice approached.
“Ah, Maurice. Thank you,” he said reaching his arms up to take the bottle as Maurice set down three champagne flutes on the concrete coffee table.
Pierre popped the cork and filled their glasses moments before Louis returned with a tray of olives, dried fruits, cheeses, meats, and bread. Dani’s mouth watered. Their kidnapping had put a damper on her lunch plans.
“Eat. It’s not poisoned, I promise,” Pierre said, motioning toward her.
“You first,” Dani said.
Pierre’s lips turned into a devilish grin, as if she amused him. He leaned forward, taking a few grapes and a handful of nuts, before popping them in his mouth and raising his eyebrow. “See, madame? Now please. Eat.” He gestured toward the food again.
Good enough for me.She was never one to pass up good food.
Dani scooted forward and knelt at the coffee table, then dug in. Her first bite—pita dipped in some sort of eggplant mixture—made her groan with pleasure. She closed her eyes, savoring the flavors dancing along her taste buds.My God, the food here…
Dani opened her eyes to Theo and Pierre watching her, and she swallowed. “Did I say that out loud?” she mumbled, holding her hand over her mouth as she ran her tongue along her teeth to catch any bits stuck in between them.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Pierre said with a suaveness that shouldn’t have been so charming for someonewho had taken them as prisoner. “I agree—the food here is unmatched.”
Dani glanced at an expressionless Theo—what was he thinking?—before returning to the snacks.
“Well, now that we got who I am out of the way,” Pierre started again, “I must tell you how excited I am to finally meet you. I’ve been following your career for quite some time.”
“Me? Really?” Dani said, looking up and pointing her finger at her chest. “How do you know who I am?”
“Pretty sure he’s talking about me, Juicy,” Theo interrupted.
Dani snapped her mouth shut.Oh. Heat rose from her stomach, up through her chest and neck, and eventually stopped at her cheeks. Of course he wouldn’t know some random public librarian from Michigan. Though she wasn’t sure why she was embarrassed by what this crook thought of her.
Or maybe it was Theo calling her “Juicy”—again—that got her all hot and bothered.
The day that had been the impetus for the nickname flashed in her head, as it did almost every time he said it, and she had to look away from him.
“I’m sorry, madame, but he is correct,” Pierre said to her.
“So why have you been following me?” Theo said.
“Your studies of the Minoan civilization. It’s quite fascinating.”
“Lots of people study the Minoan civilization.”
“Ah, yes, but few have written about the myth of the Minotaur with such depth.”
Dani cocked her head to the side. Who hadn’t heard of the Minotaur? She knew the mythical creature existed in all kinds of modern literature. It didn’t seem all that unusual.
“You can cut to the chase, Pierre. I already know why I’m here. You want me to find the Minotaur.”
Pierre wrinkled his brow and then looked over at Maurice and Louis standing behind him like statues. “Is that what you told him?”
Maurice and Louis looked at each other, obviously confused. “That’s what you said. ‘Find the Minotaur’?” Louis said like it was a question.
