“I think she is bluffing us,” he muttered to Rowan. “She is not the person we are looking for. Let’s not waste our time.”
Simon’s words were half-earnest, but they were also bait. He wanted to see how she would react.
“Oh, I am exactly the person you are looking for,” the reply was immediate, and Simon sensed a hint of desperation there. That was all the confirmation he needed that she wanted them to find her as much as they did. “I am just surprised it took you so long.”
Simon didn’t lower his weapon, his eyes fixed on the woman’s back. Slowly, she began to turn.
“Grace Langston,” Rowan exclaimed. Simon had not heard the name before, but the face seemed far too familiar.
“You seem surprised,” she mused before glancing over at Simon. “After all these years of searching, were you expecting someone else?”
“I was expecting you to run the moment you saw me,” Simon replied. His mind was running in all directions now.Where had he seen her before?“Which, if you were wise, you should be doing now as well.”
“Oh, my bones ache now. I would not dare to do such a thing,” she smirked. “Besides, I was hoping that we might get a chance to speak.”
“You already know why I am here, then,” Simon said in a sharp voice.
“Naturally,” Grace replied, taking a step toward him.
Rowan shifted beside Simon, his own hand hovering near his holster. “That’s close enough.”
“Careful, gentlemen. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you look nervous,” Grace continued. Whatever mind games she was trying to play with him would not work.
She smiled as she waited for him to reply. It felt familiar, and suddenly, Simon remembered where he had seen her before.
The ball.
He had discarded the memory before, seeing it as unimportant, but now, it was clear to him that she was somebody who had closer links to him than he thought.
He had first seen her when he had gone looking for Rachel at the ball. She had been speaking to Christopher Montrose. She had been watching him then the same way she was watching him now.
“How do you know Christopher Montrose?” Simon demanded at once.
“Ah, finally,” she mused, tapping a finger against her lips. “At least you remember something.”
“Answer me.”
“Now, now, Your Grace,” she chided. “You’ve spent all this time looking for me, and the first thing you ask about is another man? I must say, I’m disappointed.”
Simon had no patience for her games. “You met with him. What did you want from him?”
“Oh, Simon.” She said his name so frankly, as if they had known each other for years. “What makes you so certain it wasmewho wanted something fromhim? Do you really underestimate me so?”
Simon’s mind shifted to Rachel immediately, and alarm bells began to sound.
“Why is the Montrose family involved in this?” he asked.
“Oh, stop this,” Grace dismissed him. “Christopher does not have a role in this. I speak to many men at many balls.”
“You have no credibility,” Simon replied. “And I have no real reason to believe you, either. I would suggest that you keep that in mind.”
“Please,” she waved her hand dismissively. “I have better things to do than lie to you.”
Simon didn’t believe that for a second. His instincts were screaming at him that Montrose was connected to this. That this went deeper than he had initially thought. But before he could press further, Grace started to speak again.
“Your Grace,” she murmured, watching him carefully, “you are chasing all the wrong leads. Do you truly not remember? We have met before.”
“When?” Simon snapped.
