For the first time, this trip suddenly seemed like it might be more fun. She settled back in her seat and gazed out the window. It took no time to get airborne, and Kathleen leaned deeper into her seat. She wasn’t great at sleeping on airplanes, but she was going to give it her best shot. Suddenly, the fuselage bucked as they hit a pocket of turbulence, which startled her out of her light doze. Her purse fell against her side. She righted it and then froze. She leaned over and looked more closely. The handle of her purse was now quite torn. How had that happened in such a short period of time? Damn.Now she’d have to buy a new one. There was always something.
Pulling it into her lap, she opened it wide and looked inside. Maybe she should move her wallet and passport to her pockets. She decided against it as her pockets were small, but she would carry it under her arm rather than over her shoulder. No need to put more stress on the handle. Decision made, she searched for the bottle of pain relievers, thinking maybe she would take one more, when her hand hit something hard.
She stared into the recesses of the bag. Then she pulled the thing out. It was a statue of some kind.Is that a…?It looked kind of like a garden gnome with a fat little belly and a weird hat.
“What the hell?” she murmured as she stared at the ugly thing. Was this some kind of joke? Did Jamie put this in her purse for a laugh? But this wasn’t her purse. So really, what the hell?
She shook her head. She had no clue what she was supposed to do with the little guy, so she tucked him back into her bag and stowed the purse at her feet. She glanced up and caught Yolanda’s eye. “I would love some lunch, if it’s possible.”
“Absolutely. I’ll bring you the menu.”
Kathleen leaned back in her seat and put her feet up on the seat across from her. If someone had told her she would be flying all over the world in private jets, she would have told them they were crazy, but here she was, and she was grateful to Jamie for it. Might as well enjoy the ride. With a slight smile on her lips, she closed her eyes.
CHAPTER TWO
“What do you mean she’s not in Paris?” His boss’s voice cut like a blade, low and dangerous. “You told me she was flying into Paris. You promised this would be easy.”
“I know what I said,” he growled, “but she changed the destination. They filed a new flight plan after she boarded the plane. How was I supposed to know?”
“Then where the hell is she?”
“She’s in Lake Lugano. Switzerland.”
“Switzerland?” Her tone sharpened. “When will you be there?”
There was some noise in the background, and the woman repeated what he’d just told her. Having two bosses was difficult. This whole fucking thing was a fucking nightmare.
“We’re already here.” The silence was icy. His employer for this job wasn’t pleased, and she was making that very clear.Join the club.
“Do you have any idea where she is? Lake Lugano is not a village.” The demand was sharp, impatient.
“Yes. We know where she is. We know where she’s staying.”
“Fine. Just get me that statue.”
“Already on it.”
He disconnected the call and exhaled slowly, tension bleeding out with the breath. This job had been a bad idea from the start. If his brother hadn’t fucked up, he would have turned down the job for sure. It was too close to home. The fucking Callahans.Jesus.He’d told his siblings that, but nobody listened. Sure, the money was good, but every part of this felt wrong. He had to admit it wasn’t like they really had a choice.
And now the one mark they’d chosen to move the statue had filed a new flight plan. That felt par for the course for this fucking job. Just like running into that other thief at the museum. Just one more complication stacked on top of a dozen others. Life was going to be tough if things kept going wrong until the job was done.
He adjusted the scarf around his neck, letting it block part of his chin. Fall in Europe, too hot for a scarf, but he liked the way the scarf made him look vaguely French. What he really needed was a hat. He’d trade the scarf for one at some point in the near future. But first, they had to find her.
His phone buzzed again. His brother this time.
“Have you located her?”
“Yes. She’s shopping.”
“What a surprise,” he muttered sarcastically.
“I’ll do the bump,” his brother said. “We’ll go from there.”
“All right. Be careful. Send me your details, and don’t do anything until I get there.”
“What do you mean? It’s simple.”
“No. Nothing about this job is simple, and none of it has gone right. Wait for me.”
