20
FIONA
“Have a seat,”Ronan said.
I sank onto a chair, wishing he had a sofa or armchair I could collapse into instead. I was mentally exhausted. The police had flung questions at me about the photograph of myself with Claudette Laurent and the fingerprint of mine they’d found within the Windy City Gallery. They wouldn’t say which room they’d found it in or when, so I couldn’t be sure if it was a print I’d left behind after our visit on Saturday or if Bergen had somehow planted one. I didn’t imagine that would be easy to do, but he was clever and creative. If anyone could pull it off, he could.
“Are you okay?” Kade asked, his expression sympathetic.
“I just want this to be over,” I replied.
“We’ll do our best to make that happen soon,” Ronan said.
Zeke pulled his chair closer to mine and draped his arm over my shoulders. I appreciated the comfort, although I didn’t love the raised eyebrows from my boss.
“King and I have been strategizing,” Kade said. “We think Zeke and I should be the ones to check out the commercial storefront that Cole visited yesterday. We’ll have a backup team positioned around the corner. I’ve already chosen a location. They can’t get too close or they might draw too much attention, but they should be close enough to assist if we run into trouble.”
“Wait.” I forced myself to straighten despite my weariness. “Haven’t you considered that if you go in without me, you run the same risk as on the yacht? If the painting is there, you won’t be able to tell if it’s the original or a forgery.”
Kade and Ronan exchanged glances.
“We can take a photograph,” Kade said. “We’re just scouting it out at this point. We’re not going to snatch it.”
“A photograph may not be enough for me to make a judgment call from.” I wasn’t trying to be difficult, but I doubted they planned to turn on any lights while they were in there, and a photo illuminated by a flashlight beam might not be very helpful. If they were using night vision goggles and no flashlight, the quality of a photograph could be even worse. “I need to see it in person.”
“I’ll go in with Fi,” Zeke said, his fingertips brushing my shoulder. “We’ll be in and out in a few minutes. Purely reconnaissance. Right, Fi?” He gave me a look that said agreeing with him was the only way I’d get anywhere near that painting.
“Right,” I said. “I won’t try anything. I don’t want to cause problems; I just want to be sure.”
Plus my stomach fizzed at the idea of setting my eyes on a Monet that I hadn’t seen before. They didn’t need to know that though.
Kade looked uncertain. He turned to Ronan. “What do you think?”
Ronan shrugged. “You’re the expert. I’ll support whatever you think is best.”
Kade’s dark eyes studied me. It felt as if he was trying to look into my soul. I bit my lip, nerves rolling through me. Eventually, he nodded.
“Okay,” he said. “But if you’re inside for longer than ten minutes, we’re coming in for retrieval. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Zeke replied.
I nodded. “Yes.”
That was more than fair. I was well aware I was pushing my luck by insisting on being part of the operation. I just couldn’t stand being sidelined and having to hope that nothing went wrong. This way, I could actively influence the outcome.
“As soon as we confirm whether or notDaisiesis being stored at the site, we’ll get the hell out of there,” Zeke said. “We’ll retreat to a safe distance and make a call to the police with an anonymous eyewitness account. Whether or not they believe it, they’ll have to follow up.”
Relief flowed through me at the thought that tonight I might be able to sleep in my own bed again, with no fear of being thrown in a holding cell. I had no desire to ever spend time in one of those again. I was too soft.
“It’s still a few hours until dark,” Ronan said. “Why don’t you sort out clothes and equipment, touch base with the backup team, and see if any of your people have found anything useful, Zeke?”
“Sounds good.” Zeke rose from the chair and offered me his hand. I took it, my cheeks flushing.
Ronan waved a hand between us. “Is this something we need to talk about?”
I snuck a look at Zeke, unsure what he thought. We’d agreed to try to work through our issues together, and I wanted to continue being able to kiss him and luxuriate inthe sensation of being held by him, but we hadn’t agreed to a label, so I couldn’t be sure what he had in mind.
“Fiona and I are seeing each other,” he said, sending me a soft smile that hit me right in the feels. I smiled back, a little giddy. “We’ll fill out whatever paperwork we need to make it above board with the company as soon as this is over.”
