“The list you both were looking for.” She made a vague movement with her arms, which was awkward since she was hanging over his shoulder. “You know, the one the agent called Hofer got shot for.”
He stilled. She could not possibly know about it.
She could not possibly know about the list. About Hofer.
He swerved on his heel and strode towards the next best door. The men inside jumped up.
“Out,” he barked.
They hurriedly left the room.
He set her down carefully.
Schneider closed the door.
“And now, Evie, tell me how in hell’s name you know about the list,” he grated out.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Evie rubbedthe back of her neck. Hanging like that over Hartenberg’s shoulder—and who would have known he was so strong?—had given her a cramp in her neck from the attempt to look up at him.
He’d set her down carefully in a small conference room. Schneider had followed and closed the door behind them. The two men were exchanging glances.
“Well?”
Evie felt a sudden urge to drink that bottle of red wine they’d left in the other room. She heaved a sigh and sat in a chair.
“Before I say anything at all, I want to make clear that I had already decided to tell you about it right after you’d caught me breaking into your study.”
Schneider made a choking sound. Hartenberg lifted his hand to silence him.
“Except somehow there was never any time, and you were never at home, and when we did meet in public, you were always in this thunderous mood. In a cold kind of way. Like an iceberg. No, worse.” She pulled a face. “It isnot at all trust-inspiring, you know. I know it made you see me in the worst possible light, but you must believe me when I tell you that you jumped to the wrong conclusion when you caught me in your study. But there is something you should know about me. When I care about someone, I do so with every fibre in my body. Without condition.”
Schneider coughed again. “Maybe I should leave,” he mumbled.
“Stay.” Hartenberg’s glance never left her face.
She threw him a withering glare. “I am talking about my brother Julius, of course.”
“Of course,” he murmured.
“I would do anything for him.”
Hartenberg did not reply.
“Even espionage,” she finished softly. “If that is what it takes to protect him.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “So the Widows attempted to blackmail you?”
She threw him a surprised look. “You are certainly quick on the uptake.”
“That’s why he is a field marshal, my lady.” Schneider pulled up a chair for both himself and Hartenberg, and he straddled it, his face alight with interest. “He is always two moves ahead.”
Hartenberg tapped a finger on the table, deep in thought. “The Widows are looking for the list. They believe that I am in possession of it. So they approached you. You are to obtain it for them. If not, they will do something to Julius. My guess is that they would frame him as a traitor.”
“Brilliant deduction, sir. Absolutely brilliant.” Schneider’s eyes glistened with hero worship.
Evie leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. “Whyare we having this conversation if you know the entire story already?”
