Page 75 of Take Me Darkly

“A journalist telephoned my house in Paris,” Madeleine explained, taking a slow sip of wine. “He had matched the custom gown you wore at the Met Gala back to my atelier. He was hunting for information regarding Monsieur Romano, which made me realize that if anyone had the power to pull you out of Italy undetected, it was him. It was a wild gamble, but I was desperate.”

I glanced over at Anton. He had not moved in the armchair, but his eyes were on Madeleine, assessing her carefully.

“Which journalist?” I asked.

“Mac Owens.”

She detailed the voicemail Owens had left, and how she and Caterina had pooled their resources to fly directly to New York to confront Anton at his corporate headquarters.

“I’m an enigma to most journalists because I have a habit of not granting interviews,” Anton told them. “Mac has spent the better part of a year sniffing around me for a story. His interest is not flattering. It’s also not new.”

“How does his interest in you put Serena in danger?” Caterina asked.

“Because we think the people who set that fire and put a bullet in her shoulder are actively searching for her. If a man like Mac Owens finds the place she is currently living, he will publish the location.”

I looked between my friends. They didn’t look convinced.

“I have to stay hidden for now,” I added, trying to be as convincing as possible. “This is bigger than me.”

Anton shot me a warning look. He didn’t need to panic. I wasn’t about to say more. My only goal was to convince Madeleine and Caterina that I was truly safe. If they thought I was being held against my will, they’d put up a fight. That would inevitably tie them to me and potentially put them in danger. I was happy to see them, but the sooner they left New York, the better.

“I’m safe here. But Madeleine. Cat.” I looked meaningfully at each of them. “You must understand something. I am alive and sitting in this room because Anton saved my life. I am alive because he brought me here. You put yourself at risk if you tell anyone you’ve seen me. If people ask, tell them you came to New York for shopping and sightseeing. That’s the story.”

“I don’t like this, Rena…” Cat trailed off. She looked deeply uneasy, but Madeleine’s eyes narrowed in deep contemplation.

“So,” Madeleine said slowly, “you are asking us to lie.”

“I’m asking you to trust me. So, yes. I need you to lie.”

Madeleine pressed her lips tightly together, seeming to contemplate something before she finally spoke. “Ma chérie. You’re in luck. I have been lying elegantly since 1979.”

The corner of Anton’s mouth twitched into a rare, genuine smirk.

He lifted his hand in a small, dry salute. “Thank you. I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Madame Toussaint.”

Even Caterina couldn’t hold her stoic facade, a reluctant smile breaking across her face as the suffocating tension in the room finally broke.

I looked at Anton, thinking once again about the risk he took to bring these two women to me—to put his biggest secret on the line. The bedroom dresser and the cedar box holding the Brutus Denarius coins was twenty feet away from where I was sitting. I’d been waiting for the right moment to give one to Anton, and now I’d found it.

The decision to part with one of the coins settled in me with quiet finality as I lifted my glass of wine to my lips. I caught Anton watching me with the careful, contained expression that meant he had registered a change in my eyes without yet understanding what had caused it. He would find out tonight.

“So, you plan to stay here then, Serena?” Madeleine asked.

Tearing my gaze from Anton, I looked at her and nodded. “For now, yes.”

“Fascinating,” Madeleine mused, her sharp gaze sliding toward Anton. “Monsieur Romano, may I ask a question?”

“Of course.”

“How long have you owned the establishment downstairs?”

Anton went very still. “I beg your pardon?”

“The establishment downstairs,” Madeleine repeated with smooth, unbothered poise. “The one with the wrought-iron gate and the man who was unmistakably keeping guard. This beautiful building tries to disguise itself as a historic church, but I’m not blind.”

Anton looked at me. I looked at Anton. Caterina just looked confused.

A flush crept into my cheeks, but I had to ask just to be sure. “What are you trying to say, Madeleine?”