Page 62 of Red Line

Grey’s read was a shrug and a twitch of the head with raised eyebrows.

“You brought the paperwork from Dr. Klein?” Joel asked.

“Of course.”

“I will accept that now.”

“No,” Elena said.

“What, no?” Joel stopped dancing and took a step away from her.

Elena had put him back on his heel. He thought he was in control, and yet there she was exerting her power.

Yeah, Elena was a dangerous, murderous woman, but still, in this situation where everyone would be inconvenienced for the amusement of a bajillionaire,you go, girl!

“No,” Elena repeated smoothly. “The paperwork is part of the sale. With no money for me, there is nothing tangible for you.”

“But I can see it?”

“No, you would simply take it from me.” She gestured down the length of her dress. “I came here to waltz, not fight. Besides, I’ve sent you images of the documentation so that the signature can be verified in advance. Obviously, you know that the paperwork is in order, or you would not be here talking to me now.”

For whatever reason, silence had fallen between Elena and Joel.

“I’m not going to be able to switch the rings,” Red whispered.

“I figured,” Grey said. “I saw her hands. I think it’s on the right ring finger.”

“I thought the same. It’s not coming off,” Red said.

“I have a flight for you,” Joel took Elena back in his arms and picked up his simple box step, “for tomorrow morning. You will fly from Vienna to Amsterdam, then to Casablanca, and from there to Marrakesh.”

“Why such a round about route?” Her voice was suddenly suspicious.

“There were no direct flights available from Vienna to Morocco. But it’s all first class. And you’ll have comfortable accommodations in the Medina for tomorrow night. I’m sending you the information now.”

“That will have to do.” She sighed.

They continued their boxed step, though they dropped their hands to pull out their phones.

“If I must. I must.”

Red opened the tracking app and waited for a moment, then watched as the airline and hotel information dropped into an encrypted messaging app bypassed by the CIA spyware.

Grey leaned over the top, reading it upside down. “Send that to Langley, have them get you on those planes in any way they need to. You are going to befriend Elena. We need to figure out a cover story to make that happen. Something beyond, ‘Oh! What a coincidence. Are you going to Marrakech, too?’”

Red lifted her brows. She had nothing. “Any ideas?”

Both stopped talking as the conversation began again between Elena and Joel. “When you go to the gardens for the exchange, please be dressed beautifully. Kamal wants to receive the ring and be able to tell the story at his wedding party. The story is as important to him as—well, maybe notasimportant as the ring itself—but the story from the 1920s over the century, through love, pain, loss … Yes, Kamal enjoys a good plot arc in his stories. And this is how he wants things to play out. There will be a videographer.”

“No,” Elena said, quiet but firm.

“What, no?” Joel’s brow crisscrossed with lines.

“Hire an actress to reenact the scene. I will not be participating in a video. That would make me a mark for anyone who wants to try to steal my money. I worked hard for it. I need it to pay my team. And I amnotgoing to pay for security for the rest of my life.”

“No?” Joel dipped her low. From that vulnerable position, he looked down into her face when he asked, “And what do you plan to do with this new wealth?”

Elena waited until she was lifted upright once more, then laughed lightly. “I will luxuriate in beauty.”

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