Page 11 of The Eagle's Vault

“Boss?” Isaac asked. “Scarlett? The one you said needs to approve the penetration test?”

“No.” Edoardo grimaced, pushing the glass away. “Her mother, Evelyn. We go quite far back. After Evelyn started her company, I’ve done business with them a great deal.”

“Business?” Another word that sounded vaguer than it should have.

“Recoveries.” The same look crossed Declan’s face as when Edoardo brought up the test of his safe deposit box company. Evasive? “Tracking down looted antiquities, recovering stolen art, finding a person or two.”

“Speaking of finding people…” Jayce used her fork to pull Declan’s panna cotta closer to her. “How’d you know we were in Venice?”

“I know many people.” Edoardo gave a rueful laugh. “You can’t work in security for this long and not hear rumors.”

Rumors? Like Declan had heard rumors about my new design for the paracentric T-4. “I work in security and don’t hear rumors like that.”

“I do.” Isaac’s words hit me out of nowhere. What was he talking about?

The air grew thick around the table, as though there were secrets absorbing all the oxygen. It was quiet for a beat, and I returned to sipping the wine, everyone else doing much the same.

Declan asked, “Where is Martina, by the way? Evelyn asked me to say hello.”

“In Florence with her sister.” Edoardo leaned forward and gripped Declan’s hand. “The break-in scared her and she left right away. I can’t thank you enough for coming so quickly. With your assurances, I’m sure she’ll come home soon.”

“We’re friends, Ed.” Declan laid a hand over Edoardo’s. The men were at least thirty years apart in age, but his words felt genuine. “Don’t mention it.”

“And you’ll do the penetration test?”

Declan pulled his hands back and grabbed his beer. “I told you. Let me see it first.”

Chapter 5

Declan

Edoardousheredusthroughthe thick glass doors of Cassaforte Caetani the next morning. Like much of the old city, it was attached to other buildings, all the same ochre stucco as his villa. We followed, leaving the view of the Tiber and the treed street outside. “We have a ballistic security facade, including the outer windows and doors.”

Soft furnishings and expensive art decorated the lobby. A veneer of comfort draped over the small room, despite its fortress-like purpose. He patted the reception desk and smiled at the women sitting behind thick glass partitions. “Also ballistic grade, with reinforced panels below and emergency buzzers at the ready. We take pride in our security measures.”

A guard, stiff and eagle-eyed, watched our every move from a corner.

Edoardo seemed stronger today, full of the confidence he normally exuded. Last night’s melancholy had likely been a combination of the wine and his wife’s absence.

Isaac wedged himself between Jayce and me, all smiles and superficial questions. “Declan, I’ve been looking up Reynolds Recoveries, but can’t seem to find much detail online. Your website is pretty, but vague. What exactly do you—”

“Isaac.” My voice sounded sharper than I intended, even to my own ears. “Let’s focus here.”

A polite nod and a curt smile. Isaac was professional, but his eyes held a challenge. Was it for Cassaforte or for me? Was he going to be a problem on this job? He’d been sucking up to me from the moment we met. It wouldn’t have been an issue if he weren’t occasionally putting Leigh down in order to do it.

That part pissed me off enough it came out in my words.

I needed Scarlett here. She could read anyone. She could have talked to Isaac for two minutes and told me his life story.

My gaze shifted to Leigh. She was easier to read. Her eyes lingered on the expansive windows, her mind no doubt stuck on the vibrant city. I’d noticed it outside, how she quietly spoke to Isaac about when his meetings started, when they ended, and how much time that gave them to explore.

“Leigh,” I said, too loud in the peaceful room, “you okay?”

She was here, but not here. Like a rare masterpiece trapped inside a safe, waiting to be discovered. She was more interesting than Cassaforte Caetani. She was the real safe I wanted to crack. “All good.”

Was she, though?

Jayce, all muscle and coiled energy, was in her element. Her eyes flickered over every detail, internalizing a laundry list of ways to get into the building. No need to take notes. She’d be able to play out at least five options by the time we left. “The lobby’s pretty, Ed.”

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