Page 36 of The Eagle's Vault

Silence reigned for a beat. The team was no doubt on mute, letting this conversation play out while Brie and Will tried to patch into whatever separate feed Edoardo had running.

“Sì,” said Edoardo, barely more than a whisper, more a sob. “They took her and said this was the price. Get you into the vault and get the notebook.”

This was about more than a breach of contract, more than a setup. It was about the love of his life.

And whoever was behind it had Scarlett in their cross-hairs.

An icy dread crept into my veins. What the hell had we gotten ourselves into?

“Damn it, Edoardo, we’re ReynoldsRecoveries!” I practically yelled, unable to control myself. “We don’t just recover things, we recover people, too. You know that! You should have told us the truth.”

Silence. A deafening, uncomfortable quiet. Then, “What would you do, Declan? If it was your woman, and they threatened her life?”

I thought back to London, to Venice. How we’d moved heaven and earth to get Emmett back. We didn’t turn to the authorities. Instead, we did what we had to, to avoid losing him. We acted on instinct, on loyalty. I couldn’t afford to show that hand. Not now.

Scarlett hissed, “Tell him we aren’t thieves.”

Leigh was beside me in an instant, her wide, panicked eyes reflected in our work lights’ harsh brilliance. I wanted to take her in my arms, tell her everything would be okay.

No time for sentiment, Dec. You’re a professional.I’d chosen her for this job, and I needed to get control. And so did she.

I pressed the mute button on my phone and leaned closer. I held my whisper steady and tried to smile. Tried very hard not to spook her. “Listen to me. I need you to make a client key for box 5639. Fast.”

Her mouth opened and closed, no words coming out.

“Leigh. Fast.”

“But we pre-cut the wardings for Edoardo’s box. We’ve got the master, but our backup won’t work on this other box, no matter how fast I file it.”

“Then you’ll have to pick it.”

“The warding is the same.” Edoardo’s voice grew progressively shakier with each word. “I had mine replaced to match.”

My heart gave a lurch. He could hear us—of course he could, we were on camera. And he’d planned everything well in advance, hadn’t he? I cupped Leigh’s cheek through the face mask, her slight tremor under my fingertips doing nothing to calm my worry. “It matches, Leigh. You can do this. You’re the best in the business, remember?”

My words were clear, precise, my tone meant to instill confidence, not fear. I was trying to channel my inner Scarlett, which seemed to work.

Leigh took my place in front of the filing box and started on the key, the determined set of her shoulders a small comfort in the unfolding chaos.

My mind raced, thoughts flitting between what was happening now and the worry of not having any backup keys. She could pick the new box, but the batteries on our suits would run out soon, and it must have been close to freezing in the vault.

Each tick of the clock, each stroke of the file against the key blank, all fed into the silent, gnawing dread growing inside me. This was a risk, a gamble. But I had no choice. Someone was after Scarlett.

Edoardo’s repeated apology came through the phone, but I didn’t respond. I wasn’t about to ease his conscience.

I scanned the vault, landing on the telltale glint of a hidden camera. I walked straight up to it, unmuted my phone, and spoke directly into the lens. “Who owns box 5639, Edoardo?”

“I can’t… can’t tell you.” Edoardo’s response was a feeble, panicked stutter. His inability to answer only fueled my determination.

“Jayce,” I said, my gaze still fixed on the camera. “I need you to find out who owns box 5639.”

“On it,” came her response, brisk and efficient. “Brie, let’s go offline so we don’t mess with Leigh’s concentration.”

“Got it,” said Brie. “Muting us from Dec and Leigh’s feed.”

Edoardo’s pleas turned desperate, his voice cracking over the line. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Five minutes,” said Will, calm and professional, despite the problem his words represented. “That’s all the suit power we’ve got left.”

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