Page 41 of The Twilight Theft

Emmett’s attention shifted, the golden bird statue forgotten. “Coming from Egypt, I assume?”

“No, actually. It’s—”

“From a collector in Monaco?” Scarlett skimmed the documentation. “Gold base... top carved from carnelian... hieroglyphs on its underside. Dated to the reign of Khufu?”

“I love Egyptian relics.” Emmett separated the papers, pulling them off the staple. “Not to mention how much I love Monaco. Where’s the technology tie-in with this one?”

I plucked a grape from the sideboard. “That link is more tenuous. Legend has it the piece was a gift from the pharaoh to his chief surveyor, who used it in his measuring rod.”

And I’d heard from a contact that Gideon pulled some strings when customs held it up in Dulles. Insufficient paperwork, apparently, but nothing a billionaire couldn’t fix.

Scarlett continued skimming details. “It’s only two inches long. And no additional security traveling with it?”

“That’s one of the questions I sent to Liana. She told me each piece would have a specially constructed display, but I assume it’ll be under glass. The mirror will be too big for that, but given its size, it may simply have a stanchion around it. By contrast, the huma bird is ten inches tall, but it weighs over fifty pounds since it’s made of pure gold.”

Scarlett straightened, focused on the scarab’s information. “Can you forward me the files?”

“You’re seeing something I’m not. What is it?” I’d hired them because they were good at what they did. They thought like thieves, covering the obvious angles and the ones most people missed.

She didn’t look up. “It’s the same size as the chip, isn’t it?”

Emmett hummed in assent. “Interesting coincidence.”

What did that mean? What kind of coincidence was it? “But the chip is going to be part of something much larger. Liana said over twenty-five pounds, but I suspect it’s going to be taller than the mirror. Possibly taller than any of us.”

“We’re doing a walk-through tomorrow as a full team,” she said. “Will Liana be there?”

“Do you want her there?”

Scarlett put the sheet down and picked up her water bottle, cracking the top and letting the fizz out. “What I want is Jayce’s opinion on this.”

“She’s not coming this afternoon, is she?” So much for my food display.

Scarlett blinked slowly and gave me the faintest smile. “If she doesn’t arrive before we’re done, she can swing by this evening. If you can work another meeting into your schedule?”

“I can. This case is my highest priority right now.” And if she’d be there in the evening, I had enough time to prepare something better than a charcuterie board.

Chapter 17

Jayce

AsImademyway down the hallway to Drew’s apartment Thursday evening, Scarlett’s words tumbled around my brain.‘Learn to work with him.’

I could totally work with Drew Donovan. Not a problem.

All I had to do was review the plans I’d discussed with the team and get his feedback. Simple goal.

So long as I could forget the way Emmett had looked at me when she’d proposed it. He didn’t think I could do it. He’d taken me aside and offered to come with me. And when I’d said I had it under control, he asked about my visit with Tanner.

I’d shared the highlights with Emmett, including Tanner’s success, how amazing his wife was, and we laughed about how foolish I’d been for putting the visit off for so many years.

What I hadn’t confessed was how I felt just as guilty as before.

But that was a thought for another day. As was Scarlett’s additional threat of taking me off the team if I wound up on the news again, as I had after climbing Mosaic.

The only thing going right for me was the surprise appearance of the Egyptian scarab in the files from Liana’s assistant. Since the scarab would be at the gala, my failure to clone Gideon’s phone was less of a screw-up. We were still missing a lot of detail—such as specifics on its owner and where they normally kept it—but we had a few days to track that down.

I stopped in front of Drew’s door, rolled my shoulders, and knocked.

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