Page 39 of The Scarab's Game

“After she checked out. It had to be for her. Fenix must be targeting her.”

“It could still be a coincidence.” Drew broke open a roll from the table and placed it on his bread plate. “It’s possible you were mistaken about who you heard at the gallery.”

“Not a chance.” I would have recognized Enzo’s voice anywhere. It was the same voice I heard in my nightmares every night, and the only one that would have caused me to cower like an abused dog. If Jenn weren’t in the mix, I would have launched myself out of the restroom at Enzo and… and what? I could barely stand while he was on the other side of a solid wall.

First, the taunt, then the fist.‘You’d better hope your sister finishes the job quickly.’

It was four months ago. Let it go, Em.

Pathetic.

“Put a tracker on her,” Jayce said around a mouthful of food. She was on her third roll and had eaten half of Drew’s calamari, in addition to her own appetizer. “Worked for us.”

Drew grinned at her across the table, and she winked at him. “Not a bad idea. You packed a few, didn’t you?”

Jayce nodded. “Toss one in her purse, another in her pocket, just in case.”

Dante and Jenn’s food and a fresh bottle of wine arrived. What was his end goal? Obviously, he wanted to sleep with her, and she looked like she was about to go along with his stupid plan. She wasn’t the cheating type, though. She was pure and honest. She was loyal.

‘What do you know about loyalty?’Mr. Thatcher’s words swirled around my brain again. How would he feel if he knew an antiquities thief was wooing his daughter? A man hip-deep in an organization that kidnapped and extorted to get what they wanted?

My own words began swirling.‘Why did he do it, Mum?’

My mother had never answered the question. Never made excuses. And she’d never turned her back on my father.

What didIknow about loyalty?

A lot more than most people.

“Em?” Rav nudged me again.

“What?” I snapped. Clearly, the conversation had carried on without me.

“Do we need to switch seats?”

Probably. “No.”

“Can we discuss this auction?” Drew patted his lips with his napkin. The former spy was good at keeping us on point. Nothing too personal—except for his constant subtle flirtation with Jayce—and he always focused on the matter at hand.

With Scarlett at home, keeping the team on task was supposed to be my job. Rav could usually be relied on to remindme, but he was more concerned about me than the job. He’d suggested we cancel the entire thing the moment I confirmed Fenix was in town.

Their presence wasn’t a surprise. But it had hit me a lot harder than I’d expected.

Drew continued, “The conversation you overheard indicated the scarab will be up for sale?”

I picked up my fork and moved my salad around. Anything to stop myself from looking at Jenn and her Fenix boy toy. “They’re moving it tonight. Since you didn’t find any evidence of it at Massimo’s, we’ll assume it’s at the gallery. If Jayce can find it before their truck arrives, we can be in Cairo by the morning.”

“Which leaves Jenn alone,” said Rav.

“Good point. Staying in town would be a risk, but our best course of action would be to fly Jenn out with us.” Our private jet was in Nice, a forty-minute drive away—alternatively, a seven-minute helicopter ride. Everything would be easier if I told her the truth, but her reaction would introduce too many variables into our plan. “Plan A, we get it tonight and lie low afterward. As soon as she’s done with the painting, we leave.”

“Plan B, the auction?” asked Drew.

I nodded.

Rav said, “Brie’s team didn’t find any indication of a legal auction this weekend.”

“Which means…” I speared a radish, not planning on eating it, then placed the fork on the side of the plate. “It’s probably going to be at the Casino Rocher.”