Into Temptation

Great. This was a no-win situation if ever he’d seen one. Renouf was obsessed with expanding his private art collection, and Britain had every right to be pissed about its lost relics. Joshua was caught squarely between them—he even had the White Star burning a hole in his pocket to prove it. While not originally a British relic, the amulet had spent a good century in England.

“Answer a question,” he said. “If you think I can connect you to Renouf, why did you choose tonight to make contact?”

“I received a tip you were coming to town to conduct business here in Manhattan.”

He’d have loved to know where that tip had come from. “Business at the museum? Were you thinking entrapment?”

She shook her head, sending wisps of light-brown hair around her cheeks and neck. He could see the pulse beat low in her throat, the tempo steady. Whatever else might be happening, he wasn’t rattling Lindy, which meant she thought she had the upper hand.

“Why tonight?”

“All right.” She exhaled a tiny sigh that closed the distance between them. “I’ve been briefed on you, Joshua, and I have to admit I’m impressed. You’ve led me on a merry chase since I started following you.”

He couldn’t tell if she thought he’d known he was being tailed. He hadn’t, unfortunately.

“So what did I do to lead you on a merry chase?”

“Well, tracking you to the Piazza Hotel wasn’t any trouble, of course. But you spent your first day in town inside the hotel. I couldn’t get close to you while you were inside your room, but there was that lunch in the bar. You took a call on your cell phone. A secured line.”

She must have seen something in his expression because she waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t look so surprised. I happen to be very thorough.”

Damn straight. “How did you know I’d be here tonight?”

“You came out of your room today.”

He swallowed back a relieved breath. His first day in town had been spent arranging to have the White Star stolen from a police precinct property room, so Lindy had missed all the good stuff. Today he’d only arranged social events with acquaintances in an effort to legitimize his visit and provide cover for the White Star’s delivery.

“You followed me today.” Not a question. Let her think he was playing the game so she couldn’t confirm whether or not he’d known about his tail.

“Right to Lily Covington’s co-op. From there it was two plus two and all that. Since I know why you’re in town, I figured you were likeliest to take delivery during some busy social function. It seems to be your MO. I’m prepared to follow you wherever you go for however long it takes.”

Two things struck Joshua in that instant—that she claimed to know his business and that she thought he had an MO—something he’d worked hard not to establish.

“Take delivery? What do you think I’ve come to collect?”

“The White Star.”

He was too skilled to reveal his surprise, but with the amulet in discussion suddenly weighing heavily inside his pocket, Joshua felt the confines of this display—and this museum—as if the walls were closing in.

No matter how attracted he was to this woman, Joshua had zero reason to trust her.

Forcing a manner of calm he wasn’t close to feeling, he said, “Okay, Lindy. Obviously you think you have something, and you do—my attention. But I’m a businessman with connections to most of the people attending this event. Would you mind continuing this conversation elsewhere?”

“Not at all.”

He didn’t say another word while leading her from the gallery, without even bothering to pay his respects to Lily Covington. He’d send a gift tomorrow to make up for the slight, but right now he needed to clear his head and collect his thoughts to deal with the problem at hand.

The lovely lady strolling along by his side.

She was obviously very confident in her ability to defend herself because she left the museum and took to the streets with that pulse still keeping even time in her throat.

Of course, if MI6 had a file on him then she had backup—if anything happened to her, he would be the likeliest suspect.

Amazing how he could feel so hemmed in on all sides in such a huge city. Ironically, tonight was one of those classic New York nights from the movies. Lights from a million windows sparkled beneath a low-hung moon that cast the city in a star-drenched sheen.

Joshua remembered his first visit to New York—the clichéd kid from the sticks who’d been overwhelmed and impressed by everything. He could still recollect that first trip down Fifth Avenue…and the definitive moment when he’d decided to turn his life around. Ironic that he’d be back in the same city where he’d made that life-altering decision.

So how much of his career had MI6 documented?

Joshua had worked with many powerful men, but he’d allied himself exclusively to Renouf over the past few years for one simple reason—Henri had proven himself the most disciplined.

Joshua admired the man’s skill as a strategist and appreciated his caution. Those qualities had earned his respect, and in a career where risk was the name of the game, Henri’s qualities had lessened those risks dramatically.

Until now, at least.

Joshua had honestly never expected to hear Henri’s name pop out of Lindy Gardner’s pretty mouth. Not that he would let her see his surprise. She already had enough of an advantage without him helping her out.

“Tell me about the White Star,” he asked as they passed under a street lamp.

“I was hoping you’d tell me.”

“To do that I’d have to know something about it.”

“Back to complicity again?”

“So it would seem.”

“Do you deny knowing Henri Renouf?”

“I’m a businessman, Lindy. So is Henri. We’ve done business from time to time. No mystery there. Don’t tell me you didn’t know that already.”

She shrugged, keeping her secrets as close as he kept his. The light of a streetlamp bathed her in a golden glow, another glimpse of this woman he suspected wore many guises, the woman who had changed his life.

No matter how this situation played out, Lindy had changed everything with her investigation. An international tail, even a gorgeous one, was the kiss of death to a man in his position.

Checking his pace, Joshua switched direction. The Star-bucks on the corner was still serving coffee at this hour, but he found himself lured by the night quiet and the sight of the stars glimmering overhead.

Leading Lindy to a nearby bus stop, he motioned to a bench and waited until she sat before settling beside her. He hooked his hands on his knees and stared into the street.

“Why did they assign you this case?” he asked.

“Because I’m good.”

That much he knew already. Lindy sure as hell shouldn’t have known where to find him tonight. Not when he hadn’t even known where he’d take delivery until after visiting Lily Covington this afternoon.

Lindy shouldn’t have known he’d be in New York.

As frequently happened in his business with Henri, the situation with the White Star had arisen unexpectedly. A call on a secure line had signaled Joshua that an acquisition had gone bad in the States, which had come as a surprise.