Charade

Charade
Kate Donovan

Mills & Boon Silhouette
A deadly masquerade.As an undercover asset for the FBI, Sasha Bracciali can deceive with finesse and improvise at a moment's notice. And she'll gladly practice any deception if it means saving a kidnapped Athena student. So Sasha takes on the roles of Mafia princess, seductress and co-conspirator at the fortress of an Eastern European despot. Cut off from everything and everyone she knows–including the FBI handler with whom she's been having an affair–Sasha unmasks a painful truth: She has no idea who to trust. But she must figure it out quickly, or her most ambitious charade will also be her last.

From: Delphi@oracle.org

To: C_Evans@athena.edu

To: Re: fashion designer, Sasha Bracciali

Christine,

That Teal Arnett is in the custody of Kestonia’s new dictator is devastating news. Of course I am willing to help you! Athena Academy, and all that it stands for, means so much to me. For your next rescue mission, I’ve brought in reinforcements. I’ve contacted Allison Gracelyn.

It seems the Kestonian is hosting a gala for the international who’s who, including Mafia contacts from the U.S. Thanks to his mob dealings, Sasha Bracciali’s father may be able to get her in. No worries about her ability to go undercover. Yes, she’s a fashion designer, but she moonlights as an FBI asset. And she’s an Athena alumna. That says it all.

This time, Teal is ours.

D.

Dear Reader,

I recently took my first trip to Europe, mostly to research a time-travel story that takes place in Renaissance Italy, but we also spent five days in Rome as background for future books and because it has always fascinated me. I’ll never forget my first glimpse of the Coliseum. Wow! I still get shivers. It was truly the high point of an amazing two weeks.

And so, when Silhouette Books asked me to write about an Italian-American heroine, my initial response was, Can she go to the Coliseum? Luckily, the answer was yes.

I hope you enjoy the visit as much as Sasha and I did.

Ciao!

Kate

Charade

Kate Donovan

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

KATE DONOVAN

has been dreaming up romantic adventure stories since childhood. Charade is the seventeenth of those to find its way into print, ranging from spy stories to time travel. In her real-life adventures, she’s a wife, a mom, an attorney and a winner of a Romantic Times BOOK reviews Achievement Award for Series Romantic Adventure.

This book is dedicated to the city of Rome

for being such an amazing inspiration

and for helping me get into Sasha B’s point of view.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Chapter 1

Champagne in hand, Sasha Bracciali wandered through a late-afternoon crowd of wedding guests, enjoying the rays of simulated sunshine pouring down from the skylight in the domed ceiling of the Martino family’s ballroom. This magnificent venue had been inspired by the ancient Pantheon, complete with marble floor and ornate columns. And like its predecessor, the room’s circular walls were studded with alcoves that housed huge statues of Roman deities and Italian saints.

Sasha had played here often as a child, especially during wintertime, when don Antonio Martino had allowed his children and their guests to skate and ride bicycles and to in-line skate here, warm and secure, no matter how fiercely the Chicago blizzards raged outdoors. The place still gave her a sense of complete security, even though she now knew all about the dirty business that supported it.

She also knew what don Martino would do to her if he found out she was working as a confidential informant for the feds, so she was careful, as she moved among the beautifully dressed revelers, not to appear too detached or too observant.

Just let the bra-cam do all the work, she reminded herself, strolling over to the wedding cake so that the tiny lens embedded in the lacy bodice of her navy-blue waltz gown could get a clear shot of some nearby musclemen. Clad in black suits, these thugs weren’t making any pretense of enjoying themselves. For them, this was business: protecting the bride, the family and the expensive wedding presents.

“Any sign of him, Camper?” asked a voice from the microreceiver in her ear.

Sasha raised her glass to her lips to hide her reply. “Lots of familiar faces, but so far, no zio Vincenzo.”

“You’re doing great,” the voice assured her. “Even if the Butcher doesn’t show up, we’ve got some valuable footage, thanks to you.”