Until he collects the shoes, along with his jacket and tie, then rises, once again towering over me. That devilish grin is still on his face, filled with challenge.
“The earrings are yours. You’ve earned them.”
My mouth drops open at the insinuation, which I damn well know Magnus intended based on the gleam in his eyes.
He leans in so that his hot, steady breath tickles my ears.“Welcome to the hunt.”
Without another word or look, he turns and casually walks out of the large bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Damn him.
I was the one that was supposed to come out of this feeling like the victor.
Now, I feel like the war has just begun.
Chapter Thirty-Six Sloane
With Magnus gone, my mind instantly races back to my brother. I don’t give a damn about Magnus’s assurances; I need confirmation.
Even though the phone only rings twice before he answers, my heart seizes each time, certain it won’t be him I hear but some detective who has found the phone next to his dead body.
“Sloane? What is it?”
“Oh God, Theo,” I say, releasing a breath. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, why?” He asks, suddenly wary.
I briefly debate not telling him about Linus, then throw that idea out the window. If anyone deserves to know, it’s Theo. Maybe it will make him all the more cautious while he’s back there in New York, and I’m here. Not that I’d have any iota of what I’d do if I were there. I don’t even own a gun. Suddenly, Magnus’s protection seems like a godsend.
“You haven’t heard about Linus?”
“No…what about him?”
“Theo, he’s dead. He was shot.”
“Oh, God…oh, God, oh, God, oh—”
“Theo!” I snap, trying to snap him out of it. He goes quiet, but I hear the sound of his accelerated breathing on the other end. I continue in a softer, gentler tone. “Don’t worry. I’m working with Magnus here. He—he knows everything.”
I feel comfortable enough saying this to him over the phone. Theo is too smart to leave that part to chance. He has easily worked around any bit of technology that Gabriel and crew might have tried to use to listen in on us.
That doesn’t ease the panic in him when it comes to issues outside the realm of modern technology.
“What? Sloane, what if they find out?”
“Theo,” I say curtly. “He’s helping me—helping us. This will all work out. He’s making sure you’re protected, but…try to be safe anyway.”
“Are you kidding? I only leave my apartment to go to work. This whole thing has me freaked out. I knew I shouldn’t have helped Linus with this one. It was nothing like the others, and now look at us.”
I don’t bother rehashing that mess. Lesson learned—the hard way. I feel a sudden and surprising bout of sadness for Linus, then quickly dismiss it. There will be plenty of time for mourning later. Right now, Theo seems to be safe, and that’s all that matters.
“Okay, well it’s late here, so I’m going to—”
“Sloane?”
“Yes?”
“What’s going on over there? Are you okay?”
What is going on over here in Monte Carlo? Am I okay?
“I’m fine,” I assure him in as confident a voice as I can muster. He’s my baby brother, and a sweetheart—wrapped in dazzling brilliance and astounding stupidity. I don’t want to worry him unnecessarily or give him any clue as to what I’ve been up to. “I have everything handled.”
My mind races back to Magnus whispering in my ear.
Welcome to the hunt.
God help me if I don’t have everything handled.
* * *
When day finally breaks, I wake up, surprised I was able to actually fall asleep.
After calling Theo, I took a shower and, with nothing to wear, slept naked for the first time in my life.
I note that light is filtering in through the cracks in the curtain, which means the sun is already up. Remembering that Magnus said something about them bringing my suitcase down, I look around and don’t see it. A mild surge of panic hits me when I realize that I literally have nothing to wear, not even shoes.
My eyes fall to the diamond earrings on the nightstand. Well, almost nothing to wear.
With nothing else to cover me, I once again drag the sheets and wrap them around me like a toga. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Although my face has been scrubbed clean, it still carries the remnants of a good sleep. My hair, without my silk bonnet to cover it, is a perfect mess. I rake it down to something presentable before trying to get a hold of any of the staff.
I open the door enough to poke my head out and see nothing but the same hallway Magnus practically dragged me down last night.
“Hello!”
It takes a moment, but a young man in a crisp white shirt and shorts comes jogging down the hall. He has the tact to keep his eyes firmly above neck-level.
“Oui, madame. How can I be of service?”
“I was told my suitcase would be on board.”
Before I can say anything more, he’s already nodding. “Oui, madame. Valerie will be right here to assist you.”
He’s off, presumably to collect Valerie before I can even ask who she is. No doubt another “maid” to keep tabs on me. Just how many of these women does Magnus keep on hand?
The woman who eventually knocks on my door looks nothing like Lisette or Lara, and if she’s a “woman of the night,” then she caters to some very specific tastes, maybe men with serious mommy issues. She looks almost sixty with a body that could be called “comfortable” and a face that’s cheerfully plump.
“Bonjour, Mademoiselle Alexander,” she announces brightly when I open the door. She’s gripping my rolling suitcase in one hand.
“Bonjour, do you happen to speak English?”
“Oui, of course, mademoiselle. I speak English, French, and German.“
“Wonderful,” I say, opening the door wider to let her in. “Is Magnus—Monsieur Reinhardt on board?”
“No,
