that he’s dead? How do I tell Sophie that she’s lost her father?”
“I know this is hard, Kate, but you’re strong. I saw that the first time I met you at your sister’s house. And you’ll get through this one day at a time.”
“And in the meantime? He was our connection to Sophie.” She shook her head. “What do we do now?”
“Since we can’t question Chad, there’s only one thing I know that will put an end to this.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. “We need to meet Pierre and Jocelyn back at the safe house and regroup. Because we have to track down those diamonds.”
NINE
K ate followed Marcus out of the safe haven of the René-Viviani. Part of her wanted to stay, because for a few brief minutes, she’d been able to forget the reality of the situation they were facing. Getting to know Marcus on a personal level had been unexpected yet welcome. Because despite the seriousness of what was going on around them, he managed to calm the storm raging through her—even if only temporarily.
But that
reality
now loomed again in front of her as real and tangible as the Notre Dame Cathedral to her left. Five million dollars had motivated someone to shoot Rachel and grab Sophie. Five million dollars had provoked someone to try to grab her off the streets. And while she still didn’t understand everything that had happened, the threat was very real. Someone was out there looking for her. Someone who would stop at nothing to find her and the diamonds.
As far as she knew, though, the trail of the diamonds ended when Rachel mailed the music boxes. And there was a good chance that whoever she mailed them to didn’t even know what was contained in the packages. She was certain Rachel hadn’t known Chad’s ulterior motive in sending Sophie the music boxes. Or how those seemingly innocent gifts would in turn cost her family.
Marcus grabbed her hand to help maneuver her through the crowded intersection, his touch bringing with it the needed reminder that she wasn’t alone. As they headed away from Notre Dame, past shops and cafés, the pedestrian traffic began to lighten. Apartment buildings lined each side of the narrow street that was lined with cars and rows of bicycles. Motorcycles zipped past them down the one-way street, along with the constant flow of cars and delivery trucks.
“There’s a metro station not too far from here,” he said finally. “It’s the quickest way to get back to the apartment.”
Kate shivered despite the warm afternoon sun.
“You okay?” he asked, still holding her hand.
Kate tried to suppress the feelings of panic. “You’ll think I’m silly if I tell you.”
“I can think of a lot of descriptions of you, but silly isn’t one of them.”
“When I was ten,” she began, “I went to New York on a family vacation with my parents.”
“And you took the subway?”
She nodded. “Up to that moment, I’d loved everything about New York City. My dad decided it might be our only trip to the Big Apple, so he let us do everything, starting with Times Square, the Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He took us to the top of the Empire State Building, Central Park, a Broadway play and even a Yankees game. My sister and I thought we’d died and gone to heaven. After living in a small town in Texas our entire lives, New York was indescribable.”
“So what happened on the subway?” he asked.
Memories surfaced as they walked past an outdoor café where an older couple chatted over cups of coffee at a table for two, seemingly unaware of anyone around them. She shot Marcus a sideways glance, feeling the warmth and protection of his fingers entwined with hers and wondering if she’d find someone to spend the next fifty years of her life with. She shook her head and pushed away the thought. When this was over, Marcus would take on another dangerous case with the FBI, and she’d go back to her quiet, suburban life where things like kidnappings and
“I know this is hard, Kate, but you’re strong. I saw that the first time I met you at your sister’s house. And you’ll get through this one day at a time.”
“And in the meantime? He was our connection to Sophie.” She shook her head. “What do we do now?”
“Since we can’t question Chad, there’s only one thing I know that will put an end to this.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. “We need to meet Pierre and Jocelyn back at the safe house and regroup. Because we have to track down those diamonds.”
NINE
K ate followed Marcus out of the safe haven of the René-Viviani. Part of her wanted to stay, because for a few brief minutes, she’d been able to forget the reality of the situation they were facing. Getting to know Marcus on a personal level had been unexpected yet welcome. Because despite the seriousness of what was going on around them, he managed to calm the storm raging through her—even if only temporarily.
But that
reality
now loomed again in front of her as real and tangible as the Notre Dame Cathedral to her left. Five million dollars had motivated someone to shoot Rachel and grab Sophie. Five million dollars had provoked someone to try to grab her off the streets. And while she still didn’t understand everything that had happened, the threat was very real. Someone was out there looking for her. Someone who would stop at nothing to find her and the diamonds.
As far as she knew, though, the trail of the diamonds ended when Rachel mailed the music boxes. And there was a good chance that whoever she mailed them to didn’t even know what was contained in the packages. She was certain Rachel hadn’t known Chad’s ulterior motive in sending Sophie the music boxes. Or how those seemingly innocent gifts would in turn cost her family.
Marcus grabbed her hand to help maneuver her through the crowded intersection, his touch bringing with it the needed reminder that she wasn’t alone. As they headed away from Notre Dame, past shops and cafés, the pedestrian traffic began to lighten. Apartment buildings lined each side of the narrow street that was lined with cars and rows of bicycles. Motorcycles zipped past them down the one-way street, along with the constant flow of cars and delivery trucks.
“There’s a metro station not too far from here,” he said finally. “It’s the quickest way to get back to the apartment.”
Kate shivered despite the warm afternoon sun.
“You okay?” he asked, still holding her hand.
Kate tried to suppress the feelings of panic. “You’ll think I’m silly if I tell you.”
“I can think of a lot of descriptions of you, but silly isn’t one of them.”
“When I was ten,” she began, “I went to New York on a family vacation with my parents.”
“And you took the subway?”
She nodded. “Up to that moment, I’d loved everything about New York City. My dad decided it might be our only trip to the Big Apple, so he let us do everything, starting with Times Square, the Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He took us to the top of the Empire State Building, Central Park, a Broadway play and even a Yankees game. My sister and I thought we’d died and gone to heaven. After living in a small town in Texas our entire lives, New York was indescribable.”
“So what happened on the subway?” he asked.
Memories surfaced as they walked past an outdoor café where an older couple chatted over cups of coffee at a table for two, seemingly unaware of anyone around them. She shot Marcus a sideways glance, feeling the warmth and protection of his fingers entwined with hers and wondering if she’d find someone to spend the next fifty years of her life with. She shook her head and pushed away the thought. When this was over, Marcus would take on another dangerous case with the FBI, and she’d go back to her quiet, suburban life where things like kidnappings and
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