Prologue
Washington, DC
FBI Headquarters
Special Agent Gabriel Spiller took the cup of coffee his assistant offered him and flipped through the thick manila file Serena had left on his desk the day before. In-house security photos of Niccolo Gueraldi stared back at him, along with the details of his next heist. Damn. The pictures were too grainy to identify the jewel Gueraldi examined. They were so close to having enough evidence for an arrest, if he could just connect him to the stolen diamonds.
Around him was the chaos of men and women at work, chasing down leads. The diplomacy of working with local law enforcement wasn’t something he enjoyed, but he and Serena Roarke had managed to work well together. Almost too well.
His cellphone vibrated, alerting him to a call. He opened it and answered.
“Spiller.”
“Hello, angel.”
Lust swamped him with the sound of her voice. “Serena. I thought we talked about this.”
“We did. I’m not changing my mind. This is what I want.”
“You’re married, Reni. That’s not a line I’m willing to cross. As long as you are, this discussion is over. I won’t talk about this now.” Gabe tapped his pen on the desk in an effort to calm his irritation. They’d been over this before.
“I filed for divorce this morning.”
The pen fell from his hand, rolled across the floor and underneath Agent Wyatt’s desk.
Stunned into silence, he let the words hang in the air between them.
“I love you, Gabriel. Marrying Jack was a mistake. I’ll be back in Washington this weekend. Meet me.”
“No.”
“Just to talk.”
“Here, then. That should be safe enough.”
“Afraid I’ll jump you?” Her laugh floated out to him, dark and smoky.
“Maybe.”
“I’ll call you when I get into town.” She paused on the line. “I love you, angel.”
“I know.” Gabe put the file in his briefcase and shut his computer down for the day, torn between what was right and what he wanted.
* * * *
Serena clicked the button on her Bluetooth headset to end the call. The black catsuit and leather boots she wore made it easy for her to blend in with the night. She was beginning to enjoy these little larcenous trysts with Devin far too much for anyone’s good. Grabbing one end of the cable, she wrapped her ankles around the thin but strong line and slid to the museum floor.
Devin shimmied down the line and dropped soundlessly beside her. Like her, he wore all black. The only colors shining in the room were his amber eyes and a brilliant yellow diamond. “Gueraldi knows you’re a cop. Be careful, cherie. He isn’t one to dally with.”
“We’ve talked about this before. I know what I’m doing. He found out I’m undercover, but he thinks I am a dirty cop playing the FBI for part of the take. It wasn’t that hard to convince him.” Serena winked at Devin and knew her longtime friend caught the aside.
“Jack would kill you if he knew what you were doing right now. Hell, he’d probably kill me, or he could try anyway.”
“It’s rude to brag. Besides, that’s for me to know, and you to keep your mouth shut. Jack won’t be mine much longer. Maybe he never really was. Let’s get this rock and get out of here. Come on. Twitch your nose or something, Dev. This place gives me the creeps.”
“You’ll hurt him, you know. There’s no way around it.”
“I’ll hurt him worse if I stay. I do love him, but I’m not in love with him.”
“Love is the most damning power and the purest magic. As long as we live–and I should know–we’ll never understand it.”
“Gabriel’s my heart. Do you know what’s it like to be cut off from your soul, Dev?”
“If you only knew.”
“Will you do something for me?”
“Of course.”
“If I don’t make it through this. If Gueraldi…well, you know. Will you tell Gabriel I love him?”
“You’ve my word.”
He flicked his wrist–just a hint of heat brushing the air–and mumbled the spell under his
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