LITMIR.BIZ

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      “I’ve been doing a little digging on Brancotti, alias Phillipe Sagan, alias ‘Damien.’ The two of you go back a long way.”

      Chance didn’t even let a flicker of surprise show. He’d known that Tracker was about the best there was when it came to running background checks, but he hadn’t expected him to unearth the “Damien” alias. Still, there was no way he could have traced Damien back to that orphanage. “I’ve been tracking him for a long time.”

      “And you lost your partner in Rome two years ago,” Tracker said.

      “Yes, I did.”

      “Besides being dangerous, this man has the reputation of being very smart.” Tracker raised a hand when Chance opened his mouth to give his opinion. “Let me finish. Lucas and I will concede that you’re a very smart man, too. The thing is you nearly had Brancotti for stealing this diamond two years ago. He’s not a man who’ll forget that. Put yourself in his place. There’s a good chance that he took the time to find out exactly who was on his trail then, and that he’s kept tabs on you. He could be expecting you.”

      Chance took a swallow of his beer. “I’m sure he is.”

      “It could be a trap,” Lucas said.

      Chance met his old friend’s eyes. “It could be. But I wouldn’t be where I am today if I ran every time I suspected a trap.”

      Lucas glanced at Tracker. “I told you we wouldn’t talk him out of it.”

      “Relax,” Chance said. “There’s no way he can suspect my cover. We’ve built it very carefully. Both Steven Bradford and his current love interest have agreed to go into seclusion until this is over. Their private plane will arrive here tomorrow morning. They will be whisked off in a hired limousine and delivered here to this suite where they will stay until the job is done. Steven is shy of the press. I won’t have any trouble passing for him.”

      “I want to go in as your bodyguard,” Tracker said. “Someone who hides from the press as much as Bradford does would be eccentric enough to insist on a personal bodyguard.”

      Chance shook his head. “The invitation was very specific. One guest. If Bradford tries to bring anyone besides his girlfriend at this point, it could mean he’ll be refused admittance to the estate, and I won’t risk that. Besides, Natalie Gibbs is perfectly qualified to be my bodyguard.”

      Tracker and Lucas exchanged looks again.

      “You convinced Natalie Gibbs to be your partner then?” Tracker asked.

      Chance hesitated for only a second, then cursed himself for it. “Yes.” He knew that both of his friends were studying him more closely now. In another minute they’d demand to know the whole story.

      “Natalie never did show up for Sophie’s party, and you left with a blonde,” Tracker pointed out.

      “It’s a long story,” Chance said.

      Tracker passed a beer to Lucas and took one for himself. “If we’re your backup and rescue team, we deserve to be filled in.”

      Since he couldn’t argue with that, Chance took another drink of his beer and then laid it out for them. By the time he was finished, both men were frowning and regarding him intently.

      “So she doesn’t know that you know she’s really Natalie Gibbs?” Tracker asked.

      “Right,” Chance said.

      “Why the masquerade in the first place?” Lucas asked.

      “I couldn’t ask without letting her know I saw through the disguise,” Chance said.

      “Right,” Tracker said. “That much makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is why you didn’t inform her that you knew who she really was.”

      Chance’s brows shot up. “Hey, I didn’t see through her disguise at first. Neither did the two of you.” He’d like to think that he would have seen through it even if he hadn’t overheard her sisters talking. “Even though I quickly realized it was Natalie, that doesn’t change the fact that a very sexy and attractive blonde made a play for me. By the time my brain was functioning again, things had gotten…complicated. I wanted Natalie on this job with me for a number of reasons. My chances were slim to none if I got her pissed at me for not fessing up that I’d known it was her almost from the get-go.”

      Lucas’s grin spread slowly. “In other words, you made your bed, and now you have to lie in it.”

      “Yeah.” Chance sighed. “Something like that.”

      Tracker took a sip of his beer and then asked, “Is she aware of the dangers?”

      “She’s read the file. She knows about my last partner. And she knows what kind of man Brancotti is.”

      “Okay, so both of you are aware that you’re dealing with a very nasty guy. Have you considered the possibility that there’s someone on the inside of the insurance business who’s on Brancotti’s payroll?” Tracker asked.

      Chance met his friend’s eyes steadily. “I’ve had two years to think about how he got away with the diamond the last time. He had to have been getting inside information to steal the diamond in the first place. That’s why I insisted that no one could know the route that Venetia was taking that day except me.”

      Tracker frowned. “And Venetia. You think she was the traitor?”

      “I’ve given it some consideration. Carlo’s quite a ladies’ man. Perhaps he used her, then killed her because she’d served her purpose and he didn’t want to share. This time I’m working on my own. No one at the insurance office knows I’m going in as Bradford. I haven’t even told them that the Ferrante diamond has resurfaced.”

      “I told you he’d be on top of it,” Lucas said, then glanced at Chance. “Tracker here’s a real worrywart.”

      “Humor me,” Tracker said as he passed a slip of paper to Chance. “That’s my private cell phone number. You’re the only person who can call me on it. As long as you’re on that estate, I’ll be close by.”

      Chance glanced at it, memorized it and handed it back.

      “You better make sure that Natalie memorizes it, too,” Lucas said, “just in case.”

      “Done,” Chance said.

      Tracker leaned back and for the first time since he’d entered the room, he smiled. “One other thing.”

      “Yeah?”

      “What happens when Rachel finds out that you’ve known all along she’s really Natalie?” Tracker asked.

      “I’ll handle it,” Chance said. And he wished to hell that he felt as confident as he sounded.

       8

      “YOU’RE SURE you’ve got it?” Chance asked as the limousine pulled away from the Meridian. There wasn’t even a hint of the sun in the eastern sky, and the street-lights they passed offered only intermittent illumination in the car.

      Natalie gave him a sharp salute. “Aye-aye, sir. From the time we step on the plane we are no longer Chance Mitchell and Rachel Cade. We are Steven Bradford who’s just made another million or two this morning and his new best friend, Calli.” She tilted her head to one side. “You really think Brancotti might have Steven Bradford’s plane bugged?”

      “It’s been sitting on the runway since yesterday evening. I’m banking on it.”

      Her eyes narrowed. “You’re hoping he bugged it, aren’t you?”

      “I want to give Brancotti every opportunity to assure himself that we are who we say we are. Most

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