LITMIR.BIZ

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at the door grew louder, and wood splintered again.

      Chance grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the French doors. Shouts came from beyond the patio wall.

      They were trapped. For one moment they stood frozen in the frame of the open French doors. Shouts beyond the patio were getting closer, louder. The door to the office was about to give. Chance stripped off his mask and threw it toward the patio wall. Then he shoved her behind a floor-to-ceiling drape at the side of the door. A second later, Natalie felt her breath go out on a whoosh as he flattened her against the wall. Heart hammering, she waited.

      The door gave first and there was the sound of guards rushing forward. Then the darkness fled as someone flipped on the lights.

      “Get out of the way.”

      Natalie recognized Carlo’s voice even when he slipped into Italian and swore viciously. He must have seen the guard lying on the patio.

      There was a rush of wind to her left as guards entered through the French doors. For one long second, the drape covering them puffed out. Natalie could have sworn that her heart skipped three beats until it settled around them again.

      “Tell me you’ve got them,” Carlo said.

      His voice was close now—inches away. Chance had gone still as a statue, but she could feel every muscle in his body tense.

      “No, sir. There’s no sign of them. All we got is this.”

      Carlo swore again. And again, the curtain shifted with the breeze. This time, out of the corner of her eye, Natalie caught a quick glimpse of Carlo standing in the doorway, taking something from the guard. If he turned right now, he would see them.

      It came to her in a flash that Chance would be the one Carlo would catch sight of first. Chance would be the one that Carlo would shoot. She felt her heart stop and then the drape settled around them in slow motion.

      “They can’t be far. Cover the beach and the woods. I want them caught. Bring them to me alive, if possible.”

      In some part of her mind, Natalie knew that the guards had left and Carlo had moved away. The room had become silent except for the sound of the overhead fan whirring. Then she heard a scraping sound. Her heart skipped a beat. Carlo must be removing the painting so that he could check the safe.

      Seconds ticked away. Natalie had to remind herself to breathe slowly, silently. What would happen if he discovered that the diamond in the pouch was a fake?

      “Lisa?” Carlo had to be talking to Lisa on his cell phone.

      “Everything is under control. I have the diamond right here in my hand. No. I don’t have them yet. But I’ve issued orders that no one is allowed to leave the estate.”

      Chance shifted slightly. For one long moment, Natalie wondered if he would step from behind the curtain to confront his old enemy. The urge to do just that must be tearing him apart. She found his hand and gripped it tightly in hers.

      “Tell Aldiri and the others that the auction will take place in an hour.”

      Carlo’s voice was firm now, without a trace of the temper and anger that had filled it when he’d come into the room.

      “You worry too much. I’m bringing the diamond with me. Tell them one hour from now in the gallery.”

      Natalie counted off ten beats as she listened to the sounds of Carlo closing the safe, replacing the painting and leaving the room. It was ten beats more before Chance stepped away from her and drew her from behind the drape.

      She threw her arms around him then and held tight. A flood of emotions swept through her. He was safe. They both were for the moment, and she didn’t want to let him go. Natalie wasn’t sure how long they both stood like that before Chance drew away. “We have to go.”

      “I thought you were going to step out and confront him,” she said.

      Chance met her eyes steadily. “I was.”

      “But you didn’t. Why not?”

      “Because I knew my partner would follow right behind. Besides, I came up with a plan.” He took a piece of paper from Carlo’s desk and wrote one word. “Gianni.”

      Natalie understood exactly what he was doing. She thought of the young boy betrayed by his friend and sent to jail for something he hadn’t done. Then she let herself imagine Carlo finding and reading that note—after the auction.

      Meeting Chance’s eyes, she said, “He thinks he still has the real diamond.”

      Chance smiled at her. “Ego. He didn’t think that we could pull it off, and he found a diamond in each safe. So he didn’t bother to check.” He placed the note in the middle of Carlo’s desk.

      “And he won’t find it until after the auction.”

      “Oh, I think the fake will be discovered before that,” Chance said. “I can’t imagine any of those prospective buyers parting with a cent until they authenticate the diamond.”

      “They won’t be too happy with Carlo when they realize it’s a fake,” Natalie said. “And I don’t think I’d want any of those characters unhappy with me.”

      “Hopefully, the fear of retribution will keep Carlo here on his estate until I can get Interpol to send someone to arrest him,” Chance said.

      She threw her arms around Chance and gave him a quick kiss. “I wish I’d known you when you were Gianni.”

      FOR A MOMENT, Chance said nothing. He simply looked at her. Her words and the simple gesture of affection unlocked something deep inside of him and released a flood of emotions. A thousand pImages** flashed into his mind—a kaleidoscope of everything that had happened in the short time since they had begun this crazy adventure together.

      She was the most amazing woman he’d ever known. And the most complicated. There were so many facets to her. In the moonlight that poured into the room, he saw that her eyes were bright with excitement and triumph. He’d seen those eyes so many ways. Filled with a cool, steady courage. Lighted with laughter. And darkened by passion.

      And he’d seen the intensity in those eyes when she was thinking only of him, feeling only him. He wanted to tell her. He needed to—

      A crack split the still night air, and Chance dragged his thoughts back to the present. “C’mon.”

      “Was that gunfire?” Natalie asked as they raced into the courtyard.

      “Tracker’s version of misdirection. One of his men is presently escaping in the inflatable boat we were supposed to use.”

      “Supposed to use?” Natalie asked.

      Chance leaned down, scooped up the guard’s weapon, and tossed it to her. “That’s one of the reasons I don’t have much use for plans. They usually have to be changed.”

      To what? But Natalie didn’t ask the question as she stuffed the gun into her waistband. Chance had already moved to the wall and was cupping his hands. By the time he’d boosted her to the top and joined her, they could hear running footsteps beyond the trees that grew along the wall and farther away came the rapid cough of automatic fire.

      Together, they dropped to the ground.

      “Where to?” Natalie asked. But Chance was already drawing her in the opposite direction from which they’d come. As they edged their way between the trees and the wall of the villa, Natalie realized one amazing thing. She was almost getting used to Chance’s habit of improvising plans on the spur of the moment. Almost, she reminded herself when she realized they’d made a complete circle of the villa. By the time they reached the iron gate that closed off the kitchen wing, she could hear the music from the ballroom once more.

      Then Chance stopped and drew out the cell phone he always used to communicate with Tracker. Holding it to his ear, he said one word, “Now.”

      A few moments

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