LITMIR.BIZ

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in the world. True, the Lazlo Group had several who were experts, but she’d been at the top of the SIS heap.

      Eventually, the letters swam and she blinked. Time to give her eyes a rest. Ten minutes—no more. Then she’d be back at it, even if she had to work straight through the night.

      She had to break this code. Their lives—and her father’s life—could very well depend on it. Close—she was getting close. She could taste it.

      After sunset, she was still hunched over the computer when Sean’s cell phone rang. He sat bolt upright, reaching for the phone at the same time as she did. Their hands collided and she drew back first, letting him grab his own phone.

      “It’s Corbett.” Instead of answering privately, he punched the speaker button.

      “I’ve learned where the code came from.”

      “Where?”

      “You remember Kitya, the Hungarian’s mistress? Before she died, she stole the Opar diamond from him.”

      Natalie gasped. “The Opar diamond is just a legend.”

      “No, it’s not.” Pacing now, Sean circled the room. “I’d heard the Hungarian had it, but I wasn’t aware the gem had been stolen.”

      “The Hungarian kept that under wraps. He’s been searching for two years. Especially since the stone hasn’t been recovered. The coded messages are from Kitya to her lover.” Corbett cleared his throat. “A man the Hungarian executed shortly after Kitya’s death. The Hungarian believes the messages detail where she hid the diamond.”

      “And he wants it back.”

      “Of course,” Corbett said in a dry tone. “He’ll stop at nothing to get it.”

      “He can have the damn thing for all I care.”

      “Natalie.” Corbett’s voice was harsh, fury barely contained. “You can’t let them win. The code is a bargaining chip. Decipher the message and the value is tripled.”

      “My father—” she swallowed “—could already be dead. You know how this works. What guarantee do we have that he’s still alive?”

      “Phillip—your father—called me a few minutes ago.”

      That stopped her cold.

      “What? How?”

      “He’s safe. He wanted to let me know that.”

      “Why didn’t he call me?”

      “He asked me to let you know. He knew we’ve been in contact. He wasn’t actually kidnapped.”

      “You’re telling me he went willingly?”

      “In a way.”

      This was getting crazy. “You’re not making sense.”

      “Your father decided to take care of the Hungarian on his own. You see, he knows who he is.”

      She let her mouth fall open. “He does?”

      Corbett’s sigh sounded tired. “As do I. There’s additional information I need to tell you.”

      She and Sean exchanged a suspicious glance. “New information?”

      “Not exactly new. I thought Phillip would have told you by now, but he’s a man of his word. He promised me years ago never to reveal what had happened. Some secrets can only be told by the person most affected.”

      Alarm bells went off in her head. “More secrets. Great.”

      Corbett ignored her. “As you know, your father and I share a history.”

      “Boyhood friends, best friends.” She’d heard the stories all her life.

      “Yes. But, when we were growing up, there was another.” He cleared his throat, still sounding coolly collected. “There were three of us.”

      “Three?” She didn’t understand. “All I’ve ever heard about were my dad and you. Corbett and Phillip. Best friends. There were only the two of you.”

      “No. There was another. We swore a vow, your father and I, never to talk of him or to say his name.”

      “But all the photographs I have show only you two.”

      “We destroyed all the others. But now, I’ll break my own vow.” Corbett sounded grim. “The Hungarian was the third. We were inseparable. Phillip, myself and … Viktor.”

      “Viktor?”

      “Yes. Viktor was—is—my cousin.”

      “Are you telling me that my father is safe?”

      “Not exactly.”

      Her temples were starting to ache. “Explain, please.”

      “Phillip went in to try to—as he put it—talk some sense into the Hungarian. He ended up being a prisoner.”

      She could barely contain her impatience. “Is he in real danger or not?”

      “I’m not sure. Viktor has no reason to hate him, unless it’s because he associates him with me. But my cousin’s mental instability is a factor. Either way, before you make plans to try and rescue him, your father thinks he can handle this himself. He says he doesn’t want you going anywhere near him.”

      “Of course he doesn’t!” Natalie exploded. “But you and I both know I’m going anyway once I know where he is. Where is he?”

      “He refused to tell me.”

      Natalie wondered again if Corbett was telling the truth.

      “What are his reasons?” Sean stepped forward, placing a cautionary hand on Natalie’s shoulder.

      Corbett sighed. “He has some crazy idea of trying to talk sense into my cousin. After all, we were all close friends once.”

      “What happened to change that?” Natalie asked.

      “Now is not the time—”

      “Yes, it is. Now more than ever before, we need to lay all our cards on the table.” She shot Sean a meaningful look. Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head.

      Corbett coughed. “I really don’t think—”

      Ruthless, again she cut him off. “Neither do we. Now tell us what happened to make your own cousin hate you so much that he wants to kill you.”

       Chapter 10

      Silence.

      “A woman?” Sean guessed.

      “Yes.” Corbett’s clipped reply told them he still found the subject unpleasant. Tough. “We all fell in love with the same woman.”

      Incredulous, Natalie met Sean’s gaze. “All three of you?”

      “Unfortunately, yes.”

      “She must have been some woman.”

      “She was.”

      Natalie swallowed as a thought occurred to her. “Please tell me this wasn’t my mother?”

      “No.” Finally, Corbett chuckled. “This happened a year before Phillip met Evelyn. One year, three months, and a few days, to be exact.”

      “You’ve never forgotten her.” Sean made the question a statement. “Even after all this time.”

      “Phillip recovered first. Loving Evelyn helped him.”

      The nonanswer intrigued her. “What about you?”

      “I barely remember her face.”

      Though she suspected Corbett was being less than truthful, she didn’t comment. Instead, she tried to stick

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