The Final Cut

Mike wondered the same thing but contented herself with keeping the barrel of her Glock against Victoria’s ribs.

Nicholas took turns too fast, going deeper into the Parisian suburbs. After fifteen minutes, he pulled into a small alleyway behind a row of town houses. “Mike, back in three, don’t let her move an inch,” and he got out of the car.

Kitsune said, “You take orders rather well, don’t you, Mike? Lying down for the man, huh? Why? You don’t work for him. Surely you’re too smart to be sleeping with him. Why don’t you think about this: you help me and I can give you more money than you’ve ever dreamed of.”

Mike really would like to beat the crap out of this woman. Such a pity, but she couldn’t, not with her in handcuffs. She gave her a big smile. “Screw you, Victoria.”

Kitsune didn’t move, didn’t say another word.

Nicholas appeared on Kitsune’s side of the car and opened the door. “Come. And be quiet about it.”

Kitsune saw her chance, opened her mouth to scream. Nicholas yanked her out of the car and smashed his hand over her mouth. He whispered, “I said, be quiet.”

She tried to bite him, so he clouted her hard over the ear, enough to stun her, and dragged her into the rear entrance of the town house.

Mike followed, silently applauding.

Nicholas tied Victoria to a chair in the kitchen, arms and legs, and gagged her with a dishrag he found in a drawer.

Mike felt Victoria’s pulse, strong and steady. Good. She wasn’t hurt badly. She turned to Nicholas, who was sitting on the table, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, watching.

Mike said, “Now we’re breaking and entering?”

He gri

From his time as super-spy, of course.

“Now what?”

He gestured toward Victoria, who was coming around enough to open her eyes. She was making mewing noises behind the gag.

“Now she gives us the whereabouts of the Koh-i-Noor.” He hopped off the table and pulled the gag from her mouth. Mike gave her a drink of water.

Nicholas said, “Don’t bother screaming; this place is soundproof.”

Kitsune cocked her head to the side, eyed him. “And to think I waited for you to leave before I blew the bomb in Geneva. What a mistake that was.”

“Yes, it was. Where is the Koh-i-Noor?”

“It’s still in Geneva.”

“Okay, Victoire Couverel. Yes, we’ve met your brother, we know about your parents, about their murder. We know about your adoptive parents, the missionaries. And look at you. You grew up to be the notorious thief known as the Fox. Fact is, I know enough about you to know you’d keep the Koh-i-Noor close. Now, where is it?”

She was stu

She gave him a sneer. “I see you’ve done your homework.”

Nicholas said, “Listen, all we want is the diamond. You give it to us, and you’ll live the night.”

“I did not lie. It’s in Geneva. In a safe place.”

Nicholas was advancing on her when his mobile rang. After a moment, he pulled it out and glanced at the screen. Penderley.

He said, “Mike, convince our guest of the smart course of action.” He threw her the K-Bar knife he’d lifted during the fight. Mike caught it, expertly twisted it in her hand so the blade was pointed out, directly at Victoria’s lily-white throat.

It was a nice move. He went into the living room and answered the phone with a brusque “Yes?”

“I’ve spoken to Miles,” Penderley said. “The leak on the jewels traced directly to the Tower of London.”

Nicholas asked, “Are the Yeoman Warders the only ones outside of the queen’s people who knew this was even being discussed? Has anyone left their ranks suddenly of late?”

“No, but last year there was an engagement that broke up. The man’s name is Grant Thornton, and his fiancée walked out on him. No one’s ever heard from her again.”

“Photo, please?”

“It’s in your email.”

“Hold on.” He switched apps to his email, pulled up the photo. He looked at a tall, dark haired, well-built man looking down at a smiling woman who was staring directly into the camera without knowing the shot was being taken. It was Victoria Browning, of a sort. Her hair was darker, and her eyes were a different color, a sparkling light blue, and her smile was genuine. The combination made her exotic instead of merely pretty.

“That’s our girl. Do you have the man in custody?”

“No. No one thinks he knows a thing about any of this, so we’re simply keeping an eye on him.”

“Okay. If we need leverage, you can haul him in. If he and the Fox were engaged, perhaps she had real feelings for him. I’ll be back in touch soon.”

93

Nicholas hung up and went back to the kitchen. Mike looked one second away from belting Victoria. She’d obviously said something to tick Mike off.

He turned one of the kitchen chairs around and straddled it, laying his arms along the top. Relaxed, not a care in the world. Mike stepped away a few feet, crossed her arms over her chest.

Nicholas smiled. “Victoria. Victoire. What shall I call you?”

“Kitsune. You may call me Kitsune.”

“Kitsune, Japanese for fox. So are you Japanese? Your heritage seems a bit muddled to me. Like a dog from the pound.”

“Woof.”

He stood up and leaned over her. “Let me tell you how this is going to work. You are going to give me the Koh-i-Noor, and in return, I’ll put in a good word for your friend Grant Thornton. You remember him, don’t you? He’s the one who gave you the information about the Koh-i-Noor stone moving to New York months before it was publicly a

She paled, couldn’t help it, and Nicholas thought, Got you.

Kitsune raised her chin. “He has nothing to do with this. Nothing, and you know it.”

“I beg to differ. As does Her Majesty’s government. Thornton will be stripped of his rank, his work, his pension. He will be an outcast from his world, a pariah. On top of his humiliation, he’ll go to jail for the rest of his life. If he survives the night, naturally.”

He walked around her, circling his prey. “A man like him, who’s dedicated his life to queen and country? You’ve destroyed him, Kitsune. It’s all on your head. He lost everything because he had the misfortune to fall in love with you—a fraud, a chimera, only the illusion of a woman who didn’t really exist.”

Kitsune closed her eyes and saw Grant. Beautiful, i

“I’ll save him if you give me the Koh-i-Noor.”

She gave him a long look, weighed his word, he knew, weighted him. She said finally, “I have conditions.”

Nicholas stopped his pacing, went back to his chair and sat, eyebrows politely raised.

“You’re hardly in a bargaining position, but let’s hear it.”

“Grant walks, no stain on his character, and he returns to his job. Has he been told about me?”

“No.”

It was an unutterable relief. She nodded. “He will not be told about any of it. Not about me, not about Lanighan. Nothing.”

“All right. And?”

“Lanighan is holding a man in the warehouse. He is important to me. See that he’s freed and I’ll tell you where the diamond is.”

“Ah, now, Kitsune, you’re going to have to do better. If you want our help, you tell us up front where the Koh-i-Noor is, and then we’ll talk about meeting your conditions.”

She shook her head. “My friend first. And your word, as a gentleman, that he will not be harmed.”