The Prize

by Vanessa Fewings

  Eli narrowed his gaze. “What?”

  “We both benefit from this.”

  Eli didn’t look convinced. “Have you seen her?”

  “Yes.” I gave an assured nod.

  “And?” he pushed.

  My back straightened. “She’s remarkable.”

  “Has she passed an X-ray?” asked Eli.

  My nod was to clarify she most certainly would.

  “Paint samples?”

  “Match the decade,” I said, since they’d pass that test too because Wilder’s skills ensured it.

  “Her molecular structure checks out?” Eli narrowed his gaze on me. “So that’s why you’re in New York under such secrecy?”

  I gave a thin smile. “I’m uncomfortable with her going to a private collector.” And that wasn’t a lie, either.

  Tobias stiffened his spine beside me. I’d not exactly lied for him but I had twisted the truth. Until him I’d always colored within the lines and followed the rules and every word I’d spoken had been infused with integrity.

  Until now.

  I gave a confident nod. “She looks real to me.”

  Eli looked triumphant. “Make it happen, Wilder.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” said Tobias.

  “I’m not the only one with an interest in da Vinci. If you think you can trick me into missing the date of this auction you’re wrong.”

  Tobias sounded calm. “If I get you in that room—”

  “If my father learns a da Vinci auction went down without our involvement men will die.”

  “If I get you in the room,” Wilder repeated, “you’ll forget Arizona ever happened. We’ll forget all of it too. You let us get on with our lives, and we let you get on with your weasel existence.”

  Eli gave a sinister smile. “I’m looking forward to putting this behind us. Ms. Leighton, my family’s aware that there is a rumor circulating our Romanov collection once belonged to your father. Your old paintings are not ours. Yours were destroyed in a house fire decades ago. Ours have nothing to do with that insurance scandal.”

  A wave of nausea welled that he’d dared to mention my father. Still, he’d just confirmed what Tobias had told me. They really did have them.

  Tobias’s tone was certain. “We want this over.”

  Eli took a step forward. “Let’s talk more about this.”

  “We have somewhere to be.” Wilder reached for my hand and interlocked his fingers with mine. “If you’ll excuse us.”

  “We’re not done.” Eli gestured to his men.

  Tobias led me away and I hurried beside him down the pathway with my throat tight with tension.

  “There’s no getting off this island, Wilder,” Eli called after us.

  I gripped his hand tighter.

  Tobias threw me a wink.

  I cringed when I thought of the slowness of one of those boats leaving the harbor, and sensed Eli’s men closing in.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  MY CHEST WAS tight with dread when we ran past the dock, missing the entry to the ferry. Then I saw it—the speedboat. Waiting for us at the helm was the captain and he threw us a wave when he saw us. We bolted down the steps and I leaped into the boat. We hurried to sit at the back. He snapped the order for us to go—

  The engine roared to life and we sped out of the harbor, rocking over the open water with the wind blasting my face and billowing my clothes. Daring to look back, I saw Eli standing on the edge of Liberty Island dock with his men beside him.

  “He won’t find this suspicious?” I asked Tobias.

  “He probably expected us to take off in a helicopter.”

  “So us having a speedboat ready...?”

  “Is something I’d do.”

  “Right. Do you think it went well?” I didn’t want to say any more with the skipper a few feet away.

  Tobias gave me an assured nod and called out to our captain, “I appreciate this, Dan.”

  “Always a pleasure, Mr. Wilder,” he called back.

  Tobias scooted closer to me. “Dan’s a coast guard. Getting on and off the island is monitored because it’s a national monument.”

  “How did you make that happen?” I nodded toward the island.

  Tobias leaned toward me and lowered his voice. “Eli’s been waiting for me to pop up on the grid. Marshall saw him boarding a boat and let me know he was on his way.”

  Grateful for the ever-growing distance between us and that island, I realized every moment on there had been orchestrated. Tobias had set a trap for Eli so our meeting would happen at that exact time. Eli had been right on our heels. The only other time I’d felt such terror was when I’d fallen through a trapdoor in Arizona, with the threat of drowning all too real. My heart was still hammering in my chest.

  Tobias pulled out his cell and I watched him turn the GPS off.

  As we zoomed along I clutched the side of the boat carrying us fast toward the mainland.

  I’d verbally unleashed the painting into existence and even though it would only be seen by Eli and his father, my heart constricted that I was part of its cruel mystique. I wouldn’t rest until it was destroyed. Back during my student days when a fake painting had surfaced it had been perfectly acceptable to destroy the artwork and keep it out of the hands of dealers who duped unsuspecting collectors. My colleagues had seemingly enjoyed being part of eradicating fakes. I, however, refused to be present when the deed was done. Something inside me couldn’t bear to see art destroyed even in the name of ethics.

  Tobias rested a hand on my knee. “You okay?”

  I gave a nod and stared out at the city view, not wanting to show any doubt until I could resolve these complex feelings.

  “You did great.” His expression revealed he was relieved to be away from that island too, but the way he kept glancing at me proved his concern for me was growing.

  Off in the distance, dark clouds rolled in and threatened rain and my body stung with the chill. Tobias went to remove his jacket for me but I stopped him. This sting of cold kept me focused and served as a form of punishment for my misdeeds.

  I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath trying to calm down.

  Within half an hour I was happy to be back on dry land ascending the steps of the Manhattan marina.

  Outside the dock Marshall was waiting for us in the SUV.

  After pulling my seat belt on in the backseat I exhaled a shaky breath and it felt like the same one I’d been holding since being threatened by Eli. While in the New York Ballet Tobias had tried to persuade me to go home and not face this. Still, I’d been an asset to him, and the authenticity I’d provided would see Eli chomping at the bit to see our Mona Lisa.

  Our Mona Lisa, I mused, guilt dripping off me for what I’d done.

  “Marshall.” Tobias gestured to him. “Take us to my favorite haunt.”

  “Got it, sir,” he replied, and shared a smile with his boss in the rearview mirror.

  The glass divider rose between us.

  “Sure you’re okay?” Tobias gave me a look of concern.

  “I’m fine.”

  “I’ve got it from here. You’ve done more than enough to help set this up.”

  “I’m glad I was with you.”

  “You dealt with Eli well. He’s a prickly bastard. Rules don’t apply.”

  Resting my head back, I stared at him. “You knew when we stepped on that island he was heading our way?”

  “Once I turned on the GPS I knew he’d find us.” He shook his head. “We’re dealing with the devil, Zara. I’m uncomfortable with you being exposed to him. Let Marshall—”

  I reached for his hand. “I feel the same about you.”

  “Me?” He looked surprised.

  “Eli won’t find it suspicious that we were on that island?”

/>   “Who would allow themselves to be so vulnerable?”

  I forced a smile. “Someone with nothing to hide.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So Coops is more than just your driver?”

  “He’s my right-hand man. He’s my Q, my quartermaster. I trust him. That’s why I had him drive you home that first night you visited Oxfordshire.”

  Because Tobias had other plans that night, namely flying his helicopter across the country to deliver a Titian to its original owner.

  “Eli took the bait,” he said. “And you looked surprised when you saw him. That you can’t fake.”

  “How about you?”

  “Poker face. You reveal your emotions easily.” He squeezed my hand as though needing further reassurance I was okay. “Our invite to see the Mona Lisa needed to appear reluctant.”

  “I get it. It had to be her. No other painting would have enticed Eli.”

  She’d also been an extraordinary diversion that for now kept us safe.

  Tobias leaned toward me. “She’s our last hope, Zara. I want us to have a future where we are safe. I want you to get your paintings back because I can’t stand that family having them. Eli dangled them in front of you just to see your reaction. He taunted you like the psychopath he is.”

  “Will he ever leave us alone?”

  Tobias frowned as he turned away, and it was the kind of look that carried a burden of knowledge.

  “Don’t do anything foolish.” I grabbed his forearm. “Promise me.”

  “You know how methodical I am.”

  Though what we had set in motion verged on insanity. We’d compromised everything we held dear to find our way out the other side of the storm. It was a cruel irony that I had to lie about a painting to restore my father’s legacy. My family’s history was still playing out.

  I was grateful for this interlude where we got to just be with each other while holding the devil at bay. Peering out at the city view I enjoyed these moments of calmness and wanted to savor the hours before tomorrow when the stakes would be raised even higher. For the first time, pulling off this wild scheme seemed possible. The question was, could I live with myself afterward?

  I looked out at the New York skyline, this metropolis exuding a unique vibrancy I’d not felt from other cities. There was an excitement here, a sense of daring possibilities at every turn.

  We drove for just over an hour.

  When I saw the sign for the New York Hall of Science I felt a jolt of happiness that Tobias was bringing me to an important place to him. He purchased our tickets, and the way he walked through the building made me wonder if he’d come here as a boy with his grandmother. I didn’t want to ask, didn’t want to break the spell and see his brightness diminish.

  He guided me into the hall of mirrors, and I spun round to see my reflection from every angle. It was quirky and the playfulness we needed.

  Tobias came up behind me. “Look at you. You’re perfection.”

  I leaned my head on his chest and held his gaze in the mirror. “‘The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.’”

  “Ah, you’re quoting Michelangelo.”

  “I am.”

  “‘I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.’” He whispered it.

  I sighed at Michelangelo’s poetic words. “Art through his eyes was seen as already existing. He merely chipped away to reveal what had always been.”

  “Everything that is has always been.”

  “I can never get my mind around the metaphysical,” I admitted. “Like trying to grasp four dimensions.”

  “We’re advancing at lightning speed. I believe soon we’ll discover evidence of a higher-dimensional realm beyond space and time.”

  “Mind blown.” I flashed my hands.

  My thoughts carried me back to the way he’d conducted himself on Liberty Island. Tobias had impressively parried and even now exuded a quiet confidence. Unlike me, he wasn’t thrown by the threat of tomorrow. That was both reassuring and a little unnerving. After all, Tobias had more than proven his self-assurance and right now even his gentleness was glinting through his steely armor.

  The image of him naked beneath that hot shower yesterday was soldered into my frontal cortex and therefore easily replayed at all the wrong moments. His strong arm wrapped around me, pulling me into a perfect hug of possessiveness.

  “Let’s practice your poker face. For when you need it.” He made a playful expression.

  I liked this side of him, this cute, approachable side that he seemed to reserve just for me. Or maybe, I reasoned, that was the whole point of making me believe we had something special going on when the only thing in common was an endgame that I wouldn’t see coming.

  I played along and mirrored his smirk. “How’s this?”

  “Can’t wait to take you again, Zara.”

  My jaw dropped at his brashness.

  “Right there you showed me what you’re thinking.” He gave a cocky smile. “Try again.”

  “Okay, I’m ready.”

  My brain warned that Tobias had artfully drawn our enemy into his complex web. Maybe I too was caught up in this finely woven plan and just couldn’t see it, didn’t want to believe I’d fallen for the famed Icon. Maybe it wouldn’t be until all this was over that I’d know for sure.

  He whispered. “I’m counting the seconds until I can taste you again.”

  I held his reflection with my best poker face, but the thought of his mouth on me caused me to lick my lips in a tease.

  “Try again.”

  “Okay, I’m ready.”

  “I’ve never felt this way about anyone,” he said softly. “You are my one obsession. All I want is you.”

  “Don’t,” I said, turning to face him.

  He cupped my face. “What if it’s the truth?”

  This teasing felt cruel. “Why are we here?”

  “If you understand science you’ll understand me.” He stepped back and reached out his arms in a gesture of sincerity. “I want you to see me.”

  “Science is honest?”

  He lowered his gaze. “Science strikes into the heart of truth and doesn’t compromise.”

  “That’s a little cold.”

  “Maybe that’s where you come in?”

  “How?”

  “I’m the science and you’re the art and this was what da Vinci was trying to tell us. That without one the other cannot exist.”

  I swooned at his words, wanting to confess my feelings for him and blurt out that I’d fallen in love with him, but the sting of rejection would cut too deep. I wasn’t ready for him to push me away and remind me he “didn’t do love.”

  This will have to be enough.

  We hurried from exhibit to exhibit, and Tobias relaxed more and lit up with happiness when he came to a hands-on section of virtual reality where he could show off his tech genius. It was as though a switch had flipped on and my serious alpha had morphed into a playful boy who loved to laugh.

  Tobias showed me the room with the large hoverboard and helped me climb onto it before the surface rose a foot off the ground. The board felt unstable beneath my feet and I fought for my balance, half listening to him explain the mechanism of fighting gravity. I giggled as I clung on to him. This was so damn fun and I loved this side of Wilder, the same side that had inspired him to set up crazy golf in the garden and give us some much-needed downtime.

  This place showcased the most recent innovations in math, science, technology and engineering, and these subjects were so much fun when seen through Wilder’s eyes. I loved every second with him as he led me around with a renewed enthusiasm, making me forget this pause in our high-risk day.

  “I have a surprise for you,” he said.

  I rubbed my stomach to hint I was hungry, thoug
h the thought of more time in the car made me antsy.

  Tobias grinned. “Come see.”

  I followed him out the back of the building to an open plan area of concrete where there were a few more exhibits, and jolted to a stop—there, on the tarmac, was a sleek-looking helicopter. “Is that for us?”

  “Otherwise we’ll be fighting traffic.” Tobias made it sound like this had been easy to arrange and led me toward the helicopter.

  Marshall climbed out and, after a few minutes of talking, he guarded our departure from the ground to keep the eager tourists at a safe distance as they took photos of our ascent. I was impressed with how Tobias took us up into the air with the ease of an experienced pilot. He’d once told me he also flew his own jet from time to time and I was again reminded Tobias was good at so many things.

  Kind of intimidating, I silently mused, staring out at the incredible view as we banked over the city.

  We landed at the downtown Manhattan heliport and a stretch limo was waiting for us. The drive along the scenic route of the FDR Drive had a view of the east river and Tobias told me this was a pretty sight at night. Within half an hour I saw the gorgeous architecture of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and hoped that was our destination.

  When the limo pulled up to the curb I almost squealed with joy. “Seriously?” I asked him, my heart pounding with excitement.

  He beamed at me. “Yes.”

  We hurried up the stone steps and I could hardly wait to enter. However, as we entered the main foyer, a wave of doubt settled in my stomach that being here was a bad idea. Those cameras would follow our every move.

  “Shouldn’t we be staying away from art galleries?” I whispered. “They have face recognition software.”

  “Zara, we have nothing to hide.”

  “What if the FBI warned the museum about you?”

  “That would be slander,” he replied with confidence. “Which is a crime.”

  Suppressing my frown, I didn’t want to spoil the moment and blurt the obvious. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

  “I know the curator. Sarah Belle’s expecting us.”

  “She is?”

  “Yes. We’re free to enjoy the Met.”