She waited for the storm, but it didn’t come. He didn’t even look surprised. “So, what, you found out I was the most boring guy on the planet and now you want to break up with me?”
Break up with him? He was teasing her, she knew, but was there something more behind it? “I found the hidden folder.”
He sat up a little straighter. “Now I’m impressed.”
“Are you angry?” Funny how when she met him, everyone who knew him always thought him angry. And now he was…smiling.
With a grin she could have lost herself in, he asked, “If I say I am, can we have makeup sex?”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“You were doing your job,” he said. “However, I would appreciate it if you’d refrain from such tactics in the future.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She turned and left, returning a moment later with the folder. She started to hand it to Edward.
He waved her off. “You do the honors. I’ll observe.”
She settled next to him on the sofa and first extracted the two manila envelopes.
“Nice,” Edward said. “Adam is going to be thrilled you rescued those. I’m sure he’s got the info backed up in triplicate, but under the circumstances…”
“Yeah, although I suspect Willie will be the warden’s problem for the foreseeable future.” She took out Edward’s personal documents and placed them on the table, then removed the papers that had been hidden in the bottom of the safe.
“Neither Adam nor Max had any idea these were down there,” Edward said of the hidden documents. “No one did.”
She unfolded the aged parchment and studied it. “It’s a letter to Prince Randolph dated eighteen fifty-one.” The year of London’s Great Exhibition. The year the Pasha Star went missing—not stolen, as Nathan Hawk and Benjamin Steel first thought, but hidden by Alex Valetta, the man who would become Nathan’s father-in-law, in order to protect the jewel.
Edward released a long breath. “Wow.”
She had to squint to make out the faded script. “His Majesty Prince Randolph,” she read. “Kind of overkill, don’t you think?”
“Not when one is speaking to royalty.”
“Regarding the plans for the Great Exhibition, we have secured Alex Valetta’s help in making the paste diamond. He is quite unhappy to have his affairs with Princess Mary exposed, so you needn’t expect any trouble with his cooperation. His work as the royal jeweler is excellent, as you well know. Expect the replica Pasha Star to be every bit as exquisite as the original. It’s unlikely anyone will discover the ruse.
“Benjamin Steel and Nathanial Hawk have been contracted to make the display case. Every man has a price. Theirs will be easy enough to determine.”
“Ouch,” Edward said. “I’m betting that price was a little too rich even for royal coffers.”
“I can’t make out the signature,” she said. “The next one is a note about Tommy Pratchett and Nathan Hawk. As a teenager, Nathan was a jewel thief known as the Raven. Nathan found his way, but when Tommy later borrowed the moniker, it caused a bit of trouble for Nathan.”
“Monique drew those lines in her book,” Edward explained. “Tommy was ultimately on the right side of the law. He went after Prince Randolph when everyone thought he’d stolen the Pasha Star.”
“I nearly forgot about her,” Sophie said. She reached for her bag and withdrew the letters from Monique and added them to the pile. “Do you think what Rufus said is true? That you’re the rightful heir to the throne?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Edward said. “As far as I’m concerned, the rightful heir is already there.”
“It’s just as well,” she mused. “You’d have to learn to smile more.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I definitely don’t need that kind of pressure.”
She traced a finger over his leg. Of all the places the investigation could have gone, this place with Edward was the last one she expected. “You know, you never did tell me where that second tattoo is.”
“Weren’t you paying attention? What happened to Strong as Steel, Watchful as a Hawk?” The playful tone was new. She liked it. She really liked how it was for her.
But throwing a slogan at her? She rolled her eyes. “Because Steel Hawk’s motto has everything to do with your ink.”
“Hey, you’re a Hawk, aren’t you?”
“And you have steel in your—”
“Careful, Ms. Garza,” he teased. “You’re about to get personal.”
“I was going to say in your head.” She poked him in the chest. “And who are you to talk about paying attention? You managed to miss the key, and it was around my neck.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she cringed. Not the best idea to remind him of her deception, but he only smiled and touched her cheek.
“Sure,” he said. “Because when a guy has the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen sprawled naked in his bed—in the dark, I might add—he’s going to be looking at her jewelry.”
She sighed. “You do realize you’re a colossal pain, right?”
“Actually if these papers are to be believed, I’m more of a royal pain. And I think you just found my tattoo.”
“Where, your ass?”
“Fitting, right?”
Sophie rolled her eyes, but she let him tug her down to his lap, where he kissed her a degree south of senseless. “Yes, it’s fitting. It’s not a tiara is it?”
He snorted. “Not quite. You’ll have to pay more attention next time.”
“You can count on that,” she murmured. “But tiara assed or otherwise, you’re mine. For now.”
He laughed. “How about for as long as you’ll put up with me,” he corrected.
“Careful what you wish for,” she warned.
He brushed a strand of hair from her face and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I couldn’t wish for anything more.”
About the Author
Sarah and her husband of what he calls “many long, long years” live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they’re asleep. She never dreamed of becoming an author, but as a homeschooling mom she often jokes she writes fiction because if she wants anyone to listen to her, she has to make them up. (As it turns out, her characters aren’t much better than her children.) When not buried under piles of laundry, she may be found adrift in the Atlantic (preferably on a boat) or in search of that ever-elusive perfect writing spot where not even the kids can find her. To learn more about her work in contemporary, historical, and supernatural romance and romantic suspense, please stalk accordingly.
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Look for these titles by Sarah Ballance
Now Available:
Forsaken
Don’t miss the other titles in the Steel Hawk Series!
It’s one thing to lose your heart. Quite another to have it stolen.
Steel Hawk, Book 1
Years ago, notorious jewel thief “The Raven” vanished into the shadows. In 1851, Nathan Hawk emerges into a life of respectability, determined to make up for past sins.
He and his business partner are introducing a lock they’re so sure can’t be broken, they’re displaying a priceless diamond, the Pasha Star, at the Great Exhibition. It’s bad enough catching a light-fingered young man trying to steal the stone. Worse when he realizes it’s the daughter of his old mentor.
Rose Valetta’s father has been kidnapped, and she needs the Star to buy his freedom. She never expected to come nose-to-nose with Nathan. Their reunion is fraught with tension, es
pecially when they discover the diamond in Nathan’s impregnable case is not the Pasha Star.
With Nathan’s reputation in tatters, they race to find the real stone before it’s too late for Rose’s father. Too late to save the empire from a usurper. And too late to keep from losing their hearts.
Warning: Contains a woman who dreams of a world with a level playing field, and an ex-thief who can run from his past but can’t hide from it.
Colleague, friend, lover…beautiful liar?
Steel Hawk, Book 2
Adam Steel is in crisis mode. A recent exposé claims a founder of Steel Hawk was actually The Raven, an infamous jewel thief. Amid the ensuing damage control, all eyes are on his ability to develop a prototype to secure and protect the royal Pasha Star diamond.
He’s further blindsided when he learns his assistant, Honeysuckle Hawk, has a sordid past he never knew about. Proving he never really knew her, never should have trusted her, and definitely shouldn’t start falling for her.
With her dirty laundry flapping in the media storm, Honeysuckle’s first instinct is to run. Two things make her stay: Adam’s insistence it’s better to show the world a united front, and her heart’s insistence by his side is where she belongs.
High stakes and long hours ignite passion…until the diamond is stolen and Adam’s own prototype shows Honeysuckle is a thief. Dare he trust her to help him expose the real criminal—before the mastermind wreaks havoc on the royal family?
Warning: Contains an über-hot, alpha-geek who’s good with his hands, a sassy reformed-rebel determined to prove she’s not a flake, romantic castles, gorgeous jewels, sleek and sexy technology, heart-pounding suspense…oh, and nipple tassels!
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Dangerous Illusions
Copyright © 2016 by Sarah Ballance
ISBN: 978-1-61923-378-2
Edited by Linda Ingmanson
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: August 2016
www.samhainpublishing.com
Dangerous Illusions (Steel Hawk Book 3) Page 18