by Olivia Norem
“Good. You’re ready then,” Ian nodded. He gently laid some old, curious books on the table. “I have a cab waiting downstairs to take you to the airport.”
“Good enough,” Kat sighed and eyed the books. “What are those?”
“I did a little research,” Ian smiled and looked over at Simeon. “I’ve found some interesting stuff, my friend. Have a good trip, sis, I’m sure we’ll be able to fill you in a lot more when you return.” Ian kissed her lightly on the cheek.
“Where did you get those?”
“The library.” Ian shrugged.
Kat snuck a glance at the tooled leather and the ornate metal hinges on the book. That was no library book.
“Ian…” Kat drawled as her eyes narrowed accusingly.
“So… it wasn’t exactly the library, but the library was close by...” Ian hedged.
“Ian.” She cracked his name like a whip. Her tone demanded an explanation. “You risked stealing a book. Now? More artifacts missing? Geez, Ian, this isn’t that big of a city you know. Forest Gump could figure out they’re connected.” She folded her arms in a huff.
“Borrowed, Kat,” he corrected. “Simply borrowed. Besides, there’s another book lying in place under the glass. And this one will be back before anyone is the wiser.”
Kat arched a critical eyebrow in his direction. “What did you replace it with?”
Ian burst into laughter. “A copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude. A little nod to honor Simeon, here.”
Kat groaned and rolled her eyes.
“Geez. You’re the only snatcher I know who would leave a joke as a decoy.”
“Snatcher?” Ian stiffened in offense with a snort. “I’ll have you know that book was housed inside a display case outfitted with magnetic vibration and proximity detection switches. The entire system is hooked up to state-of-the-art transmitters, which I know are connected to GPS with a five-mile range, thank you. Snatcher? I’m insulted.”
“So how you’d do it?” Simeon frowned. He didn’t understand most of what Ian said, but it sounded as if the man had performed a bait and switch.
“Trade secret, my friend.” Ian patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.
“Trade secret my ass,” Kat scoffed. “Colin disrupted the signal with satellite. Probably used his favorite U2 song. Ian set off a micro EMP pulse from a pocket transmitter.”
Simeon knew this was English but the exchange between siblings left his head spinning. He quickly addressed the topic that had brought him out here in the first place. Ian certainly conducted himself like a warrior, but sending his sister off without any protection was unthinkable.
“Surely ye dinnae mean for her tae venture alone?”
Ian waved a casual hand and sat down on the sofa. “If there was any risk, of course I’d go. But Kitty Kat? No chance.”
Kat gave him her best I told you so look. Still, this situation didn’t sit well with him.
“Oh, Ian?” Kat turned back to her brother with one hand on the door.
“Yes, sis?”
“Try to keep a low profile if you take him around town. Apparently, Simeon here is the best rugby player in Scotland.”
Ignoring her flippant tone, Simeon caught her hand in his and brought it to her lips. “God speed, Katherine.”
Confusion crossed her face at the tender gesture. It was unfamiliar and made a surge of warmth bloom inside her gut. Damn if she didn’t want to throw her arms around him, beg him to take her back to bed and get lost in his lovemaking. “Thanks. Until tomorrow then?”
“Aye, lass. Ken ye’ll be ever in me tho’s whilst yer gone,” he whispered so low, only she heard the words. Kat couldn’t ever remember leaving to do a drop and having someone actually concerned about her whereabouts. Tearing herself away, Kat quickly left the house and made her way to the waiting cab.
Ian either missed their exchange, or he chose to ignore it. Either way, that suited Simeon just fine. “First things first, Simeon,” Ian smiled.
“Aye?”
“You need some clothes. Then… well, I’m thinking you’re probably one of the best wing men in Scotland. And to be honest, I need to do some serious drinking to forget the traitorous bitch who just walked out on me.”
Simeon frowned at the closed door, and then looked back at Kat’s brother. He was in disbelief that her brother would refer to his sister in such a fashion.
“Not Kat.” Ian waved him off. “My bitch of a wife, Elena. Well… soon to be ex-wife. But first, take a look at this.”
Simeon nodded in instant understanding.
Aye, drinking would be just the cure to take one’s mind from a bothersome lass.
He peered at the page Ian spread out before him. What he saw made his breath hitch in his throat.
It was a sketch of a woman who looked suspiciously similar to Isobel. Her arms were outstretched over a mirror — the same mirror that had held him prisoner for the past four centuries.
Chapter 12
The short taxi ride to the airport was agonizing. As Kat saw her soft reflection in the back window of the cab, she gritted her teeth. She was glowing. Glowing with a stupid smile on her face — and all because Simeon had put it there.
The lingering sensations of his erotic lovemaking were still vivid. Too vivid. Her thoughts were crowded with his handsome face, the warmth of his sensual whispers that woke her periodically throughout the night to slip inside her again and again. Kat cursed silently, willing her body to stop reacting and focus on the task at hand. What was wrong with her? She had never let a lover affect her like this. Of course, Simeon, by every definition, was way beyond a lover. He was an enigma. An amazing enigma who had traveled through time. It was hard to wrap her head around witches and curses and magic. She had never before believed in anything so intangible. But Simeon was proof they did exist. A six foot four formidable, muscle-bound, proof that they existed.
What was the attraction then? His enviable looks or the fact that he was a supernatural wonder? Or was it just… Simeon? Kat distractedly paid the taxi and headed inside the airport. A quick glance up to the screens confirmed her flight was on time. Kat smiled again, wondering what Simeon would think of the concept of traveling by air. Heading to the security line, Kat shook her head again. She really needed to get him off her mind.
Without thinking, she began talking to him in her head. She was casually explaining to him what IDs and X-rays were, smiling foolishly as she imagined the horrified expressions on his face. Get a grip Kat, she chided herself and moved into a long line at the coffee kiosk. That was it. With precious little sleep and the shocking events of the past twenty-four hours, she needed some coffee to clear her head. Kat slowly inched forward to the cashier to place her order.
Out of the left corner of her eye, a tall, dark-haired man made his way to the back of the line. Kat stole a surreptitious glance, immediately comparing him to her Highlander. Other than his height and the dark hair, he didn’t possess one iota of the smoldering magnetism of Simeon Campbell. Ancient Scottish Laird Simeon Campbell. Geez, she had to pull herself together. His lovemaking wasn’t that good, or was it?
Oh, but it was.
Kat closed her eyes and inhaled through her nostrils. Another step forward. Simeon. She wondered how he took his coffee? Did he even drink coffee? Simeon. Another step forward. The tender muscles in her legs reminded her just how intense last night had been. Simeon.
“Large coffee. Black,” Kat smiled at the barista and opened her wallet. He gave her slight frown. He was probably so used to double-shot no-foam lattes, the simple order confused him. Would Simeon even be around long enough for Kat to learn if he drank coffee? She shivered, still feeling his hands as they kneaded her hips, her buttocks. Her lips throbbed from his swoon-worthy kissing. And when he drove into her… Kat sighed out loud, audibly. A woman standing close by glanced over at her noise.
“Really great coffee,” Kat said and lifted her cup to her lips. She quickly headed to the gate. Geez,
she really needed to purge this guy from her thoughts. Kat tapped her boarding pass nervously against her thigh. The flight wasn’t overly full, judging from the number of the passengers at the gate. Her eyes quickly swept over the males in the waiting crowd. No, not one of them had Simeon’s arresting looks or his presence. Kat frowned and took a long pull from her cup. Damn! One night with him and he was now the standard to which she was comparing other men. Comparing other men with the hope to quash the tiny fear that niggled deep in her gut. Who was she kidding? She’d never met anyone like him before. She’d never felt that electricity at the first touch, and she’d never, ever thought about anyone the morning after; once she’d exited the door, she was done.
The anxiety seemed to blossom in her stomach and spread as she swallowed more coffee. Had Simeon ruined her for other men? What would happen to him? A man out of time in the twenty-first century? Why should she care? Would she be able to leave him, as she knew she had to, once she returned from Switzerland? Or worse, what if she really didn’t want to?
Kat trembled at the thought. It was one night, her rational voice reminded her. One incredible night, and that was nothing to build a relationship on. Any way she dissected it, the cold reality returned. Based on her life, her history, and her special skill sets — any relationship involving anything more than casual contact would be impossible.
What a mess. No wonder Murray and her brothers always warned her not to get emotionally involved with anyone. Emotions clouded things, distracted a person from the nuances of a mission. Emotions made you sloppy, careless, and got you caught.
Kat boarded the plane and found her seat. Settling back and fastening her seat belt, she firmly decided to put Simeon from her mind. When she returned to Scotland tomorrow night, she’d make immediate plans to put as much distance between them as possible. Let Ian worry about the details of Simeon’s adjustment to this century. She wasn’t about to slip up and relinquish her coveted title as the world’s most elusive thief because of one night of passion.
Taking comfort in her reasoning, Kat sank back and closed her eyes. She’d let Simeon slip into a pleasurable, distant memory and nothing more. Simeon. It was the right thing to do. The vibration of the plane taxiing out to the runway coursed through her tired limbs. The tremors seemed to magnify everywhere his fingers had touched her so intimately last night. Kat cursed silently as the haunting image of Simeon’s blue eyes swam before her. She opened her eyes again and reached for a magazine. Damn, this was going to be harder than she thought.
Kat finally dozed and woke just as the wheels touched down in Geneva. Shaking away the grogginess of sleep, she grabbed her tote bag and made her shuffling way down the aisle of airplane. Once she stepped into the jetway, a cold wave of air washed over her, making her shiver.
Kat glanced at her fellow passengers. Everyone was in short sleeves or tank tops — not a jacket in sight. No one appeared cold or shivering. Rubbing her arms vigorously to shake the chill, Kat put it down to the change of climate in Switzerland. She was in a mountainous area, after all.
Once she entered the airport and walked to the customs line, she glanced behind her. An eerie feeling crept over her that she was being watched. Always one to trust her gut, Kat went mentally on high alert. Had someone put the pieces together for the theft at Fasque Castle? Unlikely. Kat extracted a pair of Ray Ban’s from her tote. She turned and struck up a meaningless conversation with the man behind her. Making small talk with him allowed her to scan the crowd from behind her sunglasses. Spotting a tail was a skill all the Goldman children acquired early, thanks to Murray’s cadre of nefarious experts.
Nothing.
Either the tail she’d picked up was extremely talented, or her imagination was causing her to become paranoid. The man she’d used to fake a conversation with gave her a little wave of his hand and smiled warmly. It was her turn to step up to the customs agent, get her passport stamped, and get the hell out of this airport. If she had picked up a tail, Kat knew exactly how to lose them.
She sailed through customs, walked quickly outside, and pushed her way into the first taxi she could find. The cab driver turned and asked, ‘where to?’ simultaneously in French, German, and Italian. Running his eyes over her face as she pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, he smiled in the rearview mirror and repeated the question in English.
Kat smiled back. God, she loved the Swiss!
“How long will it take to get to the Musee d’Art from here?”
“With traffic right now, about thirty minutes, mademoiselle.” He told her in French-accented English.
Kat handed him a hundred Euro from her wallet. “There’s another one of those waiting for you if you get me there in fifteen.”
“Mademoiselle, for another hundred, I’ll make it there in ten,” he laughed and glanced at his watch. Kat jarred back against the seat as the tires squealed away from the curb.
True to his promise, the driver made it to the Musee d’Art et d’Histoire in ten minutes on the dot, and it hadn’t been a ride for the faint of heart. When he stopped in front of museum, Kat mentally high-fived the precision time-keeping skills of the Swiss. She handed him the hundred, and then peeled off another. “In case anyone asks, you were never here today, were you?”
“Ah, mademoiselle, of course I was not,” he assured, and reached for the bill. Kat pulled it back and arched a brow skeptically. “I’m supposed to take your word for it? I’d hate to think my money was wasted.”
The cab driver’s mouth pressed into a harsh line of repugnance as he snatched the bill from her hand. He thumped his chest proudly. “I am Swiss. If nothing else, we are known for our discretion.”
“I’ve got your name,” Kat warned as she exited the cab. The driver craned his head out the window and broke into a wide smile. “And I, beautiful lady, have never seen you before.”
Kat melded smoothly into the crowd. She found a ladies room and quickly twisted her hair up in a bun and knotted a scarf around it. She slipped into a different colored shirt and changed her shoes and sunglasses; that was all the time she had for an impromptu disguise. She exited the ladies room calmly, bought a bottle of water, and leaned back against a wall.
Kat waited. She scanned the crowd again to make sure she hadn’t been followed. No one cast furtive glances waiting for her to exit. If she did have a tail, she’d definitely lost them. Kat turned on another burner phone and pulled up a browser window. Just to cover her bases, she made another hotel reservation about ten blocks away from her original hotel under her spare alias, Janine Garrison.
Maybe she was being paranoid. Had Simeon really blown her concentration for a simple drop? No. She refused to get sloppy and take any unnecessary risks. She learned a long time ago, always trust your gut. Maybe she was being emotional. Oh God! Now she was thinking about Simeon and emotions at the same time. Frowning and taking another sip of water, Kat crossed through the throngs of people and hailed another cab. This one wouldn’t need to be at breakneck speed, but a slow, leisurely ride to the bank.
In the back of the new taxi, Kat opened her wallet and extracted the coated white packet. Peeling away one side, she placed the adhesive film on her right thumb, and then carefully pulled away the backing. It was a new fingerprint. Identical to the one her pick up would use sometime later this week to access the contents of the safety deposit box Kat was about to rent. She had to love Colin. Anytime new technology came out, Col was always on top of the latest ways to circumvent it.
Kat smiled to herself. She couldn’t wait to see what her brother would come up with if the Swiss switched to DNA swabs for security. Hell, they probably wouldn’t use Switzerland to make drops anymore if that was the case.
Ignoring the breathtaking view of Lake Geneva, she suddenly wondered — what would Colin think of Simeon? After all, the Scot certainly seemed to get along well with Ian, after their ridiculous brawl, of course. Then again, why would it matter? Colin would never meet Simeon. Kat sighed and leaned her he
ad back against the seat.
She loved Switzerland, Geneva in particular. It was a large city pulsing with energy and amazingly clean. But today, not even the views could suppress thoughts of the man with whom she’d shared a world shattering experience last night. Taking a deep breath of the mountain air, Kat did something she rarely did. She gave up. If he was going to intrude on her every thought, then so be it. Simeon.
Damn! She missed him already.
Powering her phone back on, she quickly scanned the flights back to Inverness. She could catch the last flight out and be back tonight. After all, there really was no reason to stay in Geneva tonight, was there? She already knew sleep was going to evade her. Tossing the night away trying to drive the Highland Laird from her mind was going to be impossible.
Her finger poised over the checkout button for the airline ticket. Emotional logic overcame reason, and Kat justified the hasty purchase in her tortured mind. If she had picked up a tail and she was being watched, then returning to Inverness would be the prudent thing to do. Besides, hadn’t she already made another hotel reservation just for the sake of caution?
That settled it. She’d return to Scotland tonight. The decision was made solely on preservation of the job, she reasoned.
This was all about the job. She definitely wasn’t rushing back to Scotland to see Simeon.
###
“’Tis probably one thing I should warn ye aboot.” Simeon paused in front of the tailor’s shop where Ian had led him.
“What’s that?”
“It seems I bear a striking resemblance to a mon who is well known in Scotland. His name is Seamus Campbell.”
A brief look of surprise crossed Ian’s face as he hesitated by the door. “What’s he famous for?”