She swept her arm around. “This is nice.”
It was nice, which was the reason he’d wanted to bring her here. Half showing off, half wanting to give her some kindness, after the kindness she’d shown him last night.
He said, “You’re a good partner, Mike.”
He caught her by surprise. She paused for a moment, then said, “You know what? You are, too.”
He laughed. “When do you want to examine my stitches?”
78
Paris
Saturday afternoon
Kitsune stopped for an espresso and a bathroom break at a roadside travel station. She was dragging. Paris was an hour away; she needed to hold it together a bit longer, then the job would be finished and she could rest. This was why she trained so hard, and saved her energy between contracts; once she started a job, proper sleep and food weren’t priorities.
She set the empty cup down on the bar. The place was filled with tourists, teens in tight jeans and mismatched colors, flirting, harried parents with small children, the odd lingering glances of single men. Normal. It was all so very normal. She didn’t remember ever having normal.
She turned to leave and heard her mobile ringing from her jacket pocket. She drew the phone out and looked at the screen. It was Mulvaney.
She shouted with relief. She ran out of the building, jumped in her stolen Fiat, and answered the phone.
“Mulvaney! Thank God, I’ve been so worried!” She got hold of herself. “Well, it’s about time. I thought you were dead.”
“Hello, Kitsune.” Her heart stopped. No. Please, no.
“Lanighan?”
“You’ll get your man Mulvaney back when you hand over the diamond.”
Her heart pounded at her temples, fear clogged her throat. “What have you done to him? Where is he?”
She knew who held the power now. Lanighan’s voice held both contempt and pleasure. “You will do exactly what I say. No more mistakes, no more trying to screw me out of my diamond. You give me the Koh-i-Noor, in person, and I will let him go.”
How had he found Mulvaney? They were always so careful. And how had he managed to take him? No one took Mulvaney, he was too smart, too fast—
Control, she must gain control. She must be calm. She said, “I do not understand why you have done this. I have given you my word, and two years of my life in the pursuit of your dream. I want you to have your diamond.”
He was breathing fast, so mad now he was nearly shouting. “I’m to blame here? You’re the one who put my bank accounts in the hands of the FBI. You’re the one who gave me a key to open that rigged safe-deposit box. You would have blown me up!”
His voice dropped; he was struggling for control. “Damn you, you bitch, you sliced my throat in Paris. Consider this payback. You’re going to do exactly what I tell you. Bring me the diamond, and you get your precious mentor back.”
She was shaking, she was so furious. She yelled, “You idiot! That was not a fake key! You let Mulvaney go right now, or I will disappear with the Koh-i-Noor forever. You won’t be able to unite the three stones.”
She heard the sharp intake of his breath. She knew he was planning something crazy with the diamond, she knew it. She’d shaken him; now it was time to press her advantage, to be calm and take control again.
“Yes, Saleem. I know what you think you can do. Why else would you want the Koh-i-Noor? All the men in your family have tried and failed. What makes you think you are any different?”
Saleem ignored her words, and went for the jugular. “You’re killing him, Kitsune. Every word, every minute that ticks by, Mulvaney dies a little more. A finger, an ear, so much I can do. I am serious. You bring me the diamond at nine p.m., to my home, or I will cut him into little pieces.”
He hung up.