Collection (25 page)

“I know. Despite the hit or miss memories, some things stick around for good even if you try to forget. What I know from what's up here,” he tapped his head, “is that the world never changes in the ways we want.” Lucien listened to his brother and sat opposite him, unconsciously mirroring his posture.

“I feel like we're still fighting against the same enemies as we did hundreds of years ago. I can't turn on the TV without hearing about people willing to do horrible things to the different and disenfranchised. And us? No matter how many years pass, we're still the same huddled tribe who had to take care of ourselves because nobody else was willing to help us. You'd think in seven hundred years, we'd have made more progress.”

“There are a few things that are better, we're a little better off than we were at the beginning. We're paying the bills, and then some. We educate our girls, and they have a good life, if not a perfect one. They make do. They don't have to run from witch-burning throngs anymore. Also, I like the food. Do you remember the mutton? Ugh.”

Lucien gave Cicero a sideways glance. He knew his brother was trying to lighten the mood, but that didn't solve their problem. Moaning about what they couldn't change wasn't going to solve their problem either.

“Did Eva find anything in the train station footage?” Cicero asked.

“No. You can see her on the first few cameras near the entrance to the station, but after that, Franka just disappeared.” Eva Lauter had pored over the footage for hours, but Franka seemed to know just how to melt into a crowd.

“Maybe she went home?”

“No. We've checked her flat, and we're watching it to see if she returns. She didn't even pack a bag.”

“Not her flat in Geneva. Her other home. You said she went to her mother's home after she gave up her baby. Does she still have it?”

Lucien stopped to think about what Cicero was saying. Of course! There was one place that she felt safe. She had hidden out there before. She probably would again.

“She must still own it. It was passed down through her father, there was never any reason for us to keep track of it, and I don't think she would have sold it. I'll call Celine and ask her to send someone to Lyon to check.”

“See? We just need to be patient, and the solutions come to us. Time is the one thing we have on our side.” Cicero grinned at the slight headway they had made into Franka's whereabouts. Lucien wasn't ready to celebrate. Even if they did find Franka, it would only solve a very small part of their problem. What were they going to do with her when they found her? Pippa had already pointed out that rare disobedience within the family had previously been handled with physical punishment. Times had changed. Lucien didn't have the stomach to sign off on beating a sixty-year-old woman, even if Pippa advocated it. Plus, they needed Franka to tell them more about Lionel Sykes. As Franka had written, if he was real, then he was more important to them than Franka's transgressions. If he was some kind of poseur, then they had to find out what he was up to. Franka had already given him enough damning information that he might use it to blackmail them.

The next day Celine called back. They had sent Hannah to check on the house. She had found Franka in a rental car in the driveway. At first, Hannah thought she was sleeping, but when she opened the door, she saw Franka had been shot in the left temple. Flies were swarming in the car. The blood had pooled in the carpet and seats. It was black and cold. The local gendarmerie believed she had been dead for a while. She didn't even have the chance to get out of the car. Franka didn't get far, even with time on her side.

36

“JANE, DO YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE ELSE
to be?” Jane's advisor, Mrs. Lane stared at the young woman seated in front of her desk with annoyance.

“What? No. I'm fine. Sorry.” Jane put her phone down on the desk, then fumbled and shoved it into her bag.

“Well, could you please give me your full attention so we can get your schedule figured out?”

“Yes. I can do that.” She demurely laid her clasped hands in her lap. She was the picture of female propriety.

“Now, you pursued general studies last year in our art department. Have you given any thought to a specialty? We have several programs that may appeal to you.”

“I have been thinking about it.”

She had been doing nothing but think about it. After their disastrous meeting with Raleigh, Lucien had insisted on driving her back to Branley. To combat her protests, Lucien assured her that her own car would find its way home. He said that he should drive since she was upset, though his words had been “borderline catatonic”. She refused to speak to him the whole way home, so she wasn't surprised when he called two days later. It was enough time for her to recover her senses, but not enough time that she could speak civilly to him.

“What?” She would answer her phone, but that was all.

Lucien couldn't conceal his exasperation. “Jane. I have apologized more to you in the past week than I have to anybody. Ever.”

Jane relented if only to hear why he was calling. “Okay, what?”

“I want to help you.”

“How?” Her voice was understandably suspicious and overtly unenthusiastic, and all with one little word. Lucien cleared his throat and Jane rolled her eyes. Whatever came out of his mouth next, it was going to be a doozy.

“I believe you're owed some compensation for your continued involvement in my problems. I realize that it's taken a toll on your emotional well being to be forced in to the situations in which you've found yourself due to knowing me.”

“This sounds rehearsed. Are you trying to buy me off?”

Lucien was wise enough not to try to lie to her. He hedged. “Perhaps. Are you willing to be bought off?”

Jane stopped herself from an immediate refusal. Was she willing to be bought off? Could money actually make all of this worth it? It would make it easier to stay in school, which was a questionable pursuit right now. Depending on how much he was willing to give her, she could even pay for her mother's care facility. However, if she took the money, she was probably some kind of accessory to the crimes he talked about. Who was she kidding? She was already a silent witness to two murders.

“How much are we talking about?” He paused either out of surprise that she hadn't immediately refused, or because he didn't want to give her too much. Probably the latter.

“How much do you need?”

“I don't know, what's the going rate for an accomplice to several international crimes? Should I bill you by the hour? Annual tax return is gonna be a bitch.”

“Yeah, well, there's only so much I can give you until it looks suspicious. You're just a college student. You can't start driving a Mercedes around after carting that trash heap you call a car all over campus.”

“That trash heap is a Camry. Not all of us can afford a Porsche, and I would never waste my money on something so ridiculous as a sports car.”

“Right, okay. Sorry I don't mean to upset you. I don't understand why I let you affect me. Look, how about I think of a few creative
ways to get you set up with a monthly stipend of some sort, and then you tell me if it's enough.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Jane hung up without waiting to see if he had more to say. He had probably said enough. If she was affecting him, he was definitely disturbing her. She remembered playing with her sister's kids last winter at their home in Wisconsin. They had gotten a new train set that you put together with magnets. The train cars wouldn't link up unless you had the magnets turned the right way. Otherwise, they just pushed apart, and the only way you could get anywhere was to push the engine the wrong way. Jane firmly believed that this was the nature of her relationship with Lucien. They repelled each other, but still ended up on the same track.

Just before this meeting he had sent her a text message. Somehow he knew that she was meeting with her advisor. This was one intrusion that irked her, but the message itself made her angry as well. Now he was telling her what classes to take. The more she tried to separate herself from Lucien and his drama, the more it backfired. Now, he was asking her to get involved on a new and personal level. He said it was just to facilitate her stipend, but she had her own suspicions.

“Jane? Did I lose you again?” Jane's advisor was becoming impatient. Jane was the last student on her list for assistance, and she was acting flakier than last semester. It was probably drugs.

“No, you didn't. I'm sorry I have a lot going on in my life right now.”

Mrs. Lane looked back at her as if she didn't think Jane's life could be all that complicated. She pulled out several printouts of options based on Jane's previous courses.

“I would hate to put this off any longer, the classes will be open to freshmen next week, and you may miss out on something you want. If you pick an area of interest, I can get you into the required courses. I just need your decision; a commitment.”

“Oh, you too, huh?” Jane ignored Mrs. Lane's look of confusion.

“Okay.” Jane leaned forward to look at the options and course schedules Mrs. Lane had written out. She finally raised her finger and pointed at one.

“Art Conservation? That's a great choice. You know we just received notification of a generous grant sponsored by a very prestigious restoration house in the area. Would you like to apply? It's a very rigorous selection process, but you never know.” Mrs. Lane shrugged her shoulders in an effort to convey her belief that Jane didn't stand a chance at the scholarship, but “why not give it a go?”

“I think that would be great.” Jane tried to feign a smile. She was pretty sure she could send in a piece of paper with only her name written in crayon and still get the scholarship. Lucien told her that the Magnolia House would pay for her education. All she had to do was sign up for the Art Conservation program, so it didn't look suspicious when they started funneling money her way. He was telling the truth, but Jane had enough experience with obfuscation to know it wasn't the whole truth. Plus, she could spell obfuscation now.

He wanted her for some reason, and he believed that this grant would bring them closer. She wasn't averse to free money, but Jane had to figure out what was motivating him. It would be useful for him to have a trained art conservator with lie detection skills on his side. If that wasn't what he wanted, then Jane had to reconsider their relationship. There were too many unknowns, but he might be the best thing that ever happened to her.

Lucien was still uneven when he spoke to her. He was guarded about so many things, but very open about others. He had told her so much about his forgery business, but barely anything about himself. She already knew enough about him to put him away for life. If he was so hesitant to talk about where he's from or people he knows, then he must be pretty messed up. Could she really stand to be associated with him for the next several years?

Jane wasn't sure that was the life she wanted. It was all very romantic, but her limited experience in his world indicated a high body count. She reassured herself that she was still in control of a few things in her life, and Lucien couldn't make her work for him if she didn't want to. Truthfully, she liked the idea of going into the field of art conservation and restoration, and she recognized that her particular talents would be useful in this career. She just had to get out from under Raleigh's thumb, and figure out if Lucien was the kind of guy she wanted in her life.

Right now, he wasn't even the kind of guy she could see without wanting to hit in the face. Ever since meeting him, she had dealt with one surprise after another. Hopefully, they were through with that, and she could regain her footing. No man had that many secrets.

 

E
ND OF
B
OOK
O
NE

MORE GREAT READS FROM BOOKTROPE

Roses in Ecuador
by Heather Huffman
(Romantic Suspense) Jane Russell wants nothing more than to tend to the jaguars on her preserve in Ecuador in peace, and she's certainly not looking for love. But a handsome rose plantation owner, a mysterious U.S. Senator, and unknown sinister forces have other plans.

Caramel and Magnorlias
by Tess Thompson
(Contemporary Romance) A former actress goes undercover to help a Seattle police detective expose an adoption fraud in this story of friendship, mended hearts, and new beginnings.

A State of Jane
by Meredith Schorr
(Contemporary Women's Fiction) Jane is ready to have it all: great friends, partner at her father's law firm and a happily-ever-after love. But her life plan veers off track when every guy she dates flakes out on her. As other aspects of Jane's life begin to spiral out of control, Jane will discover that having it all isn't all that easy.

The Puppeteer
by Tamsen Schultz
(Romantic Suspense) A CIA agent and an ex-SEAL-turned-detective uncover a global web of manipulation that will force them to risk not just their fledgling relationship, but their very lives.

… and many more!

Sample our books at:
www.booktrope.com

Learn more about our new approach to publishing at:
www.booktropepublishing.com