open the lid.
I was speechless for the second time
in a few moments.
Amethysts and diamonds, fitted in an
intricate white gold necklace with
matching earrings and hair combs. They
were absolutely stunning.
“Oh my God! Gilda, they’re …
gorgeous. I love white gold!”
She
scoffed.
“With
diamonds?
Heavens, no. That’s platinum. They’re
our gift to you, dear.”
Holy crap! Platinum! The set must
have cost a fortune! “But … I can’t … I
mean—”
“Nonsense.” She rose to her feet so
that we were standing toe-to-toe. “You
can, and you will. We insist.” She took
my hands in hers. “You’ve been loyal to
us in good times and bad. You,
personally, have brought us as much
business as we can comfortably handle
what with Miller & Creede and the new
Serenity Secret Service account. And
now you’ve given us the honor of having
our work displayed in a royal wedding
on the world stage for millions of people
to see.” She reached up to pat me on the
cheek with a callused but gentle hand.
“You’re going to look beautiful,
absolutely beautiful. We’re very proud
of you, Isaac and I. I know that your
relationship with your mother is not so
good, and I am sorry for that. She is an
idiot if she doesn’t realize what a gem
she has in you. We do. Isaac and I both
love you very much.”
My eyes filled with tears, making the
room blurry.
“Now hurry up and get dressed.” She
made a tsking noise and shook her head.
“It needs to be taken in more than he
expects.”
I was still too choked up to speak, so I
just nodded and let her help me with the
zipper and fasten the necklace in place
so I could see it in the mirror.
It was beautiful. I was beautiful.
Cousin.
Adriana’s
voice
spoke
clearly in my mind. Would you mind
wearing the jewels when you come out?
Olga is being a nuisance, complaining
about her dress. It’s very tiresome. I
would do much more than keep her in
the wedding to please my husband, but
I must admit I do not like her.
That made two of us.
When I reentered the living room, all
conversation stopped. Olga’s eyes got
huge and Natasha simply blinked dumbly
at me.
Adriana smiled. There was pride and
honest joy in her reaction, along with a
certain envy, which really surprised me.
“Beautiful, cousin,” she said. “You look
absolutely exquisite. You see, ladies, as
I said before, with the right jewelry,
these dresses are perfectly elegant and
modest enough not to offend your
countrymen.” She winked at me. “I am
old enough to have a bit more
experience in these matters than you do,
after all. I only hope Dahlmar isn’t too
upset about marrying a much older
woman.”
So, Adriana had figured out how to
bring it in without any help from me. But
I’d help all the same. “Luckily, the siren
genes mean that you don’t have wrinkles
yet.”
“That,”
she
said
with
another
conspiratorial wink, “and excellent
moisturizer. Thankfully, this century has
wonderful products available. Beauty
mud in the nineteenth century really was
mud.”
Olga spluttered, “But you’re—”
“Well beyond ancient. I’m … what is
the American term? Ah, yes, ‘robbing
the cradle’ by taking Dahlmar as a
husband.”
Adriana’s
smile
was
cheerfully wicked. “Sadly, I don’t have
enough siren abilities to control my
beloved psychically; and even if I did
possess those abilities, his staff has
ensured he has a protection charm. But I
would like to think I am still well-kept
enough to have some influence on him.”
Okay, so now I had no doubt she’d
been listening to me and Gilda Levy the
whole time. I was annoyed about it, too.
I gave her a stern look.
I am fighting for my honor, my life,
and the man I’ve discovered I actually
love . If you think I’m not going to use
every advantage I can, you are out of
your mind.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t, really. I
was pretty sure I’d do the same damned
thing if our roles were reversed. And,
hey, I had to give her props for using the
information to her advantage. She’d
worked it in pretty subtly, all things
considered.
Olga and Natasha looked significantly
at each other and Natasha gave the other
woman an “I told you so” look before
tipping her head down to acknowledge
Isaac’s slight touch on her calf.
“All right, Natasha, you’re done,” he
announced. “Gilda will help you choose
jewelry.” He got to his feet and took a
step back before extending his hand to
help Natasha down from her perch.
“Your turn, Celia.” He gestured toward
the stool. I climbed up with his
assistance, being extra careful of the hem
and the high heels.
“You’ve lost weight again.” He
scolded me exactly the way his wife
had. “You need to eat more. Or drink
more.”
“It’s been a rough few weeks.” I
sounded defensive. I couldn’t seem to
help it. Like my grandmother, the Levys
know just how to make me feel guilty.
But they treat me like family. And if I
could add another set of grandparents to
my life, Isaac and Gilda would be my
first choice.
“Hmnpf.” He sounded so much like
Gilda it made me laugh, which made him
smile. “Good. I like to see you happy.
Now hold still while I pin you.”
I held still.
“I understand you’ll be wearing a
lavalava for the ceremony here on
Serenity.” Isaac made it a question.
“Yes.”
“What will you do about the sunlight?
The procession is over two miles long.”
“I’ll be wearing a hat and a jacket.
But I’m a little worried about my hands
and feet. Sunscreen doesn’t last all that
long on me. Do you have any
suggestions?”
He grinned impishly. “As a matter of
fact, I do.” He rose a little creakily to
his feet. “I’m done with the pinning. Why
don’t you go get your outfit and we’ll
see if my idea is going to work for you?”
I hurried back to the bathroom,
anxious to get out of a dress made
scratchy by straight pins. I felt a little
pang of regret taking off the jewels. They
were an amazing gift, not just because of
the value, although that was not
inconsiderable, but because they were
an honest reflection of the affection
Isaac, Gilda, and I have for one another.
My family might be a source of pain
and frustration for me, but my friends?
My friends are excellent.
Adriana’s voice whispered in my
head. There is a safe hidden in the floor
of your bedroom. I will give you the
combination so that you may keep those
jewels under lock and key when you’re
not wearing them.
Thanks.
You are most welcome. And I am
quite pleased. The dresses you chose
are lovely. You can be fully armed
without drawing attention to it, and
Mr. Levy has agreed to check the
tailoring and hem of my gown.
That would probably piss off the
designer to no end.
Perhaps it will. But it is my gown,
and my wedding. And I don’t want the
ankle holster with the derringer to …
show.
Wow. I guess my gun was going to be
the “something borrowed.” Fair enough.
When this was over, I might just give it
to her. Politics is a very dicey business,
particularly in Rusland. She’d probably
need it.
Adriana soon left for a meeting with
her priest. Olga left almost on her heels;
only Natasha chose to stay while Isaac
finished making adjustments to the
lavalavas I’d be wearing to tonight’s
state dinner and the wedding the day
after tomorrow.
Natasha seemed very nervous. Isaac
and Gilda sensed something was up and
made some excuse to run out to their
rental car for something, giving us a
moment alone. The minute they were out
of earshot, Natasha turned to me and
spoke quickly and quietly. “You must not
trust Olga. She is devious and
determined. She does not believe the
wedding
should
happen.”
Her
expression was so earnest it almost hurt
to see it. I was glad that she’d come
around. Adriana wasn’t perfect, but she
did love Dahlmar, and she truly wanted
to be a good queen for his people. I
hoped that his people would eventually
come to appreciate that, and her. That
Natasha was coming around was a good
sign.
“I know,” I assured her, “and I don’t.”
She didn’t seem reassured. “I wish I
knew what she was planning. I do not. If
I had proof, I would go to Igor and the
king. But I have no proof, only
suspicion. Olga is the king’s niece, a
member of the royal family. Without
proof I can do nothing. But I know, in my
heart, she is planning something.”
“I believe you.” I did. Natasha’s
suspicions fit with what Gilda had told
me and with my own observations. “I’ll
be keeping a close eye on her.”
Natasha looked searchingly at me.
After a long moment, she said, “I think,
perhaps, she is planning on that, as well.
Please, look where she would not
expect.”
25
Checking
the schedule I saw that
tonight was going to be a busy night for
Adriana and, consequently, for me. First,
in the early evening, there was the big
rehearsal dinner for the Serenity portion
of the ceremonies—a black-tie event for
the men and “Serenity formal” for the
women. Later, Adriana would attend the
private bachelorette party hosted by her
girlfriends. I was scheduled to be with
her at both events. Since nobody was
throwing a fuss about this, I suspected
that one or more of the royal family’s
clairvoyants had seen signs of trouble. It
would’ve been nice if somebody had
warned me about the threats—the when
and where—but no one had, which
probably meant no one knew. There are
limits to what even the best seers can do.
If there wasn’t, there’d be no crime. The
police would head it off ahead of time.
In my business I’ve guarded a lot of
celebrities, but until recently I hadn’t
done much work with political figures,
so I’d never actually been to a formal
state event. It was an eye opener.
The dinner itself was in a ballroom
decorated in teal, sea green, gold, and
tan. Round tables were covered with
elegant china, silver, and crystal. Each
table had its own candelabra and floral
arrangement.
I was seated at the head table, which
was on a raised stage, between Adriana
and Igor. I had done a personal check of
the security arrangements that afternoon.
I could tell that irritated Special Agent
Albright, but it was my job to be
Adriana’s last line of defense, and I
wasn’t going to let anyone’s attitude get
in the way.
Everything was perfectly normal,
which made me nervous as hell,
particularly since Rizzoli had e-mailed
to let me know that Jan Mortensen had
disappeared
completely.
Rizzoli’s
friends in the CIA had information that
he
to
be
hiding
out
“somewhere in Europe.” They also
swore that he hadn’t gotten there by
plane, train, or boat. Which left
teleportation, probably via Okalani.
Thinking about Okalani brought back
the memory of Hiwahiwa’s words. I
prayed that she was wrong, that maybe
the kid was okay, that her father was
protecting her. But I didn’t really
believe it. Just thinking about demons
and torture made me nauseous. Having
been on the wrong end of that particular
equation, I don’t allow myself to think
about it too closely. The memories were
blunted, not erased, and they’d been
coming closer and closer to the surface
lately.
I’d need to talk about it all with
Gwen, my shrink, and soon. But tonight I
was working and needed to be on my
game. So I forced thoughts of Mortensen
and Okalani out of my mind and kept
scanning
the
crowd
for
anything
untoward or unusual.
Adriana and I were passing through
the anteroom, greeting the guests and
schmoozing. She was a vision in
emerald and gold. The queen, home at
last, was sitting on the sidelines, letting
the crowd come to her. She looked
lovely, but tired, and the scars she’d
mentioned to me days before were angry
red welts marring her porcelain skin.
Powerful people are just as vain and
petty as the rest of us. The women all
wanted to be the most beautiful and best
dressed. This was a little trickier than
usual since we were all wearing
basically the same dress. Ah, the
lavalava—equalizer of women. Of
course, it really didn’t work that way.
Beautiful women looked beautiful.
Homely women looked … really well
dressed. There were dresses in every
conceivable fabric and pattern, with
jewels in more colors than the rainbow.
No expense had been spared as the
attendees all tried to outshine one
another.
All the men wore tuxedos, in a variety
of classic styles that looked good on
most men. Still, some wear them better
than others. I saw John Creede and felt a
wash of emotions. His tux fit so
flawlessly and he looked so good in it
that most people would never have
guessed he was actually working
security, protecting King Dahlmar’s
brother, Arkady.
Greede gave me a cold nod,
acknowledging me but making it strictly
business. That stung, but not as much as
I’d expected it too—probably because I
was still angry with him. There were
things I missed about him, but there were
also plenty of things I didn’t.
Gunnar Thorsen came up to Adriana. I
hadn’t seen him since he’d oh-so-nicely
interrogated me. I’d found him handsome
in a business suit. In a tuxedo, he was
stunning. His long hair had been pulled
back in a tight braid. There are men who
look effete with long hair, almost girly.
He wasn’t one of them, not with those
shoulders and those chiseled features.
“Ladies, you’re looking lovely this
evening.” He pulled Adriana into a light
embrace, then released her and said,
“That’s an excellent choice for you,
Celia, very striking.”
“Thank you.” I smiled up at him. I
knew I looked good. My lavalava was
made of raw silk in a dramatic black and
white hibiscus pattern. The dress went
well with my pale skin and there was
quite a lot of that skin showing. Because
it was such a bold print, I’d opted for
simple yet elegant jewelry: a pair of
pearl earrings and a platinum chain at
my wrist.
A lavalava is not made for a
concealed carry, so I had been limited in