Page 74 of Deadly Charade

Her fingers tingled from his touch. Were the sparks real, or just a temporary by-product of their whirlwind fake marriage?

That kiss in the gallery hallway made the fake seem oh so real. For her anyway.

Ivan returned and sat back down next to Agent Bailey. Bryce moved his hand and the moment was gone.

“Alex communicated our request to the kidnappers,” Ivan said, “and they have agreed to let us meet with the statue. They will trade. We might finally find out who is behind the Amber Crown Society.”

For their plan to work, Kira needed to disappear.

She locked eyes with Bryce, her confidence rising. “I’ll take the sedan and find a place to lie low until the meeting. Bryce can go with you two. Just text me where the meeting is happening.” She grabbed Bryce’s keys off the table before anyone protested and headed for the sedan in the parking lot.

A friendly face waited at her escape vehicle.

“Violet? What are you doing here?”

“SSA Turner wants me to partner with you temporarily. My active cases can wait a bit. This just took priority. Hopefully this will be all over soon and we’ll recover the statues. And maybe find some ancient rare treasure.”

Kira’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the message, then waved the device at Violet. “They sent the meeting location. We can go find a spot to stake out the area.”

Violet nodded. Kira tossed Violet the keys and jumped in the passenger seat.

“Where are we headed?” Violet asked. The engine turned over, and Kira researched the address on the map. She cranked up the heater full blast and longed for her heavier jacket. The temperatures had cooled with the elevation.

Violet noticed. “I tossed my coat in the back seat. Feel free to use it.”

Kira looked. “That’s your favorite one. I’m honored.”

“And you’re one of my favorite people. Put the coat on.”

Kira did so, then buckled up. She read off the address. “Looks like the middle of nowhere.” She tilted the phone so Violet could see the screen and double-tapped the map to home in on the satellite image. The grainy picture revealed a house or shack of some kind, with lots of land surrounding it.

And trees, rocks, and no roads.

“It’s going to be hard to surround the place,” Kira said. It was the only structure within miles, meaning they couldn’t just drive up and park outside. Security would be tight and would see anyone approach.

“We’ll have to go in on foot.” Violet took out her phone. “Of course, they’ll have their people surrounding it as well, so our perimeter will probably be wider. I’ll contact the agent in charge of the raid on my sat phone and find out what area they want us to cover.”

Kira nodded, but her focus wasn’t on the perimeter of the meeting spot but on what would happen inside.

Violet backed out of the parking lot and headed toward their destination. “How are you doing with being asked to sit on the sidelines?”

“I’m fine.”

“Liar.”

Kira shifted in her seat and glanced up from her iPhone. “Okay. It stinks. I’m a good agent. I just haven’t had the opportunity to prove myself yet. But I decided to let go. I prayed, and I understand the reasoning behind it. It’s still disappointing, though.”

Violet smiled and playfully punched Kira’s arm. “That’s my girl. This isn’t about you needing to prove yourself. This is about what’s best for the mission.”

“I know. You don’t have to preach.”

“I’m not. Okay, maybe a little. But you graduated from the Basic Field Training Course. That’s not an easy task. A few people in our class didn’t make it to graduation. What if by working the perimeter, you’re in the exact spot you need to be in? Maybe things go sideways inside and you’re the one to save the day. God might have other plans, and you could miss something doing it all on your own. But whether you’re in the field or on the sidelines, it’s not what you do that matters. It’s who you are.”

Isn’t that what Bryce had told her? He’d called her a chameleon, always changing her personality to fit any and all situations. Trying to earn her status and reputation.

Kira let out a long breath. Fatigue hit her, not from the lack of sleep—although that was part of it. She’d grown tired of always performing, striving to meet everyone’s expectations. “You know what? Bryce liked me for, well, me. I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else when I was with him. Which is why it was such a blow when he agreed that I should sit this one out. But I’m trying not to take it personally. It’s not all about me.”

“He didn’t cast you off, and you’re still on the team. Maybe not in the role you want. But believe me, I can tell by the way the man looks at you, he’s not brushing you off anytime soon.” Violet’s phone vibrated with a text. “I have the location where the agents are setting up and the coordinates of where they want us. It’s about four miles from the property and then it’s on foot from there.” She headed in the direction the GPS indicated.