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She shrugs. “He could be after a piece to sell for profit. It’s essentially a way of money laundering. The money they shouldn’t have goes straight to an investment that can’t be tracked,” she explains, using air quotes around the term “investment.”

“Do you know if he regularly attends these?” I ask.

She shrugs. “No, it’s been a while since I was privy to such information.”

“Thoughts about tomorrow?” I ask.

“Tread carefully, Jared is just smart enough to be dangerous,” she says. “I have a feeling Anna will want you to do a transaction. Just be mindful that there are things you don’t know about Jared and his family.”

“Noted,” I reply as I down the rest of the drink.

“I’m taking Kate to be with her parents. They have a day trip planned tomorrow with her sister. I will push for them to wrap up their trip by the end of the week. I think it’s better if they head home.”

I nod, and my throat constricts because I wonder if “they” also includes Kate.

Jackie and Kate stand to leave. Jackie looks between us and smirks.

“I’ll be out front,” she says as she walks out.

Kate remains silent as she looks at me. I can’t tell if she’s scared, overwhelmed, angry, or a combination of all three. She bites her lip.

“You going to be alright?” I ask as I take a step toward her.

She shrugs. “Yeah, I’ll survive.”

I reach out and caress her face. She leans into my touch and closes her eyes. Her beauty and vulnerability punch me in my gut. The desire to protect her is so strong that I almost tell her to stay with me. I lean down and brush my lips against hers.

“I want to stay,” she verbalizes my thoughts.

I lean my forehead against hers and her big eyes open to look at me.

“I want you to stay too, but I want you safe, and it’s not safe right now,” I say to her.

“I know,” she says on a sigh as she pulls back.

“Go enjoy some time with your family,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.

She gives me a forced smile. “OK.”

She leans up and kisses my cheek before wrapping her arms around my waist and squeezing. “Be safe,” she says as she pulls away and walks out of my room.

I walk out to the balcony and stand, looking out at the garden and the sea. It’s eerily calm. I can feel a storm building, and I hope that it won’t be as bad as I suspect it will be.

CHAPTERTWENTY

The bar overlooks the water. I’ve been sipping on a glass of cognac for the past ten minutes. Even though I’ve been debriefed by Anna, I still feel that I look like a poser. What am I doing here? I even vocalized that to my sister who rolled her eyes and assured me I would be fine. She also pointed out that ethically she could not devote resources to searching for a lost crown.

My gut keeps telling me this is about more than my mother’s crown.

Motion at the entrance to the bar draws my attention. Jared walks in and sits two seats away from me. He orders a martini with extra olives.

A moment later, he turns to me.

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, I’m Jared Farrington,” he says, holding out a hand. Anna had warned me that he would likely approach me first.

“August,” I say, forcing myself to shake his hand.

“I was at your gala the other night,” he states, his eyes boring into me.