Page 129 of The Prize

Tobias broke away and gave Coops a grateful hug. He climbed onto his bicycle and with a wave he sped off.

“I hope you pay him well.” I watched him go.

“I do but you can’t pay for that kind of loyalty, Zara.” He winked. “Let’s get these back to the house and prep them to fly to England.”

I reached out and grasped his forearm. “I have another idea.”

“We’ll talk on the way.” He opened the passenger door for me and I heard him check the back was secure before he climbed into the driver’s seat.

He navigated the van away from the curb and back toward Harlem River Drive.

When we’d put enough distance between Cloisters and our van and I felt confident we weren’t being followed, I allowed myself to dream of seeing those paintings showcased in an art gallery where they’d be enjoyed by so many.

Tobias reached out and squeezed my hand. “Zara?”

Perhaps he’d guessed where my thoughts had carried me. “If I’m going to be living here I want them near me. I want their home to be The Wilder.”

Wonder swept over Tobias’s face. “We’d be honored to host your collection. But I’d insist on having you to watch over them as my senior curator. This is what you meant, right? By being near them?” He dragged his gaze from the road to look at me.

“Isn’t Maria Perez your senior curator?”

“She’s retiring. So we have an opening.”

Senior curatorsounded so much like me. I’d be finally taking that leap of faith, upending my life and leaving a job I loved with the prospect of transporting myself to a country I hardly knew.

But I knew Tobias.

All I’d seen had provided me with a window into his soul and I loved everything about him.

Everything.

My thoughts drifted toSt. Joan of Arcand I sent her a silent message into the ether:we did it.

Adrenaline still raged through my veins when we pulled the van up outside the Manhattan home. It took us just less than an hour to cover each painting with cloth to conceal them and then carry them carefully into the house. The drones were boxed up one by one, and Tobias and I brought them in too and secured them once more behind the steel door in his work space.

Tobias stood back and watched as I spent a moment with each painting, admiring the canvases and reminiscing about the memories each one brought, allowing my heart to contemplate us pulling this off.

“Zara?” Tobias grabbed my attention and his gaze moved over to our fakeMona Lisa.“Want me to do the honors?”

I gave a wary nod and pulled my gaze from the painting as though Lisa Gherardini Giocondo herself was staring back at me, aware of her fate. “Make sure she’s the right one.”

“Over there.” He pointed to the canvas he’d pulled out from his rucksack. “Never tell anyone how we got her out.”

“We didn’t have any choice.” I made my way over to the real painting, the otherMona Lisathat had remained hidden all these years and looked so similar to the one in the Louvre, and leaned in to study her. “What a find, Tobias.”

“You’re going to need to forgive yourself for stealing her.”

I gave a tight smile. “Collateral damage.”

“Indeed.”

“Let’s find who really owns her.”

“Don’t get addicted to the rush, Zara. It’s a slippery road.”

“I’ll get us a drink.” I headed up the ramp.

Within the kitchen, I placed the kettle onto the stove and pulled out two mugs ready to make some decaf tea. I clicked on the gas and popped a tea bag into each mug.