Page 51 of The Prize

He turned away to stare at his reflection in the mirror behind the bar as though needing a moment to weigh his answer. “This is the only bait that will work.”

Tobias set the bar too high with his rascally exploits and yet I understood his need to right those dreadful acts. This was who he was and what he had always done to find meaning to his life, restoring paintings to their rightful owners.

So far I’d stayed because of my belief I could find a way to untangle my life and have a say in how my future unraveled. I’d demanded to be shown more of his world, and perhaps it was time to explore why I was resisting the inevitability of my life changing minute by minute. I had to find a way out of this.

I reached for my drink and took a large gulp.

Justice only worked when the law played along and proof of this was the authorities turning away from me in favor of protecting Elliot Burell. He had blood on his hands like the mark of a warlord. The cruelest stain.

Eli had revealed that his family prided themselves on taking what they wanted and when they wanted it. Perhaps we were the only ones daring enough to stop them.

Tobias plucked an olive out of his drink. “I’ll have my jet fueled and made ready for you. Just say when you’re ready to leave and I will make it happen.” He popped it into his mouth and chewed while offering a reassuring smile. “I’ll miss you.”

“And what about you? What will you do?”

“Nothing changes.”

My shoulders slumped with frustration. “Do you really believe you can pull this off?”

He relaxed a little. “Do you want to see what Jade’s come up with?”

“No.”

“Yes you do.” Tobias gestured toward the center of the room. “Bring her up for us, Jade.”

Hanging midair in the center of the room was a hologram of the painting ofMona Lisa,and evenher measurements appeared to match the thirty inches by twenty-one inches of the original, and she looked stunningly compelling. I couldn’t look away. “This is her?” I’d been holding my breath.

“This is the template.”

My gaze shot to his. “You’re really going through with this?”

“Yes. I’ll incorporate what I’ve learned about Leonardo’s techniques. The way he utilized light, his knowledge of anatomy, how he transitioned from one area to the next without detection.”

“This invention must never be shared, Tobias.”

He shrugged. “You can watch me delete the program when this is over.”

“You really believe she’ll pass scrutiny?”

He looked over the hologram. “You tell me.”

I set my half-finished drink on the bar and approached the life-size hologram hovering midair, bewitched by her beauty and mesmerized he’d managed to capture her. Instinctively, I reached out to touch the canvas and my hand went through her. The detail was extraordinary. This was almost as good as being in the room with her and I didn’t want the spell to break because this felt like home.

“There’s a slight variation from the original in the Louvre,” I realized.

“A minor difference to reflect an evolution from the one he gave the Giocondos. This one feels more intimate, don’t you think?”

“It’s subtle.” My heart fluttered with the realization Tobias had blended in the differences so well. “You’ve captured his technique.”

Tobias came toward me and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m working on my fake collector’s provenance. I need decent clues to her origin if I want to pique Burell’s interest.”

“Like?”

“Perhaps the seller’s family once lived in Florence?”

“That would work.” I couldn’t believe I was even saying this.

“Maybe his relatives lived near the wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo.”