Page 80 of The Prize

“And?” he pushed.

My back straightened. “She’s remarkable.”

“Has she passed an X-ray?” asked Eli.

My nod was to clarify she most certainly would.

“Paint samples?”

“Match the decade,” I said, since they’d pass that test too because Wilder’s skills ensured it.

“Her molecular structure checks out?” Eli narrowed his gaze on me. “So that’s why you’re in New York under such secrecy?”

I gave a thin smile. “I’m uncomfortable with her going to a private collector.” And that wasn’t a lie, either.

Tobias stiffened his spine beside me. I’d not exactly lied for him but I had twisted the truth. Until him I’d always colored within the lines and followed the rules and every word I’d spoken had been infused with integrity.

Until now.

I gave a confident nod. “She looks real to me.”

Eli looked triumphant. “Make it happen, Wilder.”

“I’ll do what I can,” said Tobias.

“I’m not the only one with an interest in da Vinci. If you think you can trick me into missing the date of this auction you’re wrong.”

Tobias sounded calm. “If I get you in that room—”

“If my father learns a da Vinci auction went down without our involvement men will die.”

“If I get you in the room,” Wilder repeated, “you’ll forget Arizona ever happened. We’ll forget all of it too. You let us get on with our lives, and we let you get on with your weasel existence.”

Eli gave a sinister smile. “I’m looking forward to putting this behind us. Ms. Leighton, my family’s aware that there is a rumor circulating our Romanov collection once belonged to your father. Your old paintings are not ours. Yours were destroyed in a house fire decades ago. Ours have nothing to do with that insurance scandal.”

A wave of nausea welled that he’d dared to mention my father. Still, he’d just confirmed what Tobias had told me. They really did have them.

Tobias’s tone was certain. “We want this over.”

Eli took a step forward. “Let’s talk more about this.”

“We have somewhere to be.” Wilder reached for my hand and interlocked his fingers with mine. “If you’ll excuse us.”

“We’re not done.” Eli gestured to his men.

Tobias led me away and I hurried beside him down the pathway with my throat tight with tension.

“There’s no getting off this island, Wilder,” Eli called after us.

I gripped his hand tighter.

Tobias threw me a wink.

I cringed when I thought of the slowness of one of those boats leaving the harbor, and sensed Eli’s men closing in.

CHAPTER TWELVE

MYCHESTWAStight with dread when we ran past the dock, missing the entry to the ferry. Then I saw it—the speedboat. Waiting for us at the helm was the captain and he threw us a wave when he saw us. We bolted down the steps and I leaped into the boat. We hurried to sit at the back. He snapped the order for us to go—