Page 95 of The Prize

She whispered, “I’m going to save you from yourself.”

“I don’t need saving.”

“Let’s go dress shopping.” Abby threw back the rest of her champagne.

“Are you going to gate-crash his party?”

She pointed at me. “Oh, we’re going tonight, Zara.”

“It’s by invitation only.”

“Adley can get us in.”

“What about the FBI?” I looked around furtively. “Are they going to speak with me?”

“Tobias offered full disclosure and you get immunity. Isn’t that something? God, you dodged a bullet there. Looks like he’s taking one for you.”

“What’s he going to tell them?”

“I’m assuming everything.” She gave my arm a comforting squeeze. “Adley is very forgiving. Me, I need more convincing. There’s something else going on here with Wilder, and I want to know what it is.”

Cringing inwardly, I hoped to convey she hadn’t rattled me.

“Icon’s still out there, Zara. And I find it particularly interesting Wilder didn’t bring him up.”

I ignored her innuendo. “I need to find a hotel.”

“We’re staying here. I can get you a room here too if you like?”

“Yes,” I said confidently. “That’s a great idea.”

London could wait, my life was placed back in this holding pattern because I refused to let Wilder get to my paintings first. They were my responsibility. Getting them back gave my life meaning. And not losing them to anyone—including a fast-moving billionaire with a penchant for art history—was my priority.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

INEEDEDTObelieve Tobias’s confession of love was real. My heart fluttered whenever he was near and all I had to do was trust these feelings. His words gave me strength.

Too many times I’d expressed my concern for what he’d created in that Manhattan home and maybe that influenced his decision to send me away.

I sat on the queen-size bed, trying to rally my courage to ask him all these questions. This lavish Plaza hotel might have been enjoyable if I wasn’t personally in the worst place of my life. No matter how gorgeously decorated this room was with its soft pastels and chic design, I couldn’t settle. I was either pacing or peering out of the window, trying to think of all the things I could have done differently.

Rising to face the mirror above the fireplace, I realized my fraught expression was revealing too much and inhaled a steadying breath to present nonchalance. I smiled when I fondly recalled how Tobias told me to hold a poker face. I’d never played the game, never needed deceit or tricks, or clever schemes to get by. That was not my world.

Abby’s room was inconveniently adjoined to mine and I suspected her spontaneous visits were to make sure Tobias wasn’t sneaking in. I needed to know his meeting with the FBI had left him in the clear. My gut twisted with the kind of questioning he’d endured. He’d saved me from this experience and that alone reminded me how much he cared. Or maybe, I painfully mused, he could talk more freely with them and set me up.

I’m in love with you...My heart clutched at these words.

I was going against Tobias’s wishes. He probably assumed I was heading to the airport by now. That burner phone was off and I’d delayed calling him to let him know I was still here.

I wasn’t done with this city yet. Leaving my paintings didn’t feel right.

I was okay with staying clear of The Rose Club, and maybe by tomorrow I’d have some knowledge of where my paintings were. The GPS tracker had been inserted intoMona Lisa’s canvas. She may have been a beautiful abomination but she’d lead me all the way to my heritage. It made my stomach ache to think locating them was the easy part. Retrieving them... I couldn’t even think of how that was going to go.

You still need Wilder, I berated myself.

And that thought burned up my brain all the while Abby and I had visited Fifth Avenue earlier. I’d bought a blue Zac Posen gown with a satin skirt and beaded bodice that clung to my figure. With all this uncertainty, I’d use the armour of glamour. My auburn locks tumbled over my shoulders, and my eye makeup shimmered to hide the redness of the tears I was holding back, and my lips were full with a natural pink.

A knock shook me from my daydreaming and I turned to see Abby dressed in her gorgeous Ralph Lauren gown and her makeup emphasized her all-seeing eyes highlighted in gold. She wore a bloodred lipstick. She entered via the adjoining door as though she had a right to. “You look lovely.”