She nodded at his simple, straightforward lack of bullshit. “Exactly.”
“Titan will escort the mask to Greece,” Jason said. “We’ve handpicked a contact to accept the delivery.”
“The Lacedaemonian Mask”—she eyed the men—“has been off the grid for years. It’s worth millions. If the wrong person gets their hands on it, it will disappear into the black market again.”
“It won’t,” Jared said. “You have my word.”
Vanka studied him. Jared Westin was to Titan Group as Buck Baer was to GSI. She wouldn’t let Buck within a hundred meters of the mask, and didn’t have a lot of faith in someone’s offer of their word. Yes, she trusted Jason, but only as much as she trusted anyone, with the exception of Spiker and Nan. They had trusted her decisions on the mask, which had led them to Titan. Help was here, and she needed to rely on it.
Vanka nodded. She pointedly looked over Jared and Jason’s shoulders. “Who are they?”
“Jason’s backup,” Jared answered. “A four-person detail will escort him to one of our jets. Another four-person detail will assist with their arrival in Greece.”
Vanka glanced to Spiker and back to Jared. “That’s impressive manpower.”
“You said it yourself,” Jared said. “If it goes missing again, it’s gone for good.”
“Yes.” But it wasn’t as if she expected anyone to treat this as seriously as she had taken it. “But why do you care?”
“About the mask? To be honest, I don’t care as much as you.” The corner of Jared’s eyes narrowed. “Here’s the thing. You asked for an assist, and that’s what we’re going to do. Nothing half-assed about it. We take a job; we do the job.”
She didn’t have a single doubt when the man spoke. “Understood.” Vanka inhaled and prepared to hand over the mask. “Thank you.”
“Before you go.” Jared studied her as though he could read her inside and out. “I heard a story you might find interesting.”
Was that humor in his tone? Curiosity? Vanka couldn’t read him and didn’t like it. She waited.
“We have a guy that’s hell on wheels when it comes to computers.” Jared’s lips twitched. “Pretty good at finding that proverbial needle in a haystack.”
“That must be handy,” she said.
“Just for fun, he scoured the internet and created an itemized list of thefts reported by museums.”
Her stomach bottomed out.
“Sounds like a fun guy,” Spiker interrupted. “I hate to cut things short, but we need to head out—”
“Just another minute,” Jared said, and continued, “He separated each item into one of three groups: still missing, insurance return, and anonymous return.”
Vanka kept her expression nonchalant, but couldn’t stop the blood rushing in her ears.
“I learned something new,” Jared said. “Most pieces were stolen in order to trigger the insured’s ransom clauses. Museums pay big money to get their goods back.”
“Learn something new every day.” Vanka reached for the tote.
He ignored her effort to leave, and his scrutiny intensified. “Anonymous returns are a rarity. Items valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, things that haven’t been seen for decades—” Jared snapped. “Suddenly, they are returned to their rightful owners as if some world history defender swept in to make everything right.”
Vanka waited for whatever Jared would say next. She wasn’t sure what her reply might be, but he said absolutely nothing. The table was so quiet she could hear her heartbeat.
“People confuse what they believe as a righteous action and what they think is the right thing.” Jared leaned back in his chair and made clear he wanted a response.
“That would make excellent advice in a fortune cookie.”
He snickered, then cracked his knuckles. “The world needs more people like you.”
He hadn’t asked; she hadn’t explained. Vanka expected to feel violated. Her family secret had been aired over the breakfast table. But she didn’t. The men let the silence continue like an unspoken compliment. Vanka thought about her parents and knew that they would be proud. She lifted the tote and slid it across the table. “Thank you for taking care of this for me.”
Jared nodded.
Jason took the bag.
“Last thing,” Jared said. “I hear you two are a package deal. If you’re interested in continuing your family’s legacy or just a little something to keep you on your toes, say the word.”
Vanka smiled. “We’ll let you know.”
Jared and Jason stood. The men stationed in the restaurant did as well. They said goodbye, and after one last glance at the tote, she was ready to leave. Hand in hand, she and Spiker left the garden terrace and disappeared into the foot traffic along Abu Dhabi’s Corniche. The morning sun promised a glorious day to pick their way through the walking trail and gardens.
“It’s been an hour,” he said. “I’d take the backup team as a compliment.”
“I think so,” she agreed, and wondered aloud, “How often do you want to swing by Abu Dhabi?”
“That’s your question to answer, princess.”
Not really. She wouldn’t agree to unless he was on board. Either way, she wanted time to spend with Spiker. No jobs. No covers. Just them. “What if I don’t want to answer that right now?”
“I’d say good.”
“Why?”
“We all have things to learn. Yours might be saying no.”
“But before you do that . . .” He led her to a shaded spot under a garden canopy. “Here’s another question to figure out.” Spiker grinned brighter than the diamond that appeared in his hand. He dropped onto one knee. “Will you spend your life with me?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cristin Harber is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She writes sexy romantic suspense, military romance, new adult, and contemporary romance. Readers voted her onto Amazon’s Top Picks for Debut Romance Authors in 2013, and her debut Titan series was both a #1 romantic suspense and #1 military romance bestseller.
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The ACES Series:
Book 1: The Savior
Book 2: The Protector
Book 3: The Survivor
Book 4: The Guardian
Book 5: The Defender
The Titan Series:
Book 1: Winters Heat
Book 1.5: Sweet Girl
Book 2: Garrison's Creed
Book 3: Westin's Chase
Book 4: Gambled and Chased
Book 5: Savage Secrets
Book 6: Hart Attack
Book 7: Sweet One
Book 8: Black Dawn
Book 9: Live Wire
Book 10: Bishop’s Queen
Book 11: Locke and Key
Book 12: Jax
Book 13: Deja Vu
The Delta Series:
Book 1: Delta: Retribution
Book 2: Delta: Rescue*
Book 3: Delta: Revenge
Book 4: Delta: Redemption
Book 5: Delta: Ricochet