“No warning needed,” he grinned. “I’ve been afraid of you since we met, Delilah.”
“Who, me?” I widened my eyes. “You’re joking.”
His dark eyes were teasing behind his glasses, body curving toward mine. “You know I’m not—”
“And what, pray tell, are you two doing here?”
Henry and I were both half-laughing when we turned and practically knocked over Francisco Abila, the head of the Franklin Museum.
“Sir,” I said immediately, straightening my spine. I was acutely aware of my tiny black cocktail dress, the ridiculously high stilettos Freya had convinced me to wear. “What are you doing here?”
Francisco appeared haggard around the eyes and permanently aged from when we’d seen him a little over a week ago. “I am here as a guest of Victoria Whitney, my board president. And you still haven’t answered my original question. I would like to know why Codex agents are having a date night while I am paying you for an extremely high-profile job.”
My cheeks burned but I kept my chin lifted. “Codex agents are undercover.” I dropped my voice as low as I was capable. “Your board president knows us as the Thornhills, and I’ll trust you not to blow it.”
Francisco looked ready to snap. “Abraham has had you continue pursuing Victoria even with my very legitimate doubts?”
“Yes, he has,” I said.
“While the police and the FBI are combing this city for hundreds of suspects, you’re still on this ridiculous quest to go after a woman who garners this kind of community reputation?” He indicated the hundreds of people surrounding us, here to celebrate a woman who gave away so much money she was being awarded.
His words poked at the tender edges of my worst fears—that I’d led Codex on a wild goose chase for nothing; that this case would amount to nothing more than a heap of misread clues and misunderstandings.
But instead I said, “You pay the contract. We find the book. This isn’t up for discussion.”
“And after I pay the contract and you don’t find the book, Codex’s reputation will be ruined. Permanently.”
Francisco stormed off and I took a shaky breath.
My worst fears were forever intertwined with Mark and the firing. Abe always trusted my gut instincts, even though he knew what had happened at the police department. That trust had been epically vital to me when I joined Codex—it was the life preserver I needed to pull myself out of self-doubt.
“He’s right,” I admitted, feeling queasy.
“Delilah,” Henry warned.
“You know he is.”
“Victoria Whitney has admitted to us on two separate occasions that she knowingly purchases stolen goods.”
“She has not admitted to having stolen one of the rarest books in the world from a museum weeks before its exhibit,” I argued. “She might buy a stolen Bradbury but is Victoria Whitney into thefts that are this high-profile?”
I set my wine down, placed a hand on my jumpy stomach. The audience began to ripple with awareness and applause—it was Victoria, looking glamorous in a red gown, taking the short steps to the stage. Cameras popped and flashed, capturing the heiress in her classic proud pose. Behind her, a presentation kicked up: photos of children, books, classrooms, and happy, smiling teachers. It was all for Victoria. She was beaming with a sweetness I’d never witnessed in her before.
The tip of Henry’s finger landed beneath my chin. He slowly tilted my head up, until I was focused on him.
“After I confronted Bernard, I ran to our board president, Louisa,” Henry said. “I told her about the theft. I told her that Bernard was planning on framing me with forged letters. I told her a very large guard with a very large gun had appeared in Bernard’s flat to threaten me.” His finger left my chin and I wished it hadn’t. “Louisa told me it was absurd. Sure, she’d known Bernard for twenty years. But she and I had also had a close professional relationship the entire time I’d worked there. Guards, guns, forgeries, thefts… Of course it was shocking. It’d be like…like if someone appeared right now and told you the Easter Bunny was real. I was shocked as hell, furious, scared, confused. But Bernard’s reputation carried so much weight, Louisa thought I’d made up the story on the spot.”
He waved behind us—at the high-society event where once again Victoria was the star. “People will go to great lengths to ignore what is right in front of them. Denial is a powerful currency. You told me that.”
I let out another breath—less shaky.
“I believe Victoria Whitney is a criminal hiding in plain sight. And I believe you, Delilah.”
18
Delilah
I believe you.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice was saying, “it is my sincere honor to introduce you to our Philanthropist of the Year. A woman whose generosity has changed the lives of so many here in our great city. A woman who truly needs no real introduction: Victoria Whitney.” The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, but I was still staring up at Henry, absorbing his words.
“Thank you,” I said as the crowd continued to cheer.
“You don’t have to thank me. And we should probably watch Victoria,” he said softly.
“Oh, right.” I turned around awkwardly, Henry moving behind me. Victoria was staring out at the audience with a serene, happy expression.
“Are we officially the Thornhills now?” he asked. His lips brushed my ear.
“Uh…yes,” I nodded, pretending to clap enthusiastically for the book thief on the stage. “Back to holy matrimony.”
I heard his low chuckle. Then his palms landed on my bare shoulders. Squeezed. Just a husband and wife, enjoying a VIP cocktail event together. I could feel his body heat but didn’t dare lean back. Those strong fingers stroked down my arm to my elbow. Down my elbow to my wrists and all the way back up again.
“Is this okay?” he whispered. Another teasing stroke.
“Yes,” I managed, swallowing the moan that threatened to escape.
One lingering caress and Henry had me practically purring in a room filled with hundreds of people. Francisco, Victoria, the Copernicus, the case…all of it faded away as his thumbs smoothed around my shoulders. I’d never experienced such an automatic reaction to physical touch before. The mere suggestion of Henry’s breath near my skin brought forth an urgent desire.
“Good evening,” Victoria said in her clipped, boarding school accent. “It is truly an honor to be here this evening with all of you, receiving an award I already know I will treasure for the rest of my days.” The presentation clicked by. There were photos of her reading books to children in classrooms, gifting giant checks to worthy charities. “I am known for being a lot of things in the city of Philadelphia. But not many people know that I am a bookworm, through and through. Literature was held in the highest esteem in my family, and it was expected that my siblings and I would understand and appreciate the greatest authors of our time. Later, as I grew older, this esteem grew to include art, history, music. It’s why I dedicated myself to building my private collection.” She smiled angelically. “I cannot bear to part with something as beautiful as a book.”