Chapter 26 Jensen
Jensen
Standing in front of the store window, idly watching the snow fall, I listened to the women cackling behind me. They were certainly having a good time. A little loud, but I figured it was Christmas. If they’d enjoyed a few drinks with lunch before going shopping, who could blame them?
My phone buzzed. Maple. I wasn’t going to be able to hear a thing, so I stepped outside into the cold.
“Go ahead,” I answered.
“Necklace is en route, and the client has been notified. They’re thrilled, by the way.”
“Good. Shouldn’t you be off celebrating?”
“I am, in fact. But I wanted to keep you updated. And to let you know you’ll have another crack at Archer Prince. He didn’t show in Paris. Your hunch to stay where you are was apparently a good one.”
“He wasn’t there? Did he send someone else?”
“No. They must have called it off before the meeting happened.”
“Or it wasn’t in Paris.”
“That’s possible. At this point, we simply don’t know.”
“All right. Merry Christmas, Mrs. Exton.”
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Lakes. Good work.”
A gust of wind blew the snow sideways as I ended the call, and I shivered, hunkering down in my coat against the cold. Natalie and I probably needed to get back to her place before the storm got any worse.
After pocketing my phone, I stepped back into the shop and the cacophony of tipsy women. I cast a glance around but didn’t see Natalie. She was probably in one of the fitting rooms.
To keep my no-peeking promise, I turned toward the window again. But something bothered me, like the pinch of a splinter I couldn’t get out. Why hadn’t Archer Prince been in Paris?
There were any number of explanations. It could have been a ruse, and the sale could have occurred elsewhere.
Or he could have gotten wind that my organization knew.
Perhaps it was bad information to begin with.
After all, it seemed unlikely that the man I’d been chasing for years was actually in possession of one of the most famous stolen works of art in modern history.
Another minute went by, and the laughing began to grate on my nerves. My shoulders grew tense, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something.
Where was Natalie?
I glanced back into the store again, this time looking carefully. The other women still congregated around the fitting room. Natalie was nowhere to be seen. I’d promised I wouldn’t look, but I couldn’t ignore my gut any longer.
The fitting room was in one corner of the shop, and I made my way over there first. A woman threw the curtain aside as I approached, striking a pose in a bright red dress to the cheers of her friends.
“Excuse me, ladies,” I said. “Is this the only fitting room?”
Two of the women gaped at me as if I’d spoken a foreign language. Another looked around but didn’t answer my question.
Finally, the woman in the red dress spoke up. “I think this is it.”
One of the women might have said something else, but I turned, my sense of alarm growing. The shop wasn’t that large. Where could Natalie have gone?
I went to the clerk, sitting behind the counter with her eyes on her phone.
“Excuse me.”
She looked up. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here with my…” The need for a label tripped me up. What was I supposed to call her? Maybe girlfriend wasn’t right, but I didn’t care. “My girlfriend. Long dark hair, hauntingly beautiful eyes. Do you know where she could have gone?”
The clerk shrugged.
“Are there more fitting rooms? In the back, perhaps?”
“No. Oh, there’s a restroom. I think she went in there.”
“Brilliant.”
That answered the question. She was in the restroom.
So why were my instincts still telling me something was wrong?
I went down the hall that led toward the back of the shop. A door stood ajar, leading into a stockroom. Another looked like it led outside, and a third had a restroom sign affixed to it.
“Natalie?” I called through the restroom door. “Darling, are you in there?”
“Occupied!” a voice rang out.
A voice that was not Natalie’s.
Shifting back a step, my foot caught on something. A red bra and a red-and-white negligee lay on the ground, both still on their hangers.
I checked the stockroom, but it was empty. No sign of Natalie. The restroom door opened, and a woman came out. She hiccuped, then giggled as she went to join her friends. I glanced into the restroom, but it was for a single occupant.
Where the fuck was Natalie?
Pushing the hangers aside with my foot, I tried the third door. A blast of cold air and whirling snow hit me. It led to a narrow alley between buildings.
The tracks were quickly filling, but I could make out a set of footprints and two troughs in the snow, like something—or someone—had been dragged outside. Fresh tire tracks led away.
Panic flashed through me. It was like being kicked in the stomach. The air rushed from my lungs, and for a second, I couldn’t breathe.
A second later, one thought solidified, consuming my entire being. Find her.
I couldn’t chase them down on foot, so I flew back through the shop and out the front door. Ignoring the freezing air and the thick snow on the sidewalk, I hurried down the street to my car.
Hoping against hope that Julian hadn’t discovered the tracker I’d put on his car, I brought up his location. He was moving, not far from downtown, heading toward the highway.
Did he have her?
It was the only thing that made sense.
My tires spun as I pulled out onto the street. As much as I wanted to race to catch up with them, visibility was shit, and the snow was accumulating quickly. I couldn’t save her if I was in a ditch.
Keeping an eye on the moving dot on the map, I followed. The wind gusted, blowing drifts of snow across the road. Twice I had to stop until the wind died down again when I couldn’t see past the front end of the car.
The dot kept moving away from town. Where the fuck was he taking her? Not to his house. That was in the opposite direction.
Doubt crept in. Was the tracker still on his car? He could have found it and put it on another vehicle. Was I chasing a decoy?
A car pulled out in front of me, losing control as it made the turn. I had to stop as it spun almost in a full circle. Gritting my teeth, I growled in frustration, and my eyes flicked to the dot on the map again.
I couldn’t be in two places at once. It was either follow the tracker or head straight for Julian’s house.
The driver in front of me righted their car and started moving again. I made my decision. Follow the tracker. If I was wrong, I’d never forgive myself. But my instincts said that dot would lead me to her.
Although there wasn’t anything she could do, I rang Maple to keep her apprised of the situation.
“Yes?” she answered.
“Julian took Natalie.”
“What?”
“She disappeared out the back of a shop. Dragged. There were tracks in the snow.”
“Obviously, I’m not in my office, but—”
“No need. I’m in pursuit. In a fucking snowstorm.”
“The tracker is still on his vehicle?”
“I hope it is.”
“Jensen, there are about a thousand ways this could go wrong.”
“I’m aware. Doesn’t matter. I’m going to find her. And I’m going to rip that bloody prick to shreds.”
“Jensen—”
I ended the call.
A second later, my phone rang again. I was about to tell Maple not to try to talk me out of anything, but it was an unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Jensen Lakes.”
The voice on the other end sent an icy chill through my veins. “Archer Prince.”
“It’s been a while. Shall we catch up?”
The tires slipped, but I kept the car on the road. “I’m a bit busy at the moment.”
“I’m sure you are. I’d be looking for her too.”
My blood turned to ice in my veins. “Where is she?”
He clicked his tongue a few times. “Patience, old friend.”
“If you touch her, I’ll rip your fucking face off.”
“It hurts when someone steals from us, doesn’t it? I’d say this is no less than you deserve.”
“What are you talking about? You can’t mean the Emerald Crown?”
“Why not?”
“When did you become a jewelry thief?”
“You know me. I like beautiful things. Like your lovely lady.”
Rage seared through me, and I growled through clenched teeth. “I’ll fucking kill you.”
“So angry. I take it you like this one. Good. That makes our game much more fun.”
“This isn’t a game.”
“Isn’t it? But I’m having such a good time.”
“Why her? Why not come after me?”
“I told you. You took something from me. I’m simply returning the favor.”
The dot on the map picked up speed. Was Natalie with Julian? Or did Archer have her?
The wind gusted, and the snow filled my field of vision. I had to stop; I couldn’t see where I was going.
“Let me talk to her.”
“No, we’re not going to do that.”
“What the fuck do you want?”
“I want you to know that I beat you. You thought you won this round, but you didn’t.”
The line went dead.
In an instant, I realized what was happening. Not only was Archer Prince behind the heist of the Emerald Crown but he also had Natalie. And it was a trap.
He knew I’d come for her. He was using her to get to me. To kill me, most likely. Prevent me from interfering in any more of his carefully planned endeavors.
My eyes narrowed, and I gripped the steering wheel. I was going to spring his trap. I had no choice. Saving Natalie was paramount. Nothing else mattered.
But that bastard had no idea who he was dealing with. I was walking straight into an ambush. He knew it. I knew it.
And I was still going to win.