Cleopatra's Necklace (Devlin Security Force Book 3) by Susan Vaughan

eased.
    “This Centaur is a criminal organization that deals in contraband art and artifacts. The men who killed your boyfriend took the hard drive from his laptop. Only a matter of time before they trace you by messages between you and Mimi.”
    “You’re making this up. I don’t believe you.” Her stricken expression belied her words.
    Oh yeah, she believed him. After what had happened to the boyfriend and her cousin, she had no choice. She just didn’t want the messenger to be Thomas. But there too she had no choice. He had to persuade her to accept his help.
    “Cle—” Better if he didn’t say her real name, even here. “Look, I know you. You want to believe you left behind all the danger and death, that you’re safe. Why do you think they suspect you know where the necklace is?”
    She gave a small shrug. “Because of René, I guess.”
    “Facebook.”
    Her face went blank. Her eyes shifted away as she realized the ramifications of what she’d done. “The necklace. René took pictures of me wearing it. I thought it was jewelry he made on commission. Was it a copy or the real Cleopatra’s necklace?”
    “So you know what the piece is?”
    “I do now. I looked it up in the ship’s internet café. Egyptian archeologists discovered her tomb a few years ago, near Alexandria. The find included the necklace.”
    He nodded. “After they catalogued everything, the government organized a traveling exhibit of jewelry and coins and busts. After all the turmoil and changes in government, they need money. The exhibit opened in London and then went to Washington, D.C.”
    “But the necklace was stolen before the exhibit could return to Europe and open in Paris.” Her gaze sharpened. “This Centaur criminal gang… the art thieves?”
    “The obvious suspects, yes. Moreau made at least one copy for them. The police found sketches and measurements in his studio. You could’ve been wearing either, but both the copy and the original necklace have vanished.” He leaned forward, laid his right hand on her small purse, and grasped her left hand with his right. A flash of awareness jolted him. “Let me get you to safety... Mimi.”
    Tears welled in her pretty green eyes. She shook her head, pulled her hand free. “No, I’m safe on the ship. I’ll work something out myself.”
    “These are dangerous men. You can’t pretend everything will be rosy like you used to do when you were a kid. Running won’t fix this. They’ll find you.”
    She pushed her chair back, nearly tipping it over, and snatched up her purse. “Leave me alone. I need to think.”
    Sidestepping the server delivering their meals, she ran from the restaurant. Her wrap-around skirt gave him a tantalizing glimpse of endless legs.
    “Will madame be returning?” the man asked, his demeanor carefully neutral, as if a tearful spat was a normal occurrence.
    Hell no. “Possibly. Leave the plate.”
    On the back of her abandoned chair lay a black pashmina. Now that he’d planted his tracking button on her purse, he could deliver her shawl later. Her denial and suspicion were understandable. What she’d had to face would traumatize anyone.
    But why didn’t she ask about Mimi?
    ***
    Why, why, why did Tommy have to show up here?
    Cleo gripped the ship’s rail with both hands and fought to suppress the sobs crowding her chest. She’d managed okay before he appeared. Playing the part of Mimi and laughing with Deidre and Stacy helped keep up the pretense for herself as well as for them, but Tommy had to come along and scrape the bloody scabs off, rub her face in Mimi’s death. And remind her of the fool she’d made of herself over him.
    And could again.
    The rush of water against the hull far below and the cool breeze in her hair should soothe her frazzled nerves. But in the black water she pictured Tommy Devlin’s compelling face. No, Thomas . Andie said everyone called him that now, even her. He was the reason she hooked up with so many losers, his