Double Vision (Unknown Identities #2) by Regan Black Page A

a smile and a lingering admiration for Adam. The hot, inviting looks irritated her. A wholly irrational reaction as she didn't have any claim on him, but she couldn't stifle the feeling. Adam either didn't notice the blatant invitations or didn't care.
    Reaching the service end of the bar where Brevo filled orders for waitresses as well as customers, Selena caught his attention. Her cousin beamed a welcome, and motioned for a customer to step aside and give her the bar stool. Instead she pushed Adam down onto the open seat.
    Brevo frowned. "What don't I know?"
    "My purse was stolen," she said, not wanting to get into the rest of what he didn't know. He'd lose it if she told him about Renata. A furious Brevo wouldn't help the situation with Galloway. It would only make things worse.
    Of course, he'd be pissed at her later, but she'd rather have Renata alive and well as a balm to his indignation.
    "Did this guy take it?"
    She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. He helped me out."
    "Doesn't look like much."
    "Be nice or shut up," she scolded. She slid a look at Adam. He looked like a whole lot to her. "Can we crash at your place tonight?"
    Her cousin scowled at her as he filled orders. When he skewered olives for a martini, he slid it her way. "On the house. You don't just want your spare key?"
    She shook her head. It was impossible to hear him sigh over the noise of the club, but she recognized the way he planted his hands on his hips. It was just like Uncle Torry.
    "How close is his place?" Adam picked up the martini she hadn't touched and took a sip. He'd covered his eyes with dark sunglasses and seemed to be surveying the crowd. "Does he have a car?"
    "No need. He lives just upstairs."
    Adam dipped his chin. "Fantastic."
     

Chapter Eight
     
    "How do you know the bartender?" Adam asked as she flipped the deadbolt behind them. He recalled a vague reference to a club owner in her file, but he couldn't recall the details right now. The man clearly cared for her and he'd posted a guard at the bottom of the stairs, assuring Adam the security cameras were working and wired into an office monitored twenty-four-seven.
    When the lights came on, he understood all of the precautions. He let out a low whistle. "Nice place."
    "He has a good decorator," she agreed. "He's my cousin."
    "Ah. Makes more sense now."
    "What makes more sense?"
    Adam ignored her in favor of the more pertinent details. "Show me what you took from the apartment." He extended his open palm.
    "Look, I don't know anything about you or why you're involved but –"
    "Safer for us both that way." He admired her grit, but he needed more information before he gave up anything about his prior association with Galloway. "Just give me the watch."
    "You caught that, huh?"
    He just arched an eyebrow and waited. With a quiet huff, she pulled the Rolex out of her pocket and dropped it into his hand. "Renata said it was a gift from her boss," Selena explained. "She travels with the Italian diplomatic corps."
    Adam took that in, put it with the file Messenger provided and his knowledge of G alloway through the years. "When did he tell you he took your cousin?"
    "He threatened my assistant with a nasty photograph first thing this morning," she said. "Later at the deli, he showed me a shot of Renata tied to a chair."
    "That's it?"
    "He threatened my friends and family," she said, incredulous. "Isn't that enough?
    Adam stared at her until the devotion and compassion in her eyes became unbearable. "I wouldn't know," he said, looking away. The closest thing he had to family was Messenger, and that was too pathetic to mention.
    "Renata met Galloway a couple of months ago. It was all good for a while, then he got weird when she suddenly returned to Italy to work."
    Adam concentrated on th e watch and found a micro-SD card imbedded in the first link of the bracelet. Hard to believe so much danger was on this small card, but it was what Galloway and Messenger were fighting over. Replacing the