Chapter 282 {SASHA} I can see Tyler’s reflection in the large antique mirror hanging on the opposite wall, and I feel like I’m sitting in the audience of a play as I watch him silently lift his arm and point. Gloria follows his finger, turning her head to stare at
Chapter 281 {SASHA} It takes us several hours to go through the files. Tyler got bored fast, so eventually, I took the laptop up to the study and let Tyler wander in and out of the secret door to the library at will while I pored over the lists. But
Chapter 280 {TYLER} We arrive back home with a new purpose. Miles has managed to pull the mansion together enough for us to stay there, and although. I can’t help feeling an initial sense of dread as we walk into it again, but I shake it off. The place has
Chapter 279 {TYLER} Sasha is more relaxed than I’ve seen him in a very long time. It’s as if concluding his business with Magda allowed him to regain mental space to devote to fun instead of worry. That’s what I think, anyway, and when I tell him my theory, he
Chapter 278 {TYLER} I think Sasha is as surprised as I am that he was actually capable of letting me be part of the plans tonight. But as we ascend the stairs, hand in hand, he leans down to my ear. “Well done, baby p> I squeeze his hand and
Chapter 277 {SASHA} I wander around the crowd’s side, keeping Tyler and the Irish agent in view. The agent hasn’t picked up Tyler again, judging by his pushing past people. He’s chasing down plague doctors, but there are a lot of them. I head for the staircase to the east.
Chapter 276 (SASHA) Afterward, Tyler leans in to the mirror and carefully applies lipstick in a stylized rosebud on his lips. He’s already powdered his face white and drawn in thick lines around his eyes. The makeup is yet another disguise, and I couldn’t say no to him when I
Chapter 275 (SASHA) Our talk last night about escaping fate has led me to want to try the one thing I swore I wouldn’t when I came to Venice: a gondola ride. It’s not that I have anything against gondolas…except that I do. I also have an ulterior motive, though
Chapter 274 {SASHA} The gold of Tyler ’s pajamas mimics the gold of the brocade canopy over our enormous bed, and when I lay him out against the deep blue sheets. He looks exactly like a Renaissance masterpiece, a squirming feast for the eyes of sumptuous color and metallic sheen.
Chapter 273 {TYLER} A figure comes around the corner, shadowed by the low roof of the portico, and stops dead, staring straight at us. It’s the Irish guy. It’s definitely him; his shadowy figure looks exactly the same as it did in the catacombs. I tense to run or duck,
Chapter 272 (TYLER} I’m not sure I’m an opera buff,” Sasha says doubtfully after we’ve made our way to the bar at intermission. He clapped politely at the curtain, but he had to stifle yawns all the way through. “Yeah, like I said, The Magic Flute would have been better
Chapter 271 {TYLER} Four Days Later There is nothing I enjoy looking at more than an Italian man in a suit, unless that man is specifically my husband and the suit is specifically Armani. As much as I tease him about it, Sasha really was put on this earth to
Chapter 270 (SASHA) Tyler, who did not have the luxury of a few hours of pharmaceutical unconsciousness overnight like I did, has been staring into his coffee with fixed eyes for the last few minutes. But when I put my hand on his, he looks up with a troubled expression.
Chapter 269 (SASHA) We leave Rome as early as we can, after I buy tickets for a high- speed train north. We don’t talk much about anything that happened overnight until we’re safely in our first-class seats—Tyler refused to travel in anything but—and I’m happy enough to have time to
Chapter 268 (SASHA) People underestimate Tyler all the time, but they do so at their peril. I’ve discovered that myself over the years. I made a lot of assumptions about my angel baby when we first met. When we were first married. Even these days, I forget just how ruthless
Chapter 267 (TYLER) Obtaining a gun and a knife is a surprisingly simple operation, although the contact Miles gave me took some convincing that I was who I said I was. Even after using the password, he looked doubtful. It was only when I told him that I was there
Chapter 266 It takes a few minutes before I call out to Sasha again. “Baby, did you get lost?” I shout, amused, but there’s no response. “Sasha?” I try again. Nothing. I turn to the tour guide. “You need to get those lights on now,” I tell him. “If my
Chapter 265 (SASHA) Tyler’s favorite restaurant in Rome is a hole-in-the-wall place in a side street a little ways from the touristy areas near the Forum. The only main course on offer at the restaurant is filleti di baccalà, although there are a few other appetizers on the menu, along
Chapter 264 {TYLER} “Yes,” she says. “Gloria sent me the pendant p> “And do you have it with you?” I ask eagerly. She looks down, stabbing carefully through paper-thin slices of beef with her fork. “No p> “Is it in your room? At the hotel p> “No. I left it
Chapter 263 (TYLER) I hear a cry behind me and wheel around to see my husband with his eyes on fire, his teeth bared, holding a black-clad figure by the throat up against one of the columns. Shit. I know that look. “Sasha!” He’s already shoved me behind him, but