Funny how I had to remind myself this was a one-time deal. It wasn’t like I was getting into the business of hunting down lost masterpieces.
“Well, mission accomplished,” Roux said wearily. “Let’s get out of here…and hope Gordon considers the fire a bonus.”
God, I hoped not. If he did, I had really, really misjudged my godfather.
I hung back. “What about Delphine?”
“She knows the meeting point,” Roux assured me, setting off.
Easy for him in his patent leather shoes. Not in the heels of doom, however, that he had somehow remembered to grab for me.
And boy, did that say a lot about Roux. High heels were the last item I would grab on my way out of a blaze.
At risk of seeming ungrateful, I yanked off the heels and started picking my way over the rough terrain. My stockings would be destroyed, but I would miss them about as much as I missed the heels.
Still, progress was much too slow. Any time now, the police were sure to appear.
“Here.” Marius motioned for the shoes. I handed them over, and he snapped the heels off. “Better?”
I slipped one on, then the other. Not my trusty hiking boots, but better than barefoot.
“Much better. Thank you.”
We picked our way through the surrounding brush, slipped into a fenced olive grove, and eventually emerged on a narrow track. Not far away, the rear lights of a four-wheel drive glittered.
“Delphine!” I rushed forward, spotting her by the car with Bene.
We hugged in relief, then stepped apart.
“Oh, your poor dress,” I clucked, looking down at her.
To my surprise, she barely noticed. She just gazed back toward the blaze on the hilltop. “Henrik…”
Marius, Bene, and I exchanged uneasy looks.
“He’ll be fine,” Roux assured her. “He’ll depart in the car he arrived in, but he’ll have to wait a while to avoid arousing suspicion.”
Ha. Suspicion was about the only thing Henrik aroused in me. Marius, on the other hand…
He touched my hand, and my body temperature ticked upward.
But Roux, drat him, turned to Marius with an order. “I need you to shift and keep an eye on things. Bene, you too. We’ll meet you back at thefinca.”
Marius grimaced but didn’t argue. He kissed my knuckles and stepped backward, pulling at his tie. “Sorry, but…”
I forced myself to nod and hold out my hands for his clothes. “Just be careful, okay?”
“You too,” he whispered.
Seconds later, the clothes in my arms fluttered as he took to the sky in dragon form. I stared at his massive wings, long, tapered tail, and streamlined body. Then I sighed. I could live to one hundred and never get used to the magnificent sight.
“Heya, Mina. Can you take mine too?” Bene asked, totally ruining the moment.
I scowled at him, making sure to keep my gaze at eye level.
“Sure,” I grumbled, letting him heap his clothes on top of Marius’s. Then I looked up and swallowed hard. Marius was a mere shadow against the night sky. Much too far for comfort.
Not too long ago, I would have said the opposite. How things had changed.
