Page 12 of Icebound

For the time being, he needed to concentrate on finding Chloe. She had no idea the trouble she could get into—Bastien hadn’t built a fortress because he was paranoid. The two of them had enemies, from fifteen years ago, but some of them had long memories. Getting their hands on Bastien Toussaint’s wife would be a coup.

Bastien would show back up, he had no doubt about that. The man had nine lives times nine—wherever he was, he had to be fully in control. He would return, find his wife gone, and Peter knew who he’d blame.

“We need to drop everything we possibly can until we find Chloe,” he said. “Don’t worry about Bastien—he can take care of himself. It’s Chloe I’m worried about.”

“Yes, boss,” Anderson said. “I’ll be in Amsterdam by this afternoon…”

“Check the manifests first. Chloe’s no fool. She could know something we don’t know.”

“What are you going to tell her kids?”

“Absolutely nothing. They’re having too much fun at the dig and with each other to notice. We’ll get their parents back before they even notice they’re gone.”

“Yes, boss,” Anderson said, sounding sure.

Peter wished he had as much certainty.

“So, what are we going to do with her?” Luc said. “She’s been tied up in there for hours. Are we going to keep her or get rid of her? If we’re keeping her, we need to feed her, take her to the toilet.”

“You make her sound like a new puppy,” Jean-Marc grumbled.

“We can always kill her, put her back with the bones,” Luc said, looking troubled.

“You can’t shoot a puppy,” Jean-Marc said, leaning back in his chair.

“You can’t let them run loose in the streets either.”

Jean-Marc sighed. For a while, he’d been able to put the troublesome female out of his mind, but Luc was right, a decision had to be made. “Killing her is the simplest solution,” he said. “I haven’t been making calculations and plans only to have them ruined by an interfering female.”

“But?”

“But what?” Jean-Marc said, annoyed.

“I know you. There’s a but in there somewhere,” Luc said.

“We don’t want an American tourist showing up dead.”

“That’s not what you were going to say.”

Jean-Marc hesitated. “I told you, I might have a use for her.”

“She can’t be trusted.”

“Not yet. It wouldn’t take much to win her over—I look like her husband.”

“You believe that cock-and-bull story?”

“I’m beginning to. The man left her and now she’s searching for him, determined not to lose him. She’ll take me as a substitute.”

“You’re out of your mind,” Luc said.

“Not quite. I told you, I need someone with me at the gala in Como. A woman would provide the perfect cover.”

“And she’s going to stand aside and watch you shoot the woman? I don’t think so. She’s American, remember. Full of idealism and righteousness. She’d scream bloody murder.”

“She isn’t going to know, if things work out as planned. If they’re looking for anyone, it would be a lone male, not a couple, and if you think I can’t distract her while I take care of business, you don’t know me very well.”

Luc shook his head. “It seems like you’re making this too complicated.”