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“A bear is tiny next to Knox.” I point a finger at my bestie. “And still, I will snap him like a twig!”

“You can’t snap him. The man is the Árbol del Tule.”

I stare at him blankly.

“The what?”

“It’s a famous tree in Mexico, Cil. It is the thickest tree trunk in the entire world… Seriously, you need more culture, man.”

I start laughing again, which is one of the reasons I love this man. Leo always makes me feel normal and like I can be unapologetically myself.

“Either way,” I reiterate. “I will make his time assigned to me the most miserable, insufferable hell on earth until he begs Logan to let him quit.”

“You’re not a masochist,” Leo concludes, taking another sip of his latte. “You’re a sociopath.”

“Thanks. I try.”

“I’m sure you do,” Leo smiles, setting his cup down. “Speaking of trying, are all the arrangements for the auction gala finalized?”

“Everything is perfect. The lighting, the specific security rotations for the display cases, the music… It’s all exactly as my grandfather would have wanted it.”

“He would be so proud of you, Cil.”

“God, I miss him,” I whisper, my throat suddenly tight.

“Me too.”

“This collection…” I look down at my hands, visualizing the masterworks that I saw in the vault. “Leo, there are pieces in this auction that haven’t been seen by the public in over a century. A private Degas sculpture, an unpublished Cézanne… It’s so much more than just an auction to me. It’s a chance to share the exact feeling of wonder my grandad gave me when he introduced me to the world of art.”

“It’s also an obscene amount of money in one place,” Leo warns. “Even for people in our circle, Cil, the estimated value of that room is staggering. Money that, according to that letter, at least one person feels was stolen from them. Please, for my sake, take your security seriously. Listen to the professionals for once.”

I open my mouth to dismiss his worry, but Leo suddenly starts looking around the cafe, his eyes scanning the windows.

“Do you need another coffee?” I ask.

“No, I’m looking for your bodyguard,” Leo says, squinting at a man by the counter. “I thought you said Knox would be with you 24/7, so I assumed he’d be lurking in a corner right now, pretending to read a newspaper.”

“Who knows,” I say with a smile. “He’s probably still running around the mansion trying to figure out how I got out of the house.”

Leo’s head snaps back to me, staring in disbelief. “Wait, how did you get out of the house? I saw the extra patrols Arthur put on the main gate when I drove past this morning.”

“Come on, Leo… The main gate is for amateurs,” I laugh. “I went out the fifth-bedroom window and climbed down the old ivy trellis on the east wing.”

“Are you insane? I broke my arm climbing down that thing when we were twenty-two.”

“Yeah, but you have the climbing skills and coordination of a hamster.”

“Wow, I feel deeply offended and completely understood at the same time,” Leo mutters.

“Love you.”

“Same… though it’s too bad you’re about to be brutally executed. And no, not by the person who sent the threat, but by Knox. Because he is personally going to murder you when he finds out you escaped his lockdown.”

“Please.” I scoff. “He won’t find out. I took a different car from the garage, paid the driver in cash, and switched to the metro for two stops just to erase the trail. And we never come to this cafe. I’m a fucking ghost.”

“Cillian, these aren’t your grandfather’s security guards,” Leo warns. “The Harknett agency has a reputation for a reason. They find people who don’t want to be found. It’s literally what they do.”

“You’re exaggerating. Besides, I’ve been gone for thirty minutes. There is no way the annoying, sexy panther will find us that fast.”