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"I worry about Nick, too.He's thirty-three and spends half his life undercover, pretending to be someone else.One day he might discover the sacrifice he's making is just too big."
"Maybe we should try to get them together again," Gloria said.
"Perhaps this summer," she agreed, as they entered the lounge."We'll have a big party for our birthdays in July and they won't be able to say no."
"Excellent idea," Gloria said, as they headed to their lockers.
After retrieving their belongings, they headed out of the lounge.They'd no sooner stepped into the hallway when they heard a shockingly loud crash that echoed through the building.It seemed to have come from the back of the museum by the delivery dock.They froze, glancing at each other as they heard thundering footsteps coming up the stairs at the other end of the hall.
She debated whether they should go back into the lounge and hide, but the lock on the door wouldn't hold anyone off, and they would be sitting ducks.She grabbed Gloria's hand, and they ran in the opposite direction.If they could get down the other stairwell, they might escape through the front door.
As gunshots rang out, coming from the area of the exhibition they'd just left, she sped up.She could hear Gloria's labored breathing, but neither one of them slowed down, even though their aging bodies weren't primed for sprinting.But fear drove them forward.
Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be getting away from the danger.Male voices rang out, seeming to come from almost every direction.She didn't know how many men had broken into the museum, but it had to be at least three.
"We can't get away," Gloria said in panic.
She agreed."We need to hide."As the voices drew closer, she pulled Gloria behind a tall statue of a Roman warrior, hoping he would protect them."Don't even breathe," she said, as they crouched down, holding their breath, squeezing as tightly together as they could, thankful for the dark shadows.
Two men came purposefully down the hall.As they passed in front of the statue, she could hear them talking.One word jumped out of all the rest—her last name—Caruso.
She must have gasped, because Gloria's fingers tightened around hers in a harsh warning.
"L'hai sentito?" one man asked."Qualcuno è qui."
He'd heard her gasp.He knew someone was nearby.Before his partner could answer, another voice rang out from further down the hallway.A third man was yelling at them to hurry.They had to leave now.
The men hesitated one more second and then moved away.
As they left, she peeked out from behind the statue and saw two men dressed in black pants and coats, with hoods over their heads and black gloves on their hands.One was holding a semi-automatic weapon.The other had a painting in his hand.She couldn't see what it was, but there were many valuable pieces of art in the museum.It could be anything.
But remembering how the man had said her name, she had the terrible feeling the painting she'd just seen was the one she'd donated.
"Are they gone?"Gloria whispered.
"I hope so," she murmured.
"What do you think they wanted, Anna?"
"I heard them say Caruso."A knot of fear grew in her throat.
"I heard that, too.And one said he'll be happy; he's been waiting a long time."
"I didn't hear that, but my blood was roaring through my veins.Did you hear a name?Who's he?"
"I don't know.I couldn't catch anything else."
"I have a terrible feeling this is my fault."
"Tomas's painting can't be the reason this happened."
"What if it is?"she whispered, meeting Gloria's eyes."Oh, God, what have I done?"
ChapterOne
"You're a fake, a liar.I never should have trusted you."
The betrayal-filled accusation ran around in the head of FBI Agent Nick Caruso, along with the image of a shocked female, with pain in her eyes, a person he'd had to betray during an undercover operation.She hadn't been wrong.But he'd done what was necessary, as he always did.Still, it weighed on him.
