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“I’m always starved in the aftermath,” Nicki told them, soaking up the garlic butter
from the escargot with chunks of hot, fresh bread. “I could eat everything on this
menu.”
Adam ran his knuckles lightly along her cheek. “And you deserve whatever you
want, babe. You pulled off a big one today.”
“Not without a lot of help.” She took a slow sip of her wine, then looked around the
table. “And a huge amount of help from everyone here. Especially Isabella, our newest
team member.”
“Everyone played a big part,” Bella reminded her.
Lane was watching Bella carefully, making sure she ate, rubbing her shoulders to
ease the residual tension. Once the bomb had been placed in the box and taken out to
the bomb disposal van she’d separated the vials inside and placed them in individual
boxes for the bomb lab to dispose of. Dan had come through with more information
about Octo now that they’d found a lead and Adam’s Mossad contacts had been
95
Desiree Holt & Cerise DeLand
instrumental in identifying the others. Very quietly Henri Liebermann, his niece and the
others, including the two who had kidnapped Umberto, were all in Interpol’s custody.
But there had been side benefits to the whole mess. Realizing that others might
move in to take Octo’s place if they didn’t do something, and sufficiently alarmed by
the kidnapping and the bombs directed at their groups, the other seven of the G8
countries had moved quickly to freeze the Kopf assets. Giorgio Umberto and his two
partners were very busy trying to catch the falling pieces of their conglomerate and all
of the art each of the men possessed was being carefully scrutinized along with the
documentation.
“So, Isabella.” Nicki studied her. “I usually like my major players to headquarter in
the States, but I’m prepared to give you flexibility in that if you’re too rooted in Italy.”
Bella smiled and leaned into the shelter of Lane’s arm. “Actually my partner and I
had a long discussion while you were finishing up with Interpol. I’m going to keep my
apartment in Florence but I’ll be sharing Lane’s quarters with him. We thought it might
be more efficient that way.”
“Efficient,” Adam repeated. “Yes, I’m sure that’s the word Lane had in mind.”
“You’d think Nemesis was a damn dating agency,” Raul complained, finishing his
vichyssoise. “Look at you, the four of you. And Dan and Maddie back in Texas.”
“Well,” Nicole told him, “you know what they say about danger being an
aphrodisiac.” She shifted her gaze to Lane and Isabella. “So I guess I can assume the
two of you are satisfied with being teamed up permanently?”
Lane pulled Bella into his side. “At least for the next fifty or sixty years.”
“Well.” Adam cleared his throat. “A good day’s work all around, then. I think it
deserves a toast.” He lifted his wineglass. “To Nemesis, the goddess of retribution.
Once again she scores a victory.”
“To Nemesis,” they each echoed, and the clink of crystal as they touched glasses
floated on the air.
96
Until Twilight
Epilogue
The fifteen people who sat around the long table in the plush conference room
looked beyond grim. Not even the coffee made from specially roasted beans and the
exquisite French pastries could sweeten the situation. The person at the head of the
table, addressed only as The Chairman stared at each person individually.
“This has been another disaster,” The Chairman said. “Three in a row. All caused
by the group called Nemesis.”
“What do we know about them?” the man at the immediate left asked.
“Not as much as we’re going to,” The Chairman said in a tight voice.
The person to the immediate right carefully replaced the coffee cup in its saucer.
“So far they’ve disrupted our arms deals, our plan to put Paul Trask in office as the
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