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“I don’t blame you,” Agent Hudson said.
Kira’s phone trilled. Agent Hudson waved and headed toward the kitchen. Everly’s name filled the screen, and Kira answered, her eyes still glued to the street in front of the house. Would Sophia ever leave? And why did Bryce just stand there? And yes, she realized she was being ridiculous.
“Hey, Everly. What’s up?”
“What’s going on? You sound distracted.”
Everly’s question brought Kira back to reality. “Sorry, Ev. I’m just watching what appears to be Sophia making a move on my supposed husband.”
Everly snorted. “Well, that didn’t take her long. Barely even two days.”
“Maybe it’s not what it looks like. I should give her the benefit of the doubt.” Meanwhile, Kira’s mind spun different scenarios, all of which had Sophia lying flat out on the floor. Again. Ridiculous.
“Hmm.” Everly remained silent on the phone.
“Why are you hmm-ing, Everly?”
“Just that you seem pretty possessive of a man you also just met.”
Kira took a few steps back from the window. The curtains fluttered back into place.
Everly was right, but Kira wasn’t ready to admit it. She’d already called herself out. That was going to be good enough for now. “I’m going to go outside and rescue my husband. I’ll call you back with Bryce so we can both catch up on the last few days.”
Kira hung up with Everly and headed outside. “Brian! I was worried when you didn’t come in. But now I see you’re chatting it up with our new neighbor. Talking about art, I suppose?”
Sophia’s hand dropped to her side. “Yes. I came over to extend an invitation to an art auction. I thought you might be interested in attending.”
Kira placed a hand over her heart. “Of course we would love to go.”
Bryce handed her the invitation and she read it. The note card in the envelope had the details of the event at District Gallery on Saturday evening along with two tickets. But anyone could score an invitation to this event. Kira had seen signs posted in the lobby.
“This sounds exclusive.” It wasn’t. “I love getting dressed up and spending our client’s money.”
Sophia smiled. “It is a great excuse to have a night out. But I need to head back to Alex before he sends the security guards out to search for me. Have a wonderful evening.”
She spun on her strappy black heels and headed into her brownstone.
Once they’d headed into their unit and shut the door, Kira pounced. “What was that about? And why did we get tickets to an event anyone with a little cash can attend? The gallery has been advertising this auction all over the place. They’re not selling Zaika here.”
Bryce seemed a little shell-shocked. “That was definitely unexpected. I’m not sure what her end game is, but I picked up a vibe.”
“Vibe?” Kira put her hands on her hips and then removed them. “She was totally hitting on you.”
And why was Kira so stinking mad about it? Again.
It wasn’t like they were in a real relationship. Once this assignment ended, Kira and Bryce would part ways, live in different cities, and lead separate lives.
Kira headed to the kitchen and he followed. “It’s been a while since we ate,” she said, “so I’m going to make a snack. Do you want to connect with Turner? We’ll need to debrief and see how he wants us to handle things now that we have an official invitation to the auction.” She used air quotes around “auction” and rolled her eyes.
Bryce sat at a barstool at the counter and examined the note card. “You’re right. This isn’t the invitation we were hoping for. It’s just a fancy gala the gallery puts on to move a bunch of artwork. Nothing secret about that.”
Kira handed him a bowl of ice cream and took the seat next to him at the bar. He passed her the note card, and she flipped it over. The thick cardstock held the date, time, and pertinent details of the legitimate auction. The back contained a list of items up for auction with some rules for placing a bid.
She placed the card on the counter and stared at it while taking a bite of ice cream. It didn’t lie flat like it should but rather formed a raised edge in the middle. “That’s weird.” She picked up the card and felt around the center. “There’s something else between the cardstock.”
She handed the invitation to Bryce. “I feel it too,” he said. “I can’t believe you noticed that.” He pulled out a pocketknife and made a slit in the paper, wide enough to slide his finger into the note card.
He slipped out a piece of paper, about the size of a business card. Kira leaned in for a closer inspection. Bryce held the card up to the light. “It’s a faint pencil mark, but it says WR, 8th, and then it has some kind of code on the second line.”
