ry

EARS L

smelled of old money, expen

use in Chelsea, this was where the world's elite c

, conflict diamonds

polished, untouchable persona of "Ava." I wore a floor-length gown of midnight

ken woman who had fled

steel, radiating a col

owed slightly as he approached. "The col

per than my natural tone-a trick I had perfected. "Ma

cour

the shadows, heading toward

d inside as the heavy steel

a criminal mastermind's lair and m

ive years old, were scatter

ross-legged with a laptop balanced on his knees

noise-cancelin

to run diagnostics on a disassembled dro

to himself, pushing his little glas

Soph

e-way glass that looked do

caron, getting crumbs al

without looking up from his scre

und a mouthful of cookie. "

bad guys," Noah correct

over me, and told them to behave befor

d out my phone and opened the nan

as still pressing her n

tunnel below, a fleet

opened i

out of the l

aring a custom Italian suit that

een five years ago, his face harder, the lines around his

e Kn

roya

een, I watched

ted her

et and pulled out a crump

ath ca

had stolen from my

on a beach, before I had

ulously taped it

photo up to

hispered through the camera's

is typing. He slid one headph

let. His eyes went w

ie said solemnly.

n the playroom s

fulness

, synchronized focus tha

res?" Noah as

ingers flying back over the keys

a sudden, inexplicable ch

myself and looked direc

ng through the

rt sto

mering against my ribs

he doi

the und

egitimate s

ingling in a blac

ooking for some

hissed into

ccess. Now. And keep t

ke scanned

oked

ed dang

the crowd and land

saw

nd, our ga

h the distance, I felt the p

pau

d, as if trying t

uptly, my breath com

were safe, I looked back down a

as establishing his loop-but I caught the

n the corner of the pla

ispered through the crackling

said, tapping his scree

Sophie said, following N

, pressing the tw

een wen

sig

I whis

enc