Cleopatra's Necklace by Susan Vaughan

Author:Susan Vaughan [Vaughan, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC027110 FICTION / Romance / Suspense
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2023-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“CLEO, I DON’T want to scare you—”

She huffed. “What now? Is our driver the Centaur leader or something?”

Her bravado made him smile. He swung across the narrow aisle and sat beside her, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders and nudging her against him. “The dark green boat behind us has stayed with us since the mainland. I didn’t see it when we left the Questura, but it caught up again.”

She peered astern for a long minute. Color drained from her face. “Oh, God, not again.”

He squeezed her shoulder. “Little chance of a high-speed chase in this traffic. And I doubt they’d risk gunfire. But yes, I think they’re tailing us. Take a closer look. See if you recognize any of the guys from Santorini.” When she began to move toward the back, he added, “Stay down. Don’t let them see you.”

She slid around the seats until she had a clear view out the stern. After a few minutes, she returned, staying low.

“Two men. A slender, gray-haired man. He could be the driver. And a big, tough-looking guy with dark hair. I think he had a scar down his cheek but they were pretty far away. I don’t recognize either of them.”

“Not Ricci then. The scar-faced guy fits the description Del Rio sent me of Zervas’s bodyguard. Name’s Nedik.”

“We have to lose them, don’t we? So they don’t find our hotel?” If she abandoned sarcasm, she was terrified.

“Right.” Thomas chose his next words carefully. “I’d do this but our driver doesn’t speak much English. We need him to lose them. If they’re back there by coincidence, they won’t follow and we’re clear. If they stick with us…” He held out a palm, conveying the obvious conclusion. “You can tell him I’ll double the fare.”

She nodded and stepped up to the cockpit. Smiling, the driver moved aside to give her room.

While he listened to their rapid exchange of Italian, they approached the Ca d’Oro. Now the central post office, the landmark palace’s blond façade and lacework balconies gleamed in the sun. Damn close to where they would enter a smaller canal to port and head to the hotel. The driver would have to power fast in the other direction.

A booming laugh jerked his attention back to the cockpit. The man grinned ear to ear and gestured broadly. He shook Cleo’s hand and she stepped down the companionway.

As soon as she sat beside him, he felt the boat veer to starboard. They entered a side canal at a faster speed. “So he agreed.”

“No prob. He said it was like an American movie. He’d always wanted to hear the words, ‘Lose those guys.’ He’ll take us through a maze of tiny rios in San Polo, then back across the Grand Canal when he’s sure no one is following.”

The green boat turned in behind them. A muscle tightened in his jaw. “They’re tailing us all right. Look.”

The narrowness of the rio forced a leaden pace, a contest between a turtle and a snail.

Apparently

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