FBI was investigating, but also in his personal life.
Shoving back the distracting thoughts and forcing his mind to focus, he ran down the narrow hallway to the stairwell. The sound of the other man’s footsteps echoed as Joe flew down the flight of stairs, trying to bridge the gap between them. The door to the front lobby slammed open against the wall below him, then shut.
And he still had two more floors to go.
His heart was racing by the time he made it to street level and stepped outside the structure into the afternoon sunshine. He searched the movement of pedestrians and traffic. The air smelled like fresh bread and chocolate. A car honked. A moped whizzed by as he hurried to the corner, debating which way to go. The intruder had to be here somewhere, but there was no sign of him. And the problem was, he could be anywhere. Joe glanced to his right past the busy intersection lined with stores and restaurants and the occasional bakery. Another two blocks to his left was the subway. Tracking him at this point was going to be impossible.
Irritated, he headed back to the apartment building. He needed to make sure Talia was really okay. A minute later he pressed the number of her apartment, waited for her to buzz him back into the building and headed up again to the fifth floor. His mind worked to sort through the few bits of information he had. Reopening the case had triggered someone to go after the paintings. But who? It had to be someone who believed that at some point Thomas had possession of them. Which led him back to his original theory. Whoever was after the paintings had most likely been there the night Thomas had been murdered.
When Talia opened the apartment door for him, she was on her cell phone. She signaled for him to wait a moment, then turned away, but not before he caught the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Shelby, as soon as you get this message, call me.” She dropped her phone onto the kitchen counter, then caught his gaze. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey...it’s okay. He’s gone.” He couldn’t blame her for being terrified. It was one thing to have someone snatch your bag in public, but having someone invade the privacy of your home with a weapon was going to take a lot longer to forget. “I’m going to use some of my connections with the Italian police and find a way to track this guy down. We’ve got a good description—”
“No.” She was crying harder now. “It’s not okay. He threatened my sister. He’s got surveillance photos of her at her house, and at her job...”
“Listen, I know this is hard, but I need you to tell me exactly what happened,” he said. “And we will figure this out. I promise.”
She grabbed a tissue off the counter. “I can’t get a hold of my sister. If anything happens to Shelby because of this I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Show me the photos.”
He followed her into the bedroom, where she sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up one of the pictures. “There are ones of Shelby outside the school where she works in Dallas, outside her house...”
Joe flipped through the photos, understanding her concern. Someone had killed her husband, and now they’d shown her that they could get to both Talia and her sister.
Joe pulled out his own phone. They needed to find a way to put an end to this. “If you’ll give me her address, I’ll have someone sent to her place right now. And if she’s not there, I’ll make sure they track her down and ensure she’s okay.”
She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen off her desk and started writing down the address. “The man gave me seventy-two hours to come up with the paintings.”
“And if you can’t?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but they’re clearly not playing games.” She glanced back at the photos. “I also called Thomas’s mother. I described the paintings and she thinks she remembers seeing them. If she does still have them, the artwork is probably somewhere in my in-laws’ apartment.”
He started to touch her arm, then pulled back at the intimate gesture, wishing she didn’t look so vulnerable. But he knew what it was like to have the life of a sibling threatened. Knew what it was like to lose a brother. And personal or not, he was going to make certain neither she nor her sister were hurt.
“We’re going to find those paintings, and ensure nothing happens to either one of you in the meantime.”
She blew her nose again. “You can’t guarantee that.”
“Maybe not.” He hated the fact that she was right. “But I can promise that I’ll do everything in my power to stop whoever’s behind this.”
* * *
While Joe started making calls on his cell phone, Talia hurried to shut and lock both the balcony and the front door. Not that closing up the apartment made her feel safe. A man had already found a way to break in to her house. Which meant she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel safe here again. Not only was her life being threatened, but now her sister was also potentially in danger. And all because of some missing paintings She glanced at the clock, then redialed Shelby’s number. Texas was seven hours behind Rome, so there was a good possibility she had her phone off while she was teaching, assuming Shelby was okay. She hoped that Joe would be able to keep his promise, and that everything would be fine. But she knew firsthand that sometimes things didn’t turn out the way you wanted them to.
Joe talked on his phone while pacing in her living room. There was something surprisingly calming about his presence. But the reality was that he was a complete stranger, and the captain’s call had only managed to erase some of her doubts concerning the FBI agent. And yet somehow Joe Bryant was still managing to take the edge off her panic.
She closed her eyes, unable to get rid of the constant flood of memories. Not long after Thomas’s death, the chief had given her a box of his personal things. At the time, she’d felt too betrayed to do anything more than glance through the belongings before she got rid of most of what was inside. Thankfully, a friend of hers had advised her not throw away everything that reminded her of him, just because of her strong feelings of betrayal. She’d gone with the advice and had kept a few things, which she’d transferred to a smaller container then mailed the rest in a box to her mother-in-law in Venice.
And then she’d done her best to forget about it. Until now.
She glanced around the small apartment. There was really only one place it could be. She found the small, nondescript box under her bed behind a suitcase.
She lifted off the lid and felt a rush of emotion sweep through her. On the top was their wedding invitation, a black card with white-and-teal print. Beneath that were photos from their honeymoon to Ireland, the watch she’d given him for their first anniversary and their wedding rings. And along with these symbols were everything she’d thought they’d promised each other.
For better, for worse.
For richer, for poorer.
To love and to cherish.
Till death do us part.
She’d worked to put her past behind her, but now everything she’d tried to forget had risen to the surface, making her wonder if she was ever going to be truly free. She dug through the rest of the box until she touched the thin sheet of tissue paper in the very bottom. There were no postcards. No paintings.
“Talia?”
