I nodded to myself. ‘I can. It’s the Lia Saifir. And look who’s got it.’

He stared at the smooth good looks of the man in the photo. ‘Oh.’ He sank down, deflated, into the nearest chair. ‘I didn’t see that,’ he mumbled in a blatant lie.

‘He’s staying at the Astor Hotel. He’s in town, Taylor. We can still get the jewel.’

‘No, Tegs. You can’t do it. It’s not fair.’

I touched his arm. ‘We steal from the Sidhe all the time, Taylor.’

‘Not like this. Not when there’s a chance you’ll be recognised.’

‘Every time I step outside I might be recognised! It’s been sixteen years. If they cared where I was, they’d have found me by now.’ I refrained from mentioning the letter I’d received summoning me back to the Sidhe court. Taylor had tried to hide the newspaper because he didn’t want me to get that up close and personal with a Sidhe who knew my real background. He’d go nuts if he discovered I’d been summoned back ‘home’.

‘I think I can handle one Sidhe,’ I said decisively, although I had no idea whether that was true or not. But how hard could it really be? ‘What choice do we have? I get the jewel and you get the money to get us out of this messed-up hole.’

‘But him? He knows you, Tegs.’

I smiled grimly at Byron Moncrieffe’s photo. ‘He’s a playboy with nothing more on his mind than wine and women. It’ll be a piece of cake.’

Taylor regarded me soberly. ‘You’re supposed to be leaving.’

‘Next week.’ I shrugged. ‘I can’t leave now, can I? Besides, I steal the Lia Saifire from Byron in the next seventy-two…’ I checked my watch, ‘make that sixty-eight hours, and I’ll still have plenty of time to pack and say my goodbyes. Whoever the bastard is who’s pulling the strings of this loan and screwing with our crew, they can’t argue if we actually pay up. You just need to make sure the buyer is still in place. And see if you can find out who the money lender is. We need to know so we can stop this happening again.’

Taylor still looked troubled. ‘Stealing from this Sidhe could go very badly. You shouldn’t do it. If he recognises you…’ His voice trailed off.