He shook his head. “But I’m fresh out of good ideas. At least I’ll know she’s safe.”

Roy’s eerie silence chased him out of the garden, and right into his bones.

Chapter 7

RJ wasn’t kidding herself. They weren’t here on vacation.

She was here to watch York’s back. Even if he didn’t know it.

But it felt like vacation. Especially with her view of the Arno river, and beyond that, the ancient Ponte Vecchio, with its tiny shops clinging to the outside, in all colors of yellow, orange and red.

Florence. The name even sounded exotic. They’d arrived early, the cobblestones of Duomo Square still wet from the morning rain. They ate breakfast croissants at a café, then spent the morning touring the Duomo di Firenze, the cathedral built in the thirteenth century. She’d wanted to go into the Accademia Gallery to see the original sculpture of David, but York and Roy headed to the hotel to check in.

Fine. She wasn’t exactly suffering at the hotel. Like everything else in Italy, the place dazzled, from the black and terrazzo tiled floors, to the gilded light fixtures to the stained glass windows. She checked into a double room on the fourth floor shared by Ziggy, adjoined with the guys via an inner door. Opulent. The beds were draped with gold bed runners and tasseled gold bolsters. Even the chairs at the tiny round table were upholstered in gold silk, with matching gold-silk drapes. A vase of fresh white roses sat in the center of the table.

RJ glanced into the icy green tiled bathroom with the huge soaking tub. “I might have to take a bath.”

Ziggy had dropped her backpack onto the bed. “I’m walking to the hotel with Roy and York. We’ll meet you on the rooftop garden after he and York locate Grey.”

They’d already received a packet of information from Coco—including the hotel layout, the conference schedule and Grey’s room. The hotel wasn’t large, eighty guest rooms with only one conference room that held less than a hundred attendees. Coco had even provided the attendee list—less than fifty, all medical professionals, with the focus on global pandemics.

The thought sent a shiver through her. Smallpox. She didn’t know much about it, but thankfully the world had a vaccine, right? Still, it paid to be prepared.

The plan was to wait until the afternoon break, then meet him in his room, and detain him until Logan arrived.

Rooftop garden. Maybe the bath could wait.

But really, she should get her head in the game. “Good idea. I’ll join you.”

Ziggy had pulled back her hair, wore a pair of black leggings, a black shirt, a white blouse over it, a pair of black runners, looking every inch a woman who could handle herself.

RJ wore a sun dress, a hat and sandals. Not exactly ready for trouble.