“I will see you there.” Keith excused himself, his attorney and his accountant following him out of the room.

Cassie looked down at the contract in her hand. She had done it. The decision was made, the contracts were in place, and she was going home. More importantly, Levi was coming with her.

Cassie tucked the contract into a file inside her soft-sided briefcase and headed for Levi’s office. She found his door closed. When she raised her hand to knock, she heard his voice, but it was barely audible.

She lowered her hand, waiting to see if she heard any other voices to determine if he was in a meeting or speaking on the phone. Levi’s voice went silent for a moment before he started speaking again. Recognizing now he was on the phone, she knocked.

Levi’s words carried through the door as he approached. “Hold on a minute.” As soon as the door swung open, he switched from English to Italian and said, “I’ll have to call you back.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“It’s fine. How did everything go today?”

“The contracts are signed.”

“Congratulations.” Levi pulled her into a hug. “That’s fantastic.”

“Thanks.” She stepped back so she could see Levi clearly. “How soon do you think we can leave for Sereno?”

“The initial security improvements are already in place at the palace,” Levi said. “How long will it take you to pack?”

“An hour.”

“It’ll take me a little longer than that to arrange our flight.” Levi glanced at his watch. “Let’s plan to leave here at ten.”

She checked her own watch; it was a little after four. “Ten tomorrow morning?”

“Ten o’clock tonight,” Levi said.

“You do realize that will put us in Sereno in the middle of the night, right?”

“I do. My friends from Interpol have been coming and going to the palace at odd times for days to set a precedence,” Levi explained. “They’ll pick us up from the airport so no one knows you have arrived.”

“I like your confidence, but someone will know.”

“Eventually, but not before we have you safely inside the palace gates.”

Her last moments in the palace surfaced. “Will it be safe inside the palace gates?”

“Yes, it will.” Levi took her hands. “I’ll be right there with you to make sure it stays that way.”

“I guess I’d better go pack.”

Levi released her and picked up his phone. “I’ll let Garrett know we’re leaving tonight. I’m sure he’ll want to have dinner with us one last time.”

“I’d like that.” Cassie crossed to the door and opened it. Behind her, Levi greeted Garrett in Italian and began his explanation of their plans.

Cassie was halfway down the hall before Levi’s previous conversation caught up with her. Levi had switched to Italian when he’d seen her, but she had clearly heard him speaking in English when she’d approached the door.

Questions flooded her mind. Who had he been speaking to? Had he tried to hide his ability to speak English from her? And if so, why?