“Levi, I think we may have found the missing link,” Director Palmer said without preamble.

“What do you have?” Levi asked.

“After being exiled from Sereno, Jeremiah Escobar immigrated to Italy with his wife and son, Rinaldo.”

“We already knew that.”

“Yes, but we found Rinaldo had a son.”

“I saw that in the analysis you sent me.”

“We’re tracking down all known associates of the son, Raymond. We found an immigration record from three years ago in Sweden for one of Raymond Escobar’s former business partners, a man named Julien Bartolli. We aren’t sure what the connection is between the two men, but Julien has been working as a financial consultant.”

“Let me guess. Pantheon is one of his clients.”

“You got it,” Director Palmer said. “What’s the status with Princess Cassandra?”

“I gained access to her computer, but the firewalls were too advanced for me to plant the spyware.”

“Too bad.”

“I don’t think it’s necessary anyway,” Levi said. “She’s been very forthcoming with information so far.”

“Don’t get fooled by her youth and her pretty face,” Director Palmer warned. “From everything we know about her, she is a brilliant strategist. She isn’t going to reveal anything more than what gains her an advantage.”

Levi’s first instinct was that Director Palmer didn’t know Cassie the way he did. His second thought was to doubt himself. Was Cassie playing him? Was she simply using him to regain her sense of security, using him to do the legwork to protect herself, her family, and her country? Levi had witnessed her intelligence firsthand as they’d worked together, and the Agency analysts had spent much more time studying her than he had.

He shook those thoughts from his head. The analysts might know Princess Cassandra, but they didn’t know Cassie. “Where is Julien Bartolli now?”

“He has been living in Malmo. I dispatched a surveillance team. I’ll let you know if they manage to pick him up.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Levi hung up the phone. He crossed to the window. From his room, he could see the front gate. To his left, he could see a sliver of the gardens and the darkness where the Mediterranean Sea met land.

He saw the flow of a blue dress before he identified Cassie as the woman walking in the garden, her hair pulled back in a loose braid. He shouldn’t have been able to identify her from this distance, but her regal posture left him with no doubt it was her. He also couldn’t help but note that she had gone for her walk without him.

He let Director Palmer’s warning repeat in his mind, a hollow sensation settling deep within him.

Cassie turned to her left before disappearing from view. He caught a flash of blue when she passed beneath one of the garden lights. It took only a moment for him to figure out where she was going.

He knew he should keep his distance and somehow find a way to regain control of his emotions, but his heart didn’t agree.