She saw it in his eyes. He would break her fingers as easily as he would kiss them. Hannah kept her gaze steady on his and hoped she hadn’t pushed her luck too far.

“Is it money that seduces you, ma petite?”

“Not seduces, pleases. I like to be pleased.”

“You have two weeks to please me, Lady Hannah. Then I shall return the favor.” He kept her hand in his as he drew her to her feet. “Now, as a show of faith, you will tell me what you failed to note down here.”

Hannah walked over to the specs and prepared to lie to him.

*   *   *

She was exhausted. In a decade of assignments, nothing had left her feeling so empty and soiled. As she drove through the palace gates, she could only think about a long hot shower where she could scrub off whatever traces remained of Deboque’s cologne. Reeve was standing a hundred feet beyond the gates. Hannah stopped the car and waited for him to slide in beside her.

“You were gone a long time.” He gave her a long, thorough study. “It wasn’t in the plans for you to be out of contact for over an hour.”

“It was in the plans for me to get to Deboque.”

“And you did?”

She rolled down her window a bit farther. “I met him on a yacht, the Invincible. It’s anchored about five miles northwest. He has at least six armed guards, double that by a guess. He has the information we wanted him to have. I’m replacing Bouffe.”

Reeve’s brow lifted. “You must have impressed him.”

“That was the idea.” She wondered how soon she could wash the taste of his brandy from her mouth. “He’s planning something for the opening of Eve’s play.” When Reeve stiffened beside her, she went on. “I don’t believe it’s going to be anything directly against the family. He seemed to think it would be entertaining to confuse matters. He’s very careful how he phrases things. Nothing too direct. Even if I testified against him, it would be difficult to actually convict him of conspiracy. He hypothesizes, theorizes.”

“Did he give you an idea where he intends to make his move?”

She listened for a moment to a bird that was singing its heart out. “He seemed most interested in the palace. It’s the biggest challenge. We have two weeks.”

“He moves in two weeks?”

“That’s how long he gave me to murder your family.” She turned to him then and saw his face was pale and set. “All of you but Armand, Reeve. The children, everyone. He wants to destroy Armand’s soul and leave Cordina without an heir. If you trust my judgment, he wants this done as much for personal satisfaction as for the profit he might make when Cordina is thrown into chaos.”