This man had to be the dullest person to ever walk the earth. Just looking at his stupid face made me yawn.

I turned to Maxim. “Is he still talking?”

He snorted. “Yeah, I think he is.”

Claude Dupont’s face grew red at the interruption. “You are not taking this seriously,” he spluttered. “How do I know you didn’t steal the necklace? You could have delivered it, collected your money, and then stolen it so you can sell it again!”

The man’s eyes glinted and his chest puffed, like he was pleased at his own brilliance.

Maxim stretched in his chair. “Should we just kill him?”

Claude stumbled back. “Is that a joke? I could report you to the police!”

Sergey’s low laughter rumbled behind me. I didn’t need a bodyguard to defend me against Claude, or anyone, but Sergey was massive and the scars on his face made him an intimidating motherfucker.

Toying with Claude, seeing his poorly hidden fear, filled me with perverse pleasure. He had called this morning, panicked out of his mind because the diamond necklace we sold him earlier this week had been stolen. I’d laughed when Maxim told me because fuck, it was only what Claude deserved. He’d insisted on meeting with me this morning, something he likely regretted right about now. We were in the living room of my penthouse suite at La Couronne Noire, the hotel I always stayed at when I was in Paris. I’d come to the city for the first time a decade ago, and had returned almost yearly for gem trading and black market jewelry sales and acquisitions. I’d traveled around the world, but Paris had always felt like it belonged to me. I was at ease in this city in a way I rarely experienced, and Claude Dupont was disrupting my peace.

“Call the police,” I said, holding my phone out to him. “I look forward to hearing you explain your black market purchase.”

Beads of sweat dripped down his temple. I stood and took a step towards him. He retreated.

“Take a minute to think about this, Declan. I know people. I could ruin your reputation,” he said half-heartedly, wiping his sweat with the back of his hand.

A cold laugh escaped my lips. This man wasn’t important enough to know my real name or identity. He was insignificant, barely a blip on my radar. “You seem to be the one who has forgotten my reputation. I’m not one of your spineless sycophants, desperate for a crumb of your money. Your entire fortune is pocket change to me.”

I took another step forward. His back hit the wall, and he let out a pathetic whimper as his eyes darted side to side. But there was no escape.

“If you don’t want to lose something precious, you need to guard it better.” I slapped my hand down on his shoulder. “Including your life.” He flinched and my lips curled in disgust. “Run away, little boy.”

A garbled noise came from his throat as he shifted past me. He stumbled and almost fell when he reached the door, but caught himself on the handle and fled without another glance.

“Well, that was mildly entertaining,” Maxim said. “I’m almost tempted to break into his house and steal all his shit. Supposedly, he has a state-of-the-art security system and a fancy new safe. Whoever stole the necklace was good.”

“And clearly knew the sale was happening.” I didn’t believe in coincidences. How had the thief known? The most likely scenario was that Claude let something slip and the necklace was stolen by someone close to him. But there was still a discomfiting worry in the back of my mind that the thief had intercepted our encrypted messages to discover the details of the sale. The idea set me on edge.

“I want eyes on Claude, online activity included.” He couldn’t actually cause problems for me, but there was nothing I despised more than being surprised.

“I’ll let Aleksei know.” Sergey pulled out his phone to message our hacker.

The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city. The sun was over the horizon, making the city practically glow. Summer in Paris was sticky and sweltering, but I welcomed the heat.

“Fuck, I need coffee.” I ran my hand through my hair, still not used to the length. “We have time before our next meeting.”

I slipped off my jacket when we got to my favorite café, hanging it on the back of my chair. Maxim grumbled about sitting outside in the heat, but I craved the air, the bustle of people, the aliveness of everything after spending too many years with the walls closing in around me.

The nightmares had come full force last night, haunting and twisted as they chased me through my sleep until I finally gave up and got out of bed. I threw back my espresso and signaled to the server to bring me another.

When the second arrived, I savored the bitter taste, hoping it would help me stay sharp. In control.

Maxim was talking through strategies for our upcoming meetings with various rare jewel traders when a flash of white caught my eye. Across the street, sitting outside another café, was a beautiful woman. The wind played with her dark hair and her white skirt fluttered around her, the slit revealing a long, tanned leg. She was typing something on her phone, but paused when the server came over to drop off a coffee and pastry. A strange sensation seized my chest when she smiled up at him.

I looked away, refocusing on Maxim, and pushed the woman from my mind.

I only had a few more days in Paris before I had to return to my city and the life that still didn’t feel like mine.

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