The Brooklyn safehouse was quiet until the heavy steel door creaked open. Marcus Thorne looked up from his book as Dominic Valerius walked in, shaking rain from his cashmere coat.
“I’m here to check the security protocols,” Dominic said, his voice low. “If Ricci is sniffing around the catalog, we need to be sure she is invisible.”
Across the room, “Elena” was staring out the window at the grey skyline. She turned at the sound of the new voice. The light caught the angle of her cheekbones, the familiar arch of her brow.
Dominic stopped dead. The breath left his lungs. “Victoria,” he whispered, the name slipping out like a prayer.
Elena froze. She turned fully toward him, her eyes narrowing in confusion. “Who is Victoria?” she asked, her voice sharp. “That is the second time someone has looked at me and thought of that name.”
Marcus stepped between them instantly, his heart hammering. “She was the previous tenant,” Marcus lied smoothly, shooting a warning glare at Dominic. “She left a lot of mail behind. Dominic is just… confused.”
Elena looked from Marcus to Dominic. She saw the shock in the stranger’s eyes–a recognition that went deeper than a tenant. She didn’t say anything, but for the first time, she didn’t trust Marcus.