She left and took several deep breaths. Instead of taking them to calm herself, she thought about the shocking news she’d received today. She needed to be the opposite of serene. Riled up. For Juliette, she needed to be the shell-shocked woman who’d just discovered her whole life was a lie.
She composed her message and hit Send.
A moment later, her phone rang. Juliette.
She answered with a laugh that was a decent facsimile of stressed-out cheer. “Well hello, I uh…guess you got my message.”
“Your timing was perfect, darling, as Grigory just told me we are to invite you over to see your mother’s painting.”
Her stomach dropped. She didn’t know if it was at the words or the fact that this was better than she could have hoped. “Grigory…has one of my mother’s paintings?” Her voice cracked on painting, but only a little.
“Yes dear. I didn’t know it was by your mother until we met on Friday night. The resemblance is uncanny.”
“Why didn’t you say something then?”
“Reuben asked me not to. And…it is his gallery.”
Kira did understand that. Still, she could have saved Kira a lot of questions and even danger if the woman had spoken up. “Tell me, had you ever met my Cousin Andre before?”
“The German man with you that night? No. Should I have?”
“I don’t know. It’s all so confusing. So you knew about my mother?”
“I only knew what everyone else knew—you’re the spitting image of Reuben’s mom, who painted several self-portraits and some landscapes. Luka sold one of the portraits to Grigory.”
“Why would Luka sell it?”
“You’ll have to ask him, dear. But it is a lovely portrait. Your mother was an amazing artist. Do you paint?”
Kira did, but she wasn’t about to get into that discussion now. The apple had fallen far from the tree in her case, but she’d accepted that years ago.
“Is tomorrow good for you? I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be staying in Malta, but I want to see more of your work. That’s why I messaged you to begin with.”
“Tomorrow is perfect. We can start at the gallery, then go to Grigory’s villa for lunch.”
She closed her eyes, giving thanks for the invitation, even though she was well aware Reuben and Grigory were probably laying some sort of trap for her. Little did they know she had an undercover SEAL at her back, and behind him was the entire fucking US Navy.
Chapter Forty-Two
Kira was disappointed Teague Collins was unable to speak to Nadia that afternoon or evening, but they had other logistics to work out. The Navy made arrangements to have equipment delivered to Rand, and a SEAL team was mobilized to Naval Air Station Sigonella on the island of Sicily—which was little more than a hundred miles away. If they found themselves in a bind, Rand would have backup.
Freya located a fifty-foot yacht for them to charter, so Rand would have a place to store his SEAL gear once it was delivered, plus they’d have transport to Gozo. It was early evening when they grabbed their bags and left the apartment for a marina outside Valletta to claim the yacht.
Kira had never spent time on any kind of yacht and probably would have been impressed no matter what, but Rand assured her the boat was on the high end of luxurious. “Just the kind of thing I’d rent if I were trying not just to woo you, but your wealthy newfound family too.”
They placed their bags in the large cabin with a full bed and attached three-quarter bathroom—or rather, head in sailor parlance—at the rear of the boat.
Not rear, stern, according to Rand.
He went on to explain that the kitchen was a galley, the living room with spoked steering wheel was a salon and interior helm, while the helm on the upper deck was the cockpit. There was also a V-shaped stateroom in the bow with a second head.
She poked around the galley, which had smaller versions of all the usual kitchen appliances, then said, “It’s too bad Freya didn’t work her magic to stock the kitchen, because I’m starving.”
“It’s been a day, and we haven’t eaten since before Mdina. There’s a shop on the corner where we can get groceries. We should get some basics for the next few days, but what do you want to do for dinner? Make something simple here or eat out?”
She considered the question. She had zero desire to cook, but they could probably find something frozen to pop into the oven. That didn’t really appeal. They had work ahead of them tonight, and she needed a break now. “Let’s go out. Relax for a bit.”
He nodded. “I think we’ve both earned an hour off.”
Kira changed into capris and an airy halter top that showed off her curves. She never would have worn something like this in the US. Some wild streak had taken over when she shopped for this trip.
Rand took one look at her and grinned. “Have I mentioned that I really love your vacation wardrobe?”
She laughed. “Thank you. I went on a shopping binge a few weeks ago. I was always so careful how I dressed once I started working for…him.” She still hated to say his name, but she knew Rand would understand. Maybe when the trial was over, if he received the expected life-without-parole sentence, she’d feel differently.
She shifted her focus to the halter top, which made her feel sexy and fun. Bold. Like Staci probably felt every day. She didn’t want to think about Staci right now, but she’d spent a lot of weeks comparing herself to the vivacious woman and had consistently rated herself inferior.
That feeling was fading, but not quickly enough. She pasted on a bright smile. “It’s fun to get to be someone else on vacation other than shy, awkward, mousey Kira.” She grimaced. “I guess I’m not really that Kira anymore. I’m someone else entirely. Kira Lukovna Kulinka.”
Rand took a step toward her. “Only if that’s who you want to be. And I happen to be captivated by all your iterations.” He touched her cheek, then slid a hand to cup the back of her head. His fingers triggered a tingling in her scalp.
Thoughts of other women with Rand vanished like water vapor in the Maltese heat.
“Shy. Valkyrie. Siren. Tourist. Historian.” He grinned and dipped his head so his lips touched her neck and added, “Sexy librarian.” He kissed below her ear, then nipped the lobe and added. “I like every one of you, but one thing you’ve never been to me is mousy.”
She pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him. Not shy. Not awkward. He wanted her. All of her. He didn’t compare her to women from his past. He thought her a siren.
