.

disk.

      It had all been planned to the second, Jonell thought dimly. Planned by someone on the inside.

      Was it Rogers? Another one of the new guards they had hired in the past month?

      He moaned, caught by crushing pain at his chest. As his body went slack, Everett Jonell realized that he’d never see the new grandbaby or his wife or his proud daughter again. The sorrow was the last thing he felt.

      SIX MINUTES, fifteen seconds to go.

      The figure at the security command post inserted a new time stamp digitally at the security panel, typing in a string of computer code. Then he pocketed the old surveillance disk and inserted a new one, already formatted and complete with museum images calibrated to the current time stamp. Nothing had been left to chance.

      Nudging his boss’s lifeless body onto the floor, the figure finished his disk exchange and then checked the black-and-white images that appeared on the row of monitors.

      All good to go.

      He opened his cell phone, dialed a number and hung up after one ring.

      Though the far monitor showed no activity, he knew that someone was carefully easing open the door of storeroom #3-A at that very moment.

      He closed his eyes, savoring his memory of the exquisite chalk sketch of the most famous woman on the planet.

      Thanks to his discreet program override, the monitor display would loop back with preset images and movements timed to coincide with normal museum patterns. After the thorough infrared assessments that had just been completed, no new tests on the art were scheduled for thirty-six hours. Only at that point would the theft be discovered.

      By then, da Vinci’s preparatory ink and chalk study for the Mona Lisa would be safely locked in a vault, ready for covert transport out of the U.S.

      He checked his watch.

      Three minutes, twenty-two seconds to go. Calmly he lifted Jonell’s fallen walkie-talkie and studied its face. Everything appeared to be in working order, he was happy to see.

      His cell phone buzzed quietly, one burst and then no more.

      All clear.

      Target acquired and clues in place. Ready to exit the building. Everything was moving nicely ahead of schedule.

      He thought briefly about the funds that would be wired to four of his offshore accounts by this time tomorrow. Maybe he’d buy that island in the Seychelles after all. It was remote enough and there was a fresh water source as well as a sizable bungalow with upgraded docks.

      He shoved away the thought. There was still risky work to be done. In two minutes he would phone in an emergency call notifying the switchboard of Everett Jonell’s collapse, sounding suitably shocked and upset. Once his regular shift was complete, he would drive to the short-term apartment that he leased in northern Maryland under one of his many other names. Once there he would collect the carefully wrapped piece of art. After the transfer was done, he would follow his normal schedule with no deviation.

      He’d even attend Everett Jonell’s funeral and offer deep and sincere condolences to his wife.

      He’d stay in place after the theft was discovered, monitoring progress on the investigation inside the museum. In six months he would resign quietly, pleading health problems, and then vanish.

      He glanced at his watch.

      Showtime.

      He took a deep breath, schooling his features to a frown. When he triggered the walkie-talkie alert, the alarm in his voice was deeply convincing.

      “Command post one. Guard down. I repeat—guard down! Backup needed immediately.”

      He was kneeling over Jonell’s lifeless body, looking pale and agitated, when the first security patrol car screamed up the museum’s back service drive.

      CHAPTER THREE

      DAKOTA WATCHED A SMALL shape appear out of the windblown snow. Relief kicked in when he saw Nell wave one hand in a brief thumbs-up gesture.

      She looked like hell, he thought. Her hair was flecked with frozen snow. She had mud on her gloves and a welt across one cheek.

      “Amanda’s stable,” Dakota said, catching the anxious glance Nell sent to the first tent. “The group leader needs hospital care, but he’s finally calm, which won’t create such an oxygen debt. Go inside. You need to rest.”

      Nell looked exhausted as she crawled into the second tent, snow swirling up behind her. She pulled off her climbing gloves and flexed her hands. Her teeth began to chatter. “There’s more snow on its way. I can feel the moisture. In icy conditions—”

      Without a word Dakota unzipped his parka and pulled it around her shoulders.

      She stiffened and tried to push away his hands. “What are you doing? I can’t take this. What about you?”

      “I’ll be fine. I’ve got excellent cold tolerance. You need this more than I do right now.”

      She continued to protest, but Dakota cut her off.

      “How did it go?” He held out a canteen with water, taken from his pack.

      Nell took a drink, then handed back the canteen. “They’ll be fine. A doctor was waiting at the inn.” Her voice tightened. “The last trips down were pretty bad. The wind—” She closed her eyes, hunching over to cough sharply.

      “Let it go, Nell.” Dakota leaned over and zipped his parka around her trembling body. “You’ve done all you can. Once the weather clears, a chopper will be dispatched for Amanda and the group leader.”

      Nell nodded slowly, but her body remained tense. She didn’t seem to notice when Dakota pulled a thermal blanket around her and tucked it into the rope wrapped around her waist.

      “How do you let it go?” She shivered, ran a hand across her cheek and stared at a line of dried blood covering her palm. “The last boy, Jess, panicked and he was going to let go of the rope. If he had, I would have lost him. No doubt about it. And it was so close.”

      Dakota heard the horror that she had tried to hide beneath anger. “Nell, you did everything right. Let it go.”

      “I can’t. Not until everyone is safe.”

      He was acutely aware of her scent and the sounds of her breathing as he pulled her slowly toward his chest. He told himself the gesture was entirely impersonal, meant to drive off her panic and uncertainty.

      She’d just completed one of the riskiest rescues ever undertaken, but even strong people had limits, and Nell MacInnes was at hers now. Dakota didn’t wait for more arguments, didn’t try to reason or explain. He pulled her against his chest, sliding her thighs around his waist. His hands moved under her jacket, massaging her back and shoulders for warmth and circulation.

      He was keenly aware of her hair, pressed against his cheek. In different circumstances he might have turned his head to taste the smooth line of her throat and test the full curve of her mouth with his lips.

      Very bad idea. Here and now there was no place for emotion or desire. She was his mission.

      Their eyes met. She shivered and studied his face as if she’d seen something there that she couldn’t understand.

      She looked down and seemed to realize how her legs were wrapped around his waist.

      With a low gasp, she tried to pull away.

      Dakota held her right where she was. “Don’t fight me, Nell. We need to stay warm. Now close your eyes and rest. I’ll keep an eye on things.”

      “Why should I trust you?” she whispered.

      “Because right here, right now, I’m all you’ve got,” Dakota said gruffly. As he wrapped the thermal foil blanket around them, the wind howled out