Chapter 76

The house Nick had rented outside Geneva sat on a wide green lawn surrounded by a high wall at the end of a residential street. The woman who met their car at the gate wore the smart, neatly-pressed uniform of Gibraltar Security and a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses. After speaking briefly to the driver, she gestured for the back window to be rolled down and looked in at Nick and Rada. “Step out of the vehicle, please.”

Rada smirked at her. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, ma’am. Our orders were very specific. No one gets into the compound without a pat down and all vehicles must be searched before being allowed entry,” said the gate guard.

Nick laid a warning hand on Rada’s arm. “It’s fine. I gave those orders. We shouldn’t give anyone a hard time about following them.”

Rada unbuckled her seatbelt and was out of the car in one smooth motion. She caught the guard around the waist and hugged her close. “If you’re patting us down, who’s patting you down, bitch?”

The guard laughed and hugged her back. “A better question is what you’re doing with a client? Mr. Coyle, do you know what kind of troublemaker you’re traveling with?”

“I’ve been advised,” Nick climbed out of the car. “I assume you’re Zhou Xiaoli?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you for requesting me personally for this assignment. I was surprised you knew my name until I found out Miss Kuznetzov was working for you,” Xiaoli gave him a broad smile.

“Rada didn’t give me the impression you two knew each other well,” Nick said.

“I told him I couldn’t remember your last name, Zuzu,” said Rada.

Xiaoli took a deep breath, sighed, and turned to Nick. “Mr. Coyle, I do hope my colleague’s lack of professionalism doesn’t reflect poorly on my performance here. Our association was brief and not particularly memorable.”

Rada shot her a murderous look, then laughed, looked up at Nick, and then back at Xiaoli. She held her arms out at her sides. “Do your job, Zuzu.”

Xiaoli gave her a quick and efficient pat down then gestured to Nick and the driver who each let her do the same. At the same time, Claudia from the Loft’s security team emerged from the gatehouse with a mirror on a pole to inspect the car’s undercarriage.

Once they were back in the car, Rada said, “Zuzu is usually much more professional. I think the news about Jesse is making everyone a little bit giddy.”

Nick sat back and chuckled. “I was just going to chalk it up to Claudia and Bernie’s influence. I encourage the security team there to keep things relatively casual where possible. Some get more into the spirit of it than others.”

Rada frowned. “Is that wise?”

“Tanvi recommended it and it makes sense. The team are absolute professionals when it comes to actually doing their jobs, but a lot of the decisions they have to make depends on them knowing who we are. Pretty much everybody who works at the Loft is welcome to eat, learn, and exercise with us. Some of them have started hanging out after dinner or before work too.”

“So that they can make better decisions when it comes to serving you?” Rada asked.

“That was Tanvi’s justification. I...” Nick chuckled. “I was about to say that I don’t want to sound like too much of a socialist, but I imagine with your background, that wouldn’t be terribly off-putting?”

Rada gave a small snort of laughter. “It might be. When I was a good communist, we were taught that socialists are terrible people because they seek accommodation with Western liberalism and are too comfortable with capitalism.”

Nick laughed. “Fair enough. So, I don’t want to sound like too much of a socialist, but I dislike there being unnecessary distinctions between the people who live at the Loft and the ones who work there. I enjoy the lunch Raoul our cook makes us more if the staff aren’t bringing in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for themselves. I’m happier with the idea of our security guards watching the gym if they know they’re welcome to use that gym once they get off shift. I like that the same maids who clean the classroom on the third floor also take classes there.”

Rada smirked. “That is indeed very socialist of you, Nick.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Not communist? To tell you the truth, I don’t really have much formal learning about either system. When I say ‘socialist,’ what I really mean is things I learned from my stepfather who constantly calls himself a socialist.”

Rada shook her head. “A proper communist would say you were trying to subvert your workers’ class loyalty in the hopes of avoiding the consequences of your exploitative behavior once the revolution comes.”

“And that communist wouldn’t be far off the mark. I’d like to pretend that it’s all about egalitarianism, but there’s definitely a part of my mind that’s always calculating what would happen to me if the whole system collapsed and that big pile of money went poof. I’d like the people I share space with to think of me as more of an ally than an enemy,” said Nick.

“Are you sleeping with any of them?” Rada asked.

“Of my security team? No.” Nick thought he sounded evasive, but he didn’t want to overshare if she wasn’t asking a broader question.

“Anyone who works for you?” Rada asked immediately.

“Yes, you’ll undoubtedly learn who once we get to New York. I don’t make a secret of who I’m with, but I try not to overshare. You can ask me for more details if you like,” Nick told her.

As they pulled up in front of the house, Rada looked out the window. “Maybe later if it’s not too arrogant of me. I do think knowing who you are might help me serve you better.”

Nick just smirked and got out of the car. Whatever other advantages he might get from having Rada around, she was a reminder not to generalize about the people who worked at SSCS. With most interactions passing through the field agents chosen for their ability to create a frictionless interface between client and services, it would be easy to project a certain servility onto the organization as a whole, but there were probably more employees with garden variety levels of professionalism and dedication or less than there were people willing to devote themselves as fanatically to their jobs and clients as Tanvi, Penny, and Fenfang did.

He might not have recognized the young woman who answered the front door if he hadn’t discussed assigning her to Verity’s security detail with Rosangela only a few days ago. The last time he’d seen Alba Innocenti, she’d been dressed for clubbing and wearing her long black hair down to her waist. The young carabiniera had been working undercover for Gibraltar in Milan and invited Nick to dance with her before revealing that she was actually working for him. She was no less sexy in the Gibraltar dress grays with her hair in a neat braid, particularly when she smiled to see him.

“Alba, it’s good to see you again,” said Nick.

Her smile got wider. “I didn’t think you would remember me.”

Nick didn’t see any point in revealing his secrets. “You must have made an impression. Are they back from shopping yet?”

“They’ve been back a while. They’re using the pool. I can show you the way.” Alba gestured back into the house.

“Please do.” Nick turned to Rada. “I’d like to get back to New York after this. Once I introduce you to Verity, would you like to catch up with Zuzu?”

Rada smiled. “Yes, thank you. Xiaoli will be horrified to know I got you to call her that.”

The pool was enclosed is a glass-and-steel structure attached to the back of the house and big enough for dozens of people to swim in comfortably. When Nick stepped into the enclosure, there were three young women bobbing and splashing in the far end. Rosangela Ricci and Bernadette from the Loft’s security detail stood nearby watching them, Rosangela in a sundress and Bernie in jeans and a midriff-baring t-shirt meant to make her look like another teenager hanging out with Verity, Verity’s roommate Maddie, and Prudence Parrish.

Rosangela called his name and waved. The girls in the pool paused in whatever game they were playing and Verity broke off from them to swim the length of the pool to where Nick was waiting. She emerged from the water wearing a royal blue bikini, hair slicked back and lips painted red. With the sight of her, it took Nick a few seconds to remember he should say something instead of just staring. In that time, Verity crossed the space between them, wrapped Nick in a hug, and kissed him in very much the same way she had on the dance floor a week ago.

When she broke the kiss, she kept her arms around Nick, held him close, and looked up into his eyes, a wry smile on her lips.

Nick laughed and, realizing he’d wrapped his arms around Verity when she kissed him, decided they could stay there. “Did I do something to deserve that?”

Verity laughed and held him even closer. “You are the one who rented this house, sprung Maddie and me from L’Ecole for the weekend, and told Rosangela to take us clothes shopping until we begged for mercy, weren’t you?”

Nick let go of Verity with one arm so he could turn and look back at the field agent in question. Rosangela wore a solid green sundress cinched at the waist, a matching wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and high-heeled sandals. It was the most casual Nick had ever seen her. “Rosa may have taken some liberties with my instructions, but an extended shopping trip wouldn’t have been outside of what I was offering. You sound like you’re having a good time.”

“Yesterday, Maddie and I were having a good time. Today, we met Prudence.” Verity gestured to the two women still in the pool and they started to swim over.

Nick raised an eyebrow. Verity didn’t sound displeased. Still, he didn’t mind playing along. “You didn’t have a good time with Prudence?”

Verity shook her head, still smiling broadly. “To the contrary, we had an exemplary time with Prudence. I’ve always assumed that growing up sheltered would limit one’s options later in life. My future seems much more wide open when I talk to her.”

Unsure of how to address that, Nick changed the subject. “Do you like the house?”

“I love the house. I was thinking that, if I ever murdered Threnody and took the crown, I should very much like to live somewhere like this instead of that godawful castle where I grew up,” said Verity.

Nick gave her a warning look. “If you’re seriously...”

“It’s probably just an idle fantasy, but I have at least a year to decide. Here comes Maddie. She has rapidly become one of your biggest fans,” said Verity.

Nick turned to the girl emerging from the pool. Maddie was about Verity’s age and half a head shorter with dark hair. The electric blue one piece swimsuit she wore looked like it was made for competitive swimming and so did Maddie. As she approached Nick, she seemed uncertain of how to greet him. First, she extended her hand to shake, then leaned in to kiss his cheek, and finally settled on wrapping him in a hug fierce enough to dislodge Verity’s grip on him. “Nick, it is so nice to finally meet you! Verity can’t stop talking about you!”

Nick glanced over at Verity as he returned Maddie’s hug. Verity gave a faint shake of her head as if to suggest her roommate was exaggerating. Nick said, “It’s nice to meet you too, Maddie.”

“MJ, please. Maddie sounds like a little girl’s name,” said Maddie.

“MJ it is then. I’m glad you were able to join Verity this weekend,” said Nick.

“I would have come with her to New York, but my parents were absolutely dead set against it.” Maddie took a half-step back. “I’ve gotten you all wet, haven’t I?”

Nick hadn’t planned on saying anything. “No problem. I’ll dry off quickly once we get out in the sun.”

“I’ll show you the garden.” Verity said to Nick then turned to her roommate. “My cousin and I have things we need to discuss privately, I’m afraid.”

Maddie looked at Nick hopefully. “Will you stay and visit afterwards?”

Nick winced. Before he could answer, Verity said, “We’re going to have to head back to school in a few hours and Nick needs to get back to New York. He was in New Orleans all week helping rescue our cousin Jesse and I imagine his responsibilities are piling up back in New York.”

“Oh, of course.” Maddie gripped one wrist in the other hand behind her back. “It was nice to meet you, though.”

Nick returned the compliment and followed Verity as she slid on a pair of pool shoes, wrapped a towel around her shoulders, and led him out a side door onto a path outside. Rada followed just behind them.

To break the silence, Nick said, “I really didn’t spend much time helping the effort to find Jesse. In hindsight, I’m not sure it was necessary for me to stay in New Orleans so long after all.”

“To hear Rosangela tell it, you led the whole operation and paid for it out of your own pocket. I was starting to imagine Tanvi holding you back to keep you from storming the beach single-handedly,” said Verity.

Nick chuckled. “All I really did was tell SSCS that they could prioritize the mission over whatever requests I was making of their time. I’m not sure how it grew so much in the telling.”

“I suspect Rosa missed very few opportunities to build your legend for you. She spoke quite passionately on your behalf when she collected me last week.” Verity ran her fingers along the neatly-trimmed edge of the high hedge they passed through on their way into the garden proper.

“I didn’t know that.” Nick looked around. The hedge surrounded a square of red-tiled floor broken up into paths by heavy stone pots a meter across and decorated with Roman-style figures engaged in various sports. Some of the pots had flowers growing in them, others tall, narrow trees. Interspersed with the pots were plinths bearing life-sized statues of men and women in togas. At the center was a marble gazebo carved with figures in a similar theme and topped with a black iron latticework dome.

Verity led him towards the gazebo. “After Rosa left my sister’s household, the only adjective I ever heard Threnody use to describe her was ‘disloyal.’ Even at the time, I remember thinking my sister must have done something terrible in order to turn such a close and trusted retainer against herself.”

“I asked Rosangela about that. She didn’t tell me much,” said Nick.

Standing with one foot on the first step of the gazebo, Verity turned and looked at Rada for the first time, but still spoke directly to Nick. “You have new security for yourself as well?”

“Not exactly. Verity, this is Rada Kuznetzov from the Special Requests division of SSCS. I’ve hired her to help me assemble your new security detail and to oversee the process of vetting them for external influences,” said Nick.

Verity frowned at Nick. “I thought you were only providing my security for the duration of the emergency with Jesse. Now that he’s been rescued, I assumed Threnody would take over again.”

“She and I haven’t discussed that yet. I wanted to get your feelings on the matter first,” said Nick.

Verity laughed. “My feelings? Obviously, I would much rather have your spies watching me than my sister’s, but I don’t think Threnody will see it that way.”

Nick shrugged. “She might. I’m going to try to make a deal with her regarding the Barone de Ferrara winery. With your permission, I’d like to try to improve your ability to live your own life as you see fit at the same time.”

“Why?” Verity looked genuinely puzzled.

“Because I like you and I’d like to see more of you,” said Nick.

“Ah, so you would be improving my ability to live my life as you see fit, then?” Verity asked.

Nick gave a faint shrug. “I could ask her to let you run wild and free and stop using you as a pawn if you like, but I don’t think either one of us would believe her if she agreed to that.”

Verity turned to look at Rada again. “Are you Charity?”

Rada nodded. “I was.”

That got a broad smile from Verity. “Prudence speaks very well of you. I think I will like having you choose my security detail if it can be arranged. In the meantime, may I ask you to give me and my cousin some privacy?”

Rada glanced at Nick who gave a faint nod. “Of course. I’d like to talk to the perimeter team for a few minutes if that’s all right. I’ll ask Bernadette to cover personal security?”

“Sounds good.” Nick nodded to her and watched her go.

When he turned back, Verity had stepped all the way into the gazebo. She gestured at a stone bench. “Will you sit with me?”

Nick sat on the bench. “Is this the whole garden? It sounded a lot more impressive when Zola described it to me.”

“This is only one of four quadrants. Maddie and I explored yesterday. It’s all quite lovely.” As she spoke, Verity laid the towel she’d brought with her across Nick’s lap then sat crosswise on it, wrapping one arm around the back of his neck to balance. “Have you come to a decision as to what you want from me, then?”

Nick found having a mostly-naked Verity on his lap very distracting, but for reasons practical, personal, and prurient, he wasn’t keen to remove her. Instead, he laid an arm gently around her waist. “I don’t think I’ve changed my mind since we talked last week. Have you?”

Verity got a thoughtful look. “Maybe. Listening to my roommate, Rosa, and Prudence today, I’m starting to think I might be foolish for not falling in love with you by now. Maddie didn’t even need to meet you first.”

Nick blushed. To give himself time to regain his equilibrium, he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever met Maddie either. Is she anything like MJ?”

Verity gave a small snort. “I’ve never heard her call herself that before and we’ve been roommates for years. She usually goes by Maddie because she hates that her parents named her Madison Addison.”

Nick winced. “That is a pretty awful trick to play on a child. Is there a reason you didn’t want me to stay and visit after we talk? I do want to get back to New York, but I could spare some time. The plane won’t leave without me.”

Verity smiled. “She and I do need to head back to school soon if we’re going to get enough sleep for classes tomorrow. And I could see that you were torn. I wanted to preserve her hero worship of you at least a little longer.”

“Why? I haven’t done anything to deserve it,” said Nick.

“I disagree and, although I strongly object to her characterization of me as a chatterbox, I have spoken well of you and what you did for me last weekend. But more importantly, I like to think that if I have to ask you to shelter her, she’ll accept your help willingly,” said Verity.

“Why would she need sheltering?” Nick asked.

Verity gave a diffident smile. “Maddie was in the room when Rosangela extended your offer to come to Geneva this weekend and bring a guest. She is my closest friend at school and I’ve frequently gone to some lengths to avoid drawing Threnody’s attention to that fact. It’s probably foolish to think she doesn’t already know, but I would feel terrible if my sister used her against me. Maddie is one of the sweetest, most genuine people I’ve ever met, but I don’t think we would have remained friends if I left her at school this weekend.”

Before Nick could respond to that, Verity ran a hand through his hair. “Also, I didn’t particularly want to share the time you and I have together.” She leaned in and kissed him deeply. “Being alone with you was my favorite part of this last weekend and we didn’t get as much of it as either of us might have liked.”

Nick closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe evenly. For all the sex he was having and all the beautiful, desireable women who had expressed a willingness to be with him, being kissed by a sixteen year-old girl - even one as undeniably beautiful as Verity - shouldn’t make him dizzy the way that kiss had. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. “Too much of that is not a good idea, Vee.”

Verity leaned her head on his shoulder. “I know. I just thought that, if you were planning to deflower me today, we should give ourselves time to enjoy it. But you’re really not, are you?”

“Not today, no.” Nick cleared his throat to get rid of the sudden hoarseness.

“I didn’t think there was much of a chance of it, but I wanted to be prepared.” Verity kissed his cheek. “Have you had a chance to speak to Sunneva since we talked about her?”

Nick actually reached up and rubbed his neck to see if the conversational turn had given him whiplash. “I haven’t had a chance. I left New York shortly after you did and haven’t been back yet. I was planning to invite her to dinner as soon as I get back to New York.”

Verity nodded thoughtfully. “That would be good. You are two of my favorite people in the world and I think you could make each other happy.”

Nick wanted to point out that he was already happier than anyone had a right to be and another lover wasn’t likely to make him any happier, but he’d spent the previous night and part of the morning reassuring himself of Inez Rodriguez-Stone’s loyalty in the most intimate way he could imagine. For that matter, he had no doubt that some of Verity’s desirability stemmed from the idea of taking away something that Threnody had claimed for herself. Instead of protesting, he said, “I was thinking I might ask your aunt to speak to Sunneva.”

Verity turned to look at him and didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Nick watched her face and thought he could actually see her pulling the pieces of what he’d said together into a coherent picture. Finally, she said, “That could be an excellent idea if they’re both amenable. I’ve often suspected my father meant for me to follow in Gianna’s footsteps after school. Genuinely valuable dynastic marriages are few and far between these days and extra princesses are a buyer’s market. If you play it right, my aunt would owe you a great favor.”

That tied neatly into one of the things Nick had wanted to tell Verity today. “Actually, your aunt is going to be relocating to New York this week so that we can work together more closely.”

Genuine surprise showed on Verity’s face. “Really? Uncle Giovanni cannot be happy with that.”

Nick chuckled. “He wasn’t, but I may have made it up to him.”

“How?”

Nick kept his voice deliberately casual. “I sent him to Threnody to deliver the news that Jesse was alive and well. She almost certainly knew before he got there, but she received him anyway and they’re negotiating an end to his exile.”

Verity’s eyes widened. “Oh, Nick, no. That’s got to be a trap.”

Nick smiled. “I thought the same thing. I certainly didn’t expect her to make such an offer, but I have reason to believe it may be genuine.”

Verity searched his face. “You haven’t forgotten that Threnody eventually knows everything I know, have you?”

Nick met her eyes. “I haven’t. I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t want your sister to know.”

Verity smirked. “Are you sure you don’t want to deflower me today? You could sweep the table against Threnody by claiming all of her closest remaining family members at once.”

“Don’t think I’m not sorely tempted, but I’d like to stop short of actually making an enemy of your sister. I haven’t taken anything from Threnody yet and I believe I’ve done her a favor by sending Giovanni to her, as well as the one I’m doing by funding your security team. That should be enough to get her to the table.” Nick stroked Verity’s spine almost absent-mindedly and was gratified to see her close her eyes like a cat being pet.

Still, those eyes were troubled when they opened. “Nick, I hope you’re not seriously considering allying yourself with Threnody.”

“I’m not, but my initial plan to ignore her and just live my life isn’t going to work,” said Nick. “What I want from your sister is an honest rivalry where we both recognize how much damage we can do to each other if we choose to.”

Nick thought Verity was opening her mouth to say something to him, but then she was pulling him down into another kiss, this one hard and demanding enough to make their previous kisses seem playful by comparison. Nick kissed her back, but pulled away when she guided his hand to her breast.

“You have got to stop doing that,” he growled.

Verity looked pleased with herself. “Don’t talk dirty to me if you don’t want to be kissed.”

Nick laughed, sat back, and gently guided Verity to stand. “Now that the crisis is over, I’d like to bring my regular security people home with me. Do you think MJ would do me a favor if I asked?”

Verity rose and smirked down at him. “She’s pretty well primed for it. What do you need?”

“L’Ecole is adamant that each girl have no more than one third-party observer on campus. I’d like to leave Xiaoli and Alba to watch over the two of you,” said Nick.

Verity looked thoughtful. “Her parents would have to sign off on that.”

“I’ll talk to them, but it would obviously make things easier if she was on-board. I’m keeping them both on regardless, but it would be easier if they didn’t have to sneak around to watch you,” said Nick.

“Honestly, Maddie might make it a harder sell if she doesn’t temper her enthusiasm for you. Her father thinks the Stones are all a bunch of sex-crazed schemers who would be a terrible influence on his daughter,” said Verity.

“That seems like an unfair generalization.” Nick rose and looked around the garden. Now that Verity had mentioned it, he could see where gaps in the hedge led to other quadrants and gestured that they should walk towards one of them. “Do you think Threnody would like this house?”

“It does have the feel of a royal summer residence, particularly with the garden. You’re not planning to give it to her, are you?” Verity asked.

“No, I don’t own it. But, I’ve had your Uncle Giovanni offer her the use of it next weekend if she’ll agree to meet with me while she’s here,” said Nick.

Verity pursed her lips. “I suppose I can console myself with the idea that she won’t enjoy it as much as I have. I assume you’re not planning on sending her clothes shopping with Prudence?”

Nick tried not to laugh. “You don’t think I should?”

“I think it would be marvelous if you could manage it, but you probably shouldn’t,” said Verity earnestly. “May I ask what you’re going to try to negotiate on my behalf?”

Nick nodded. “In addition to taking over responsibility for your security detail through graduation, I will be extending a formal invitation for you to visit me whenever your school schedule allows and asking Threnody to leave it up to you how you spend your holidays.”

“That leaves her a lot of room to follow the letter of the agreement, but violate its spirit,” said Verity.

“I don’t think a more specific agreement would stop her from playing games if she’s determined to,” Nick pointed out.

“On the other hand, it could be a litmus test for bigger things. Whatever dealings you have with her going forward, how she treats me could inform how you treat her,” Verity suggested.

Nick had been thinking the same thing - that the agreement regarding Verity could be an indicator of how Threnody was feeling about him going forward. He hadn’t mentioned that because he assumed that Verity would dislike the role of canary in the coal mine of Threnody’s moods, but he didn’t miss the note of hope in her voice when she suggested it. He said, “I did consider that possibility.”

Verity frowned. “She’ll balk at letting you permanently replace her observer on campus. Fairuza is one of her best spies. It was rather liberating not having her breathing down my neck this week.”

“I will do my best to make it worth her while,” said Nick as they passed through a gap in the hedge onto a wide lawn with a fountain at the center and statuary scattered around.

Verity turned to face him. “You say you’re doing this because you like me and want to see more of me, but what you’re suggesting, Threnody won’t let go of that much control over me cheaply. What are you hoping to get that would make it worth offering her enough that she’d make such a deal?”

“I can’t tell you that. I can only say that it would be part of a much larger deal and, as you’ve pointed out, a litmus test to her attitude about dealing with me at all. I can’t promise you she’s going to go for it, only that I’m going to push for it,” Nick said.

“Even that is more than anyone has ever done for me. Thank you.” Verity wrapped her arms around Nick’s bicep. “I would kiss you again, but you did just finish telling me I should do less of that.”

Knowing he shouldn’t, Nick took her chin in one hand, turned her to face him, and gave her a gentle kiss, breaking away before it could become more than that. “Inez is in Geneva today and knows where you’re staying. She may call on you.”

“I like Inez. I’m not sure I trust her, though,” said Verity.

“I consider her an ally, but how you think of her is going to have to be for you to decide. She is full of useful information regardless,” said Nick.

Verity walked with him to the fountain. “It seems like you’re taking a much more conciliatory approach to my sister than you were just last week. What’s changed?”

Nick’s initial instinct was to give a vague answer, but he decided that a direct truth filtered back to Threnody through her sister might be valuable. “I talked to Bunny. She gave me a broader perspective on thing. Threnody’s not going away and she can do enormous damage to the family if she’s left unchecked. If we can learn to play nicely with each other, it will be better for everyone.”