A Woman to Treasure Read online

  A Woman to Treasure

  Synopsis

  Levi Montbard loves history and isn’t afraid to search it out no

  matter where it takes her. A scroll she acquires to sell in

  Montbard’s Antiquities in New Orleans leads Levi on an

  adventure that will take her from London to Morocco, by way

  of the Sahara Desert. A story of a female Templar Knight

  should sound like a hoax, but to Levi the new information

  rings true. Proving the scroll accurate becomes an obsession.

  She’ll stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

  Yasmine Hassani spends her days teaching female studies in

  Marrakech to women who want to leave a mark on their

  country. An arrogant Westerner storming into her office is

  highly unexpected and leaves Yasmine laughing off the

  absurdity of her claims. No one knows more about the history

  of the Templar Knights than Yasmine, and reluctantly

  intrigued, she agrees to help Levi.

  But their search turns down one dead end after another, almost

  as if someone is working hard to keep old secrets buried.

  They’ll have to fight the Catholic Church, centuries of

  tradition, and their growing attraction for each other to

  uncover the mystery of the female Templar Knight.

  Praise for Ali Vali

  One More Chance

  “This was an amazing book by Vali…complex and multi-

  layered (both characters and plot).”— Danielle Kimerer,

  Librarian (Nevins Memorial Library, Massachusetts)

  Face the Music

  “This is a typical Ali Vali romance with strong characters, a

  beautiful setting (Nashville, Tennessee), and an enemies-to-

  lovers style tale. The two main characters are beautiful, strong-

  willed, and easy to fall in love with. The romance between

  them is steamy, and so are the sex scenes.”— Rainbow

  Reflections

  The Inheritance

  “I love a good story that makes me laugh and cry, and this one

  did that a lot for me. I would step back into this world any

  time.”— Kat Adams, Bookseller (QBD Books, Australia)

  Double-Crossed

  “[T]here aren’t too many lesfic books like Double-Crossed

  and it is refreshing to see an author like Vali continue to churn

  out books like these. Excellent crime thriller.”— Colleen

  Corgel, Librarian, Queens Borough Public Library

  “For all of us die-hard Ali Vali/Cain Casey fans, this is the

  beginning of a great new series…There is violence in this

  book, and lots of killing, but there is also romance, love, and

  the beginning of a great new reading adventure. I can’t wait to

  read more of this intriguing story.”— Rainbow Reflections

  Stormy Seas

  Stormy Seas “is one book that adventure lovers must read.”—

  Rainbow Reflections

  Answering the Call

  Answering the Call “is a brilliant cop-and-killer story…The

  crime story is tight and the love story is fantastic.”— Best

  Lesbian Erotica

  Lammy Finalist Calling the Dead

  “So many writers set stories in New Orleans, but Ali Vali’s

  mystery novels have the authenticity that only a real Big Easy

  resident could bring. Set six months after Hurricane Katrina

  has devastated the city, a lesbian detective is still battling

  demons when a body turns up behind one of the city’s famous

  eateries. What follows makes for a classic lesbian murder

  yarn.”— Curve Magazine

  Beauty and the Boss

  “The story gripped me from the first page…Vali’s writing style

  is lovely—it’s clean, sharp, no wasted words, and it flows

  beautifully as a result. Highly recommended!”— Rainbow

  Book Reviews

  Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici

  “A stunning addition to the vampire legend, Balance of

  Forces: Toujour Ici is one that stands apart from the rest.”—

  Bibliophilic Book Blog

  Beneath the Waves

  “The premise…was brilliantly constructed…skillfully written

  and the imagination that went into it was fantastic…A

  wonderful passionate love story with a great mystery.”— Inked

  Rainbow Reads

  Second Season

  “The issues are realistic and center around the universal

  factors of love, jealousy, betrayal, and doing the right thing

  and are constantly woven into the fabric of the story. We rated

  this well written social commentary through the use of fiction

  our max five hearts.”— Heartland Reviews

  Carly’s Sound

  “Carly’s Sound is a great romance, with some wonderfully hot

  sex, but it is more than that. It is also the tale of a woman

  rising from the ashes of grief and finding new love and a new

  life. Vali has surrounded Julia and Poppy with a cast of great

  supporting characters, making this an extremely satisfying

  read.”— Just About Write

  Praise for the Cain Casey Saga

  The Devil’s Due

  “A Night Owl Reviews Top Pick: Cain Casey is the kind of

  person you aspire to be even though some consider her a

  criminal. She’s loyal, very protective of those she loves,

  honorable, big on preserving her family legacy and loves her

  family greatly. The Devil’s Due is a book I highly recommend

  and well worth the wait we all suffered through. I cannot wait

  for the next book in the series to come out.”— Night Owl

  Reviews

  The Devil Be Damned

  “Ali Vali excels at creating strong, romantic characters along

  with her fast-paced, sophisticated plots. Her setting, New

  Orleans, provides just the right blend of immigrants from

  Mexico, South America, and Cuba, along with a city steeped

  in traditions.”— Just About Write

  Deal with the Devil

  “Ali Vali has given her fans another thick, rich thriller… Deal

  With the Devil has wonderful love stories, great sex, and an

  ample supply of humor. It is an exciting, page-turning read

  that leaves her readers eagerly awaiting the next book in the

  series.”— Just About Write

  The Devil Unleashed

  “Fast-paced action scenes, intriguing character revelations,

  and a refreshing approach to the romance thriller genre all

  make for an enjoyable reading experience in the Big Easy…

  The Devil Unleashed is an engrossing reading experience.”—

  Midwest Book Review

  The Devil Inside

  “The Devil Inside is the first of what promises to be a very

  exciting series…While telling an exciting story that grips the

  reader, Vali has also fully fleshed out her heroes and villains.

  The Devil Inside is that rarity: a fascinating crime novel which

  includes a tender love story and leaves the reader with a

  cliffhanger ending.”— MegaScene

  A Woman to Treasure

  Brought to you by

  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstroke
sbooks.com

  eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or

  given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this

  work.

  Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

  A Woman to Treasure

  © 2021 By Ali Vali. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-891-3

  This Electronic Original Is Published By

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, NY 12185

  First Edition: May 2021

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and

  incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are

  used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or

  dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely

  coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form

  without permission.

  Credits

  Editors: Victoria Villaseñor and Stacia Seaman

  Production Design: Stacia Seaman

  Cover Design by Tammy Seidick

  eBook Design by Toni Whitaker

  By the Author

  Carly’s Sound

  Second Season

  Love Match

  The Dragon Tree Legacy

  The Romance Vote

  Hell Fire Club in Girls with Guns

  Beneath the Waves

  Beauty and the Boss

  Blue Skies

  Stormy Seas

  The Inheritance

  Face the Music

  On the Rocks in Still Not Over You

  One More Chance

  A Woman to Treasure

  Call Series

  Calling the Dead

  Answering the Call

  Forces Series

  Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici

  Battle of Forces: Sera Toujours

  Force of Fire: Toujours a Vous

  Vegas Nights

  Double-Crossed

  The Cain Casey Saga

  The Devil Inside

  The Devil Unleashed

  Deal with the Devil

  The Devil Be Damned

  The Devil’s Orchard

  The Devil’s Due

  Heart of the Devil

  The Devil Incarnate

  Acknowledgments

  One of my best childhood memories was being at home during

  the summer with my brother. Every afternoon we’d sit and

  watch “The Big Movie.” It was a local channel’s lineup of

  movies that had theme weeks. The pirate/treasure hunts were

  at the top of our list of favorites, so thank you, Radclyffe, for

  the opportunity to create my own adventure stories. Thank

  you, Sandy, for another great title idea and for all you do.

  Thanks to the BSB team for your support and hard work.

  Thank you to my awesome editors, Victoria Villasenor and

  Stacia Seaman. Vic, thank you for dragging me along until I

  see the light. You and Stacia have taught me so much and I

  appreciate both of you. Tammy Seidick, thank you for this

  awesome cover—I love it.

  Thank you to my first readers Lenore Beniot, Cris Perez-Soria,

  and Kim Rieff. Your comments, questions, and commentary

  really make me consider every possibility, and that’s always a

  good thing.

  A huge thank you to every reader. You guys send the best

  emails, so every word is written with you in mind.

  Last year was interesting as well as challenging for all of us.

  Hopefully, everyone had as wonderful a quarantine partner as I

  did. C, thank you for keeping us both sane and laughing. We

  can add this to our adventures. Hopefully there are plenty

  more to come that do not include a pandemic. Verdad!

  For C

  and

  The adventurous soul in all of us

  CHAPTER ONE

  Lot number twenty-six—a collection of scrolls recovered from

  the grave of a young girl. These are believed to be on ram’s

  skin and are a form of a childhood diary of the young girl they

  were buried with.” The auctioneer pointed to the rolled skins

  tied with leather strips. “The paleography and carbon dating

  put them at about 1300 AD.”

  Levi Montbard sat on the end of the fourth row in the

  famous Drouot auction house in Paris and tapped her

  numbered paddle on the side of her thigh. This was the lot

  she’d come for, although her grandfather Cristobal had already

  made quite a few purchases. He had a good eye for what

  would sell in Montbard Antiquities and Rare Books back

  home in New Orleans, but the scrolls were for her private

  collection.

  “We’ll start the bidding at five thousand euros,” the man

  said as he smoothed down his tie. Levi lifted her paddle as her

  grandfather perused the rest of the catalog for the day’s

  auction. There was a back-and-forth between Levi and an

  older man in the front, but he wasn’t willing to go over thirty-

  eight thousand. “Sold to number forty-two. The next item…”

  She and her grandfather stood, their mission accomplished.

  “Lunch?” her grandfather asked.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” She flipped

  through the catalog and pointed to the last lot. “A Kelmscott

  Chaucer doesn’t come up often. It’s in poor condition, but if it

  goes for a good price it’ll be a good investment.”

  “You’ve seen it already?” Her grandfather laughed. “Of

  course you have. Who’s the beautiful woman working in the

  back who’s willing to give up the house secrets for time with

  you?”

  “I’m not revealing any of my sources. Come on and I’ll

  buy you a crepe and a latte.” Levi slowed her gait, not because

  her grandfather was feeble but because he was six inches

  shorter. “We’ll be back in plenty of time.”

  “Do you know anything else about the scrolls you

  bought?” Cristobal Montbard was the head of their family, and

  he’d instilled in his only son and then his only grandchild the

  family’s love of history. The Montbard family wasn’t in the

  antiquities business simply for profit but to share with those

  who loved the past as much as they did and to provide the

  treasures that would fuel people’s imaginations.

  “They were found outside Jerusalem in an unmarked grave

  in what the archaeologists describe as a peasant burial site.

  The grave held a young girl, and the code the scrolls was

  written in was declared childhood nonsense.” They sat at an

  outdoor café and she ordered for them in French. “They most

  probably are, but it’s good practice at breaking codes. They’ll

  make a good wall hanging for someone if they turn out to be

  nothing.”

  “How hard could the code have been that the auction house

  didn’t attempt to crack it?”

  “You know the auction houses, as well as the people

  putting the items up for sale, are all about profit.” She dropped

  two sugar cubes in the espresso the pretty waitress delivered

  and smiled at her grandfather. “Why spend good money

  translating a simple exchange between children?”

  “But you don’t think that’s all it is?”

  “Think of the time period and where they were found. No

&n
bsp; one, much less a child, would’ve wasted scrolls on foolish

  childish musings. Parchment was too valuable back then, and

  it wasn’t as if they could reuse it. The site held plenty of other

  graves with museum quality pieces, so I was lucky this one

  fell through the cracks. It doesn’t happen often when it’s state

  archaeologists, but it happens. The pieces they let go of will

  fund the rest of the dig they’re on.”

  “No wonder the girls can’t leave you alone when you’re

  using words like musings.” Her grandfather’s teasing was a

  constant, but she loved it.

  Levi was close to her parents, but her grandparents,

  Cristobal and Diana, were two of her favorite people in her

  life. Her mother’s parents were also important to her, but they

  lived in London and she didn’t see them as often. While her

  grandfather Cristobal enjoyed his books, cigars, and whiskey,

  her grandfather Percy had summited Everest twice and had a

  professor at Oxford. It was an intimidating family to be a part

  of when you considered the list of accomplishments on both

  sides, but they’d given her an adventurous heart.

  “Believe me, there’s a lot more than my grasp of the

  English language that makes that true.” She loved the way her

  grandfather laughed. “I have a gut feeling there’s something

  hidden in that code, and I’m going to find it. It was good luck

  they weren’t highly advertised.”

  “Ms. Montbard.” A man in Levi’s periphery said her name

  in a cultured English accent.

  She wasn’t concerned since her grandfather didn’t appear

  alarmed or worried. Whoever this guy was, she wasn’t going

  to give him the satisfaction of turning around. She’d been

  taught an honor code all her life, and the first lesson was that

  to get respect you had to give it. This guy was clearly playing

  a game to get her attention instead of politely coming to the

  table.

  “Ms. Montbard,” the guy repeated. He was standing next

  to the table now, acting like she was supposed to curtsy. “Are

  you hard of hearing?”

  “Not at all.” She rested her chin on her palm and didn’t

  invite him to sit. “Is there something I can do for you?” She