A Woman to Treasure Page 2
tapped her index finger against her cheek and waited him out.
The man stared at her and appeared to be trying to control
himself. He wore a beautifully cut suit and nice Italian dress
shoes. On his lapel she saw a simple pin of a circle with a
cross. The vertical line of the cross was at the center of the
gold circle, but the horizontal was closer to the top. Opus Dei.
“I’ve come to offer you a deal you shouldn’t turn down.”
He sat without an invitation, and the waitress placed another
espresso before him without asking.
“My name is Baggio Brutos, and my employer would like
to pay you fifty thousand euros for the scrolls you just
purchased. You’re making a profit already.”
“Thank you, but I’m not interested in selling.”
“Sixty thousand is my final offer.”
“Do you promise?”
Brutos appeared confused. “Promise what?”
“That it’s your last offer.” Her grandfather was the only
one who laughed at her joke. “If it is, my answer is no, and my
grandfather and I can go back to our coffee while you walk
away.”
“Name your price and I’ll talk to my client.”
“Mr. Brutos, you had the opportunity to buy this morning
at the auction, but that window has closed. Your desperation
makes me think selling would be a mistake even if I was
tempted to do so.” She nonchalantly texted her contact
Claudette at the auction house and asked her to take care of
her purchases in accordance with plan C. Brutos was still
sitting and staring when she finished.
“Here’s my card.” Brutos stood and placed it next to her
cup, tapping it loudly with his knuckles. “Call me when you
change your mind. I know how to find you.”
“That sounds so ominous,” she said, maintaining eye
contact.
They watched Brutos walk away with a slight limp. Men
like that who acted as if they lived in a bubble where nothing
or no one could hurt them made Levi want to make them
bleed. Her phone buzzed—she needed to make a reservation
for dinner to thank Claudette for the errand she’d run for her.
“That was interesting,” her grandfather said. “Did you
have Claudette mail my stuff too? I’d hate to lose my finds to
that asshole if he tries anything.”
“We’re both probably acting paranoid, but of course.” She
finished her coffee and dropped some money on the table.
“Let’s go get your book so I can deliver you to your room.
Mail errands require dinner.”
“Do you have any idea what’s going on?”
“Opus Dei are unpredictable when it comes to antiquities.
They’re not as powerful as they once were, but their searches
have more to do with burying history than bringing it to light.”
They entered the auction house and she picked the same seats
even though there was more of a crowd now. “The Mother
Church wants a certain perception put out. Anything that
changes or questions the carefully crafted message is stifled.”
Cristobal raised his paddle when the bidding started on the
book he wanted. “And you think childish musings are a danger
to the church?”
“I have sixty thousand reasons to think it’s something else.
No one offers that much for something worthless. I think my
instincts were spot-on.”
“The bid is eighteen hundred,” the auctioneers said. “Do I
hear two thousand?”
Cristobal raised his paddle. “You know what we’ve always
taught you.”
“Life’s simply the next adventure, and that’s true, but this
is more like a mystery.”
“Then get to it. I’m curious as to what you’ll find. Men
like Brutos are the real plague of humanity. Zealots seldom
learn anything from history.”
“I’m curious myself, and I promise not to share it with
Brutos once I find it.”
✥ ✥ ✥
“Are you listening to me?” Zara Hassani sat on her sister’s
desk and tapped her heels on the side.
“I haven’t decided yet. It’s been almost a year since I’ve
had any time off, and I was looking forward to the summer.
Sometimes doing nothing is the way to go.” Yasmine deleted
every email and sent a message to everyone in her class that
there’d be no extensions or assignments for extra credit.
“Remind me in the future to stick to women’s studies. These
history courses for freshmen are a nightmare.”
“Doing nothing for three months is the real nightmare, and
you know they all fall in love with you in that class. They
spend their college career pining over you once they’ve gotten
a taste.” Zara poked her in the ribs with her foot, making her
laugh.
“Why are you here again?”
“To talk you into taking this offer. You know all you’re
going to be doing here is ditching Mama’s attempts to marry
you off.” Zara poked harder. “A trip to the States would
relieve both of us of all that nagging.”
“I don’t remember inviting you along, if I do decide to go.”
She laughed when Zara pouted. “Okay, I’ll think about it. Now
get out of here so I can get back to work.”
Yasmine was an oddity in her family, not because she was
able to support herself, was highly educated, and wasn’t afraid
to stand up for herself but because she had no interest in
marrying. Her job at the University of Marrakech wasn’t
something she’d willingly give up in order to please a man,
and she had yet to find a man who’d willingly step aside and
let his wife shine.
She pulled her hair into a ponytail and grabbed her
briefcase. Her last class of the day was her favorite, a great
group of young women who wanted to learn what their role in
modern Morocco could be. The sight of her boss walking
quickly toward her made her want to hide behind a tree, but
he’d already seen her.
“Professor Hassani,” Emir Rami said. The formality had
started when Yasmine had turned him down for a date. It’d
taken six times, but her lack of interest had finally penetrated
his testosterone-soaked brain. “Tulane would like an answer
by tomorrow if at all possible. They’ll be disappointed if you
turn it down, but I’m willing to send someone else.”
“I’ll give them a call. Thank you, and if there’s nothing
else, I’m late for class.”
“Your mother invited me to dinner tomorrow night. I look
forward to seeing you there. We have so much to talk about.”
He gave her the creeps, with his graying hair and hard
eyes, but her mother was trying to pave the way to a marriage.
“I hope you have a wonderful time, but I have an engagement
planned.” Never mind that it was watching the next season of
the show she was binging on.
“That’s disappointing.”
“On so many levels.” Yasmine stepped around him and lost
her smile. “Excuse me. As I said, I’m late.”
The classroom
was empty when she arrived, and she stared
at her watch. She wasn’t so late that her entire class would’ve
left. Any confusion disappeared when she saw who was sitting
in the first row of her lecture hall. Nabil Talbi was the head of
Morocco’s Foreign Intelligence. Before she took the position
with the university, she’d worked for him.
“Did you scare off my students?”
Nabil was still a handsome man, but the scar that marred
his left cheek gave people pause. “They took some convincing,
but I was nice about it.”
“You do remember I don’t work for you anymore?” She
put all her stuff down and stared at him. “Did you miss me?”
“From the moment you decided on this boring existence
instead of the work you did for me.” Nabil’s smile widened,
and it made her laugh. “It’s never too late to change your
mind. You should remember that.”
“The time I spent with you was special, but this is what I
love doing.”
“Please, I have people kissing my butt all day long.” Nabil
put his hands up. “You’re the only person in my life who has
never done that—don’t change now. I’d never take you away
from these kids. My nephew is in your beginning history class,
and he raves about you.”
“Now who’s kissing butt?” She moved to sit by him and
kissed both his cheeks. “You seldom leave the palace in Rabat.
Seeing you here means you either did miss me, or you need
something.”
“We intercepted three messages from Algeria that require
your special talents.” Nabil and his staff spent most of their
days chasing down terrorist threats that came from less stable
areas. Their leader, King Driss VI, had done plenty to bring
women into prominence, and he also quelled and dismissed
anyone who tried to seed terrorism within their borders.
“Are you sure? There have to be plenty of people at your
disposal who could do this.” Yasmine loved her country, but
like her mother, the government had specific ideas on the life
she should be leading. Once she gave in, it was a slippery
slope to being sucked in completely.
“You trusted me once, Yasmine. What’s changed?” Nabil’s
tone became serious, but his expression radiated kindness.
“My sister reminded me today of people’s expectations for
my life,” she said, shrugging. “The expectations of others, and
they’ll push until I either give in or have to give up on
relationships altogether.”
“My expectations for you are to stay here. How will I find
the next Yasmine Hassani to make my job easier unless you’re
in the classroom molding young minds into something
extraordinary?” His smile was warm, and she believed his
words. Nabil’s world didn’t have room for flights of
romanticism and empty flattery. “Until I find this wonderful
person, I’ll come by and ask for favors. In honor of our
friendship I’ll try not to overburden you.”
“Do I need to come in or can I take this with me?”
Most of the terrorists working around them spoke in code.
One of the cells must’ve read about the code talkers of World
War II, Navajo tribe members in the US Marine Corps who
transmitted messages. The language was so unique to the
Navajo people the codes were never broken. Now the modern-
day bad guys were using old tribal dialects to do the same
thing. That had been her specialty when she’d worked for
Nabil. History buffs were good at old tribal dialects, and with
some government training, had become good at breaking
codes.
“Consider it homework you can do on your way to
America. It’s not high priority, but I want something in place
to decipher these should this become a recurring issue.” Nabil
handed her the folder and jump drive sitting next to him.
“Sometimes we must walk in the past to understand our
future.”
“And sometimes our past should be left buried.” She
accepted the items and squeezed his hand. “I’ll call you as
soon as I have something. I’m not even going to ask how you
know about my invitation to the US.”
“Good, that’ll save me from a stern lecture.” Nabil laughed
as he slapped his hands together. “Go, take your sister, and
enjoy the food. You could use a few pounds. While you’re
gone, perhaps your mother will find a new interest besides
trying to marry you to the imbecile you work for now.”
“Get out before you sound any more like my sister.” She
kissed his cheeks again and put the files he’d brought in her
bag. Her students started to come back, meaning they’d been
released by Nabil’s people. “Let’s get started.”
Those words held meaning for more than the lecture. Her
mother not only wanted her married but believed in signs.
Yasmine had no idea what Nabil’s appearance meant, and she
wasn’t looking forward to finding out if it pushed her in the
direction her mother wanted her to walk in. She was a grown
woman, but in their culture, she’d never truly be an adult until
she had a husband and children. That was the way of their
world, and it was her mother’s job to make sure she
conformed. Failure would not only shame her family name,
but her mother would bear the burden as well. No matter what
Yasmine wanted, she couldn’t do that to her.
✥ ✥ ✥
Ransley Hastings let his mind wander as he stared
unseeing out the window of his study. Most would consider it
a dreary day, but he loved the rain—had from the time he was
a boy. Rainy days meant staying inside with his grandfather
and hearing the stories of their family’s rich history.
His grandfather loved to say they were educated and
enlightened men forced to bear a world full of philistines.
Their family had been central to the forming of what people
now knew as Opus Dei, but in reality it had started way before
then. Their Catholic faith had a difficult history, but like all
Hastings men, he was committed to the cause.
“What makes you so sure this is of any value to us?”
Baggio asked Ransley. Baggio had flown back to London to
get him to authorize more money. “From your report, this isn’t
worth our time.”
“I haven’t finished my research, and I might be wrong
about the historical significance. It’s where they were found
that gives me pause.”
“You should’ve mentioned this earlier. I would’ve been
more insistent, sire.” Baggio only used the title Ransley
preferred when he wanted something.
Despite their long history, the Hastings family had never
achieved a title of any consequence. But in the order, he was a
lord like his ancestors before him. “We need this, so do
whatever you have to in order for the Montbard woman to see
reason. If not, go back and see if you can get this some other
way that won’t require a large bank draft.”
“Yes, sire. I
’ll keep you informed and head back in a few
hours. What you’re asking will require more than just me,
however. I trust that’s acceptable?”
“Get it done.” Ransley was having Cardinal Richard
Chadwick for tea and perhaps dinner, and didn’t need any
distractions. Ransley had found a true partner in Richard, and
they’d enjoyed each other’s company from the time Richard
had entered the seminary. Richard’s rise within the Church
was due to the Hastings family’s influence, and he had never
forgotten it. They shared the same worldview, which made it
easier to achieve Ransley’s ultimate goals. The Church had to
give up on the liberalism that had started to take root,
especially under the current pope.
“Cardinal Chadwick, sir,” the maid said after a brief knock.
“Richard, so good to see you. How was Spain?”
“Relaxing and reflective.” Richard embraced him before
they headed for the sunroom. It was a perfect place to enjoy
the weather. “Sometimes you have to get away from the
phones and other distractions to remember our purpose.”
“You were missed, my friend.” Ransley waited for the
maid to finish laying out the tea service before continuing. He
personally poured Richard’s cup as the door closed, leaving
them alone. “Did you have a chance to have your meeting?”
“We were able to use the Samos monastery.” Richard
nodded as he took a sip of his tea. “It’s out of the way enough
to serve our purposes. The cardinals who attended were
receptive to the message and to our plans.”
“The world needs us now more than ever.” News sources
were becoming a burden as the world spiraled more out of
control without the right spiritual guidance. “It’s time for a
spiritual rebirth, and to put the Church back into the hands of
men who know how to rule it. Once we’ve achieved that, the
world will follow and fall to their knees.”
“All this talk of equality, women’s place in history, and the
minorities’ place as our equals has to be done away with. That
is God’s will and our duty to carry out.”
Ransley was reminded of his father when Richard spoke
passionately like this. Their charter wasn’t simply to
reestablish Christian ideals in society but to assure that it was
men like them who had the loudest voices and the most power.
“The Illuminati had the right idea when they infiltrated world