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He grinned impishly "As a matter of fact, I do" He rose a little creakily to his feet "I’et your outfit and we’ll see ifto work for you?"

I hurried back to the bathrooht pins I felt a little pang of regret taking off the jewels They were an ah that was not inconsiderable, but because they were an honest reflection of the affection Isaac, Gilda, and I have for one another

My faht be a source of pain and frustration for me, but my friends? My friends are excellent

Adriana’s voice whispered in my head There is a safe hidden in the floor of your bedrooive you the combination so that you may keep those jewels under lock and key when you’re not wearing them

Thanks

You are most welcome And I am quite pleased The dresses you chose are lovely You can be fully arreed to check the tailoring and hener to no end

Perhaps it will But it isAnd I don’t want the ankle holster with the derringer to … show

Wow I guess h When this was over, I ive it to her Politics is a very dicey business, particularly in Rusland She’d probably need it

Adriana soon left for a a left almost on her heels; only Natasha chose to stay while Isaac finished ht’s state dinner and the wedding the day after tomorrow

Natasha see was up and , giving us a moment alone The minute they were out of earshot, Natasha turned to a She is devious and deter should happen" Her expression was so earnest it allad that she’d come around Adriana wasn’t perfect, but she did love Dahlood queen for his people I hoped that his people would eventually co around was a good sign

"I know," I assured her, "and I don’t"

She didn’t see I do not If I had proof, I would go to Igor and the king But I have no proof, only suspicion Olga is the king’s niece, aBut I know, in "

"I believe you" I did Natasha’s suspicions fit hat Gilda had tolda close eye on her"

Natasha looked searchingly aton that, as well Please, look where she would not expect"

25

Checking the schedule I saw that tonight was going to be a busy night for Adriana and, consequently, forrehearsal dinner for the Serenity portion of the ceremonies--a black-tie event for the men and "Serenity formal" for the women Later, Adriana would attend the private bachelorette party hosted by her girlfriends I was scheduled to be with her at both events Since nobody was throwing a fuss about this, I suspected that one or ns of trouble It would’ve been nice if somebody had warned me about the threats--the when and where--but no one had, which probably meant no one knew There are limits to what even the best seers can do If there wasn’t, there’d be no crime The police would head it off ahead of tiuarded a lot of celebrities, but until recently I hadn’t done ures, so I’d never actually been to a formal state event It was an eye opener

The dinner itself was in a ballrooold, and tan Round tables were covered with elegant china, silver, and crystal Each table had its own candelabra and floral arrangement

I was seated at the head table, which was on a raised stage, between Adriana and Igor I had done a personal check of the security arrangeent Albright, but it was oing to let anyone’s attitude get in the way

Everything was perfectly normal, which made me nervous as hell, particularly since Rizzoli had e-mailed to let me know that Jan Mortensen had disappeared completely Rizzoli’s friends in the CIA had infor out "sootten there by plane, train, or boat Which left teleportation, probably via Okalani