Searching For- Femaleagent Alexis Crystal In-al... Link

The gallery opening in Vienna smelled of expensive wine and older money. Vera wore a champagne silk dress that whispered when she walked, her hair pinned in a severe twist that could double as a weapon. On the surface, she was just another collector admiring a dubious Caravaggio. In reality, she was waiting for a dead man’s watch to tick.

The Velvet Dowry

Kolar’s eyes swept the room, lingered on her, then moved on. Good. Underestimation was her sharpest knife. Searching for- femaleagent Alexis Crystal in-Al...

“Dowry delivered,” she said into her cuff. The gallery opening in Vienna smelled of expensive

Vera slipped into the coat check, palmed the brooch to a waiting handler disguised as a cloakroom attendant, and exited through the service elevator. Outside, a nondescript sedan idled. She slid inside, unpinned her hair, and let out a slow breath. In reality, she was waiting for a dead man’s watch to tick

Kolar, watching from the mezzanine, smiled. He thought he saw a clumsy socialite. He saw wrong.

At the champagne bar, the courier arrived — a nervous man in a navy suit. Vera accidentally bumped into him, spilling champagne down his lapel. “ Oh, Entschuldigung ,” she breathed, dabbing at the stain with a napkin. Her other hand, quick as a spider, slid the real brooch from his pocket and replaced it with a perfect duplicate. He didn’t feel a thing.