Kim Baldwin - The Gemini Deception

“Breathtaking,” TQ had to admit.

“Indeed.”

TQ took the view in a while longer, then turned to her host. “Now, tell me why we’re here.”

“This sacred and very secretive monastery possesses some of the world’s most priceless antiquities.”

“You mentioned.” TQ couldn’t wait for the pronouncement she was sure was going to make this particular business deal the finest of her life.

“Everyone knows, or at least suspects, that the monastery hides and protects artifacts the world has never heard of nor considers missing.”

“Yes, yes,” TQ said, eager for him to continue. “I own similar relics.”

“A high-ranking monk of another monastery is a close friend who has had the honor of acquainting himself with some of these missing relics.”

TQ’s rich background in rare antiques, after years in the auction business, was screaming for an answer. “Which? I’m sure I’ve heard of them.”

“A solid-gold icon that dates back to the twelfth century and depicts—”

“Theotokos.” TQ nearly yelped. “The mother of Christ.”

He nodded. “Not many know about the existence of this icon.”

“I’m not many .”

“Are you a religious woman, Theodora?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she replied. “Such asinine beliefs are for the simple masses.”

“I happen to have such asinine beliefs,” he said quietly, “but that’s another matter.”

“One I’m sure will bore me.”

“It is said that, aside from being priceless, the icon possesses the power to heal.”

“Pish posh. But if the idea thrills you…” She shrugged.

“I want that icon,” Lykourgos said.

“May I ask why? I’m sure you have plenty of priceless goods already decorating your walls or in a safety-deposit box.”

“I’m sick,” he replied. “And the best doctors in the world can’t do anything more than they already have.”

“And you think the icon will heal you.”

“I do, Theodora.”

“How quaint.”

“I’m willing to pay five hundred million euros.”

The Greek had more money than God. TQ laughed. “I hardly think money will convince these God-fearing pathological worshippers.”

“No one, Theodora, is immune to money, as you know. These people, however, cover their greed very convincingly.”

“If you think you can bribe the robes, I’m sure the amount you mentioned will do the trick, especially since this country’s economy is beyond repair.”

“The monks will never feel the economic or social hit Greece has taken. They are a country of their own, and a very wealthy one at that, very much like the Vatican. The amount I mentioned is for you .”

TQ pulled at the brim of her sun hat to shield her eyes from the glare as she looked at him. “Do explain,” she said coquettishly.

“Your track record of acquisitions speaks for itself. If anyone can…get it, it’s you.”

“I’m flattered that you estimate me accordingly, but my reputation is based on the fact I have always known the precise location of the object I’m after.” TQ thought the man’s sickness, whatever it was, had gone to his head. As appealing as the idea of owning the Theotokos was, the fortress was not only impenetrable, but it would also be impossible to find the icon in this small city without the knowledge of where it was being kept.

“I know where they hide it,” he said.

TQ tried not to gasp. “You what?”

“You have a renowned reputation in very private circles for trading in appropriated, priceless artifacts. I can lead you to it.”

She couldn’t believe the Greek would willingly lead her to one of the world’s most invaluable treasures. Oh, she would do it, all right.

“In return,” he said, “I will give you—”

TQ didn’t hear the rest. In return, I will walk away with the Theotokos and you will never see it again. She smiled. “We have a deal.”

About the Authors

Kim Baldwin(kimbaldwin.com), a former network news executive, has made her living as a writer for more than three decades. In addition to the Elite Operatives Series she is co-authoring with Xenia Alexiou, she has published seven solo romantic adventure novels: Hunter’s Pursuit, Force of Nature, Whitewater Rendezvous, Flight Risk, Focus of Desire, Breaking the Ice , and High Impact . She’s also had several short stories published in BSB anthologies. A 2012 Lambda Literary Award winner and 2011 Lambda finalist, she is also the recipient of a 2011 Rainbow Award For Excellence, a 2010 Independent Publisher Book Award, three Golden Crown Literary Society Awards, eight Lesbian Fiction Readers’ Choice Awards, and an Alice B. Readers Appreciation Award for her body of work. She has recorded audiobooks of her own novel Breaking the Ice , and the Rose Beecham mystery Grave Silence . Kim lives in Michigan but keeps her laptop, camera, and passport handy to travel whenever possible. She can be reached at baldwinkim@gmail.com.

Xenia Alexiou(xeniaalexiou.com) lives in Greece. An avid reader and knowledge junkie, she likes to travel all over the globe and take pictures of the wonderful and interesting people that represent different cultures. Trying to see the world through their eyes has been her most challenging yet rewarding pursuit so far. These travels have inspired countless stories, and it’s these stories that she has decided to write about. The Gemini Deception is her sixth novel, following Demons are Forever, Dying to Live, Missing Lynx, Thief of Always , and Lethal Affairs . She is a 2012 Lambda Literary winner, 2011 Lambda finalist, has received three Rainbow Award Honorable mentions, and is the recipient of three Golden Crown Literary Society Awards and six Lesbian Fiction Readers’ Choice Awards. Xenia is currently at work on the seventh and final book in the Elite Operatives Series. For more information, contact her at xeniaalexiou007@gmail.com.

Lethal Affairs, Thief of Always , and Missing Lynx have been translated into Dutch, and the first two books are also available in Russian. In 2010, Dubbel Doelwit (Lethal Affairs) won second place among Dutch readers in their vote for best all-time Lesbian International (translated) book.

What Reviewers Say About the Elite Operatives Series

“Baldwin and Alexiou have written a barn burner of a thriller [in Dying to Live ]. The reader is taken in from the first page to the last. The tension is maintained throughout the book with rare exception. Baldwin and Alexiou are defining the genre of romantic suspense within the lesbian genre with this series. You’ll find yourself rushing to purchase the first three books in the series if you haven’t already read them, or, if you have read them, wishing the authors would write the fifth in the series faster.”— Lambdaliterary.org

“Okay, I admit it: I am a fan of adventure/spy/thriller mysteries and always have been. So of course I have been lured into the web of the Elite Operatives series because as a kid, I was always imagining myself in the male leads of the spy thrillers I read. Baldwin and Alexiou clearly had the same fantasy. [They] have established a formula for this series that works: short, staccato chapters set in different locales that unfurl the plot layer by layer and then they develop into solid chapters where the main characters…begin to reveal themselves. The authors manage to take two plot themes that have been done and done again, meld them, and turn them into a solid, convincing, compelling page-turner that is quite satisfying.”— Lambdaliterary.org

“ Dying to Live is a chest-grabbing, throat-closing, sleek, sexy, thoroughly enjoyable white-knuckle ride of a thriller. Baldwin and Alexiou prove once again their deft understanding of the genre puts them eye-to-eye with the best in the business. Buckle your seatbelts!”—Amanda Kyle Williams, Author of The Stranger You Seek and Stranger in the Room