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Tybalt. He's not mine," Ian said. "I can't have a cat with my schedule. I'm gone too many months out of the year. But Tybalt keeps me company when I'm here. I leave one of the windows cracked for him, and he comes and goes as he pleases."
    "No commitment."
    "None."
    "Sounds perfect," Shan said, and she meant it. "I could use a cat like that back at my place."
    "Well, don't get any ideas about stealing Tybalt," Ian said. "I'll be watching you."
    Shan drove in silence, her stomach knotting and unknotting. Finally, she said, "I'm not a thief."
    Ian looked at her. She saw his head turn out of the corner of her eye. But she didn't want to turn and stare back at him. She needed to keep her eyes on the road, and on the Jade Circle. Most definitely not on Ian.
    "I want to believe you," he said. "Please help me."
    "Let me ask you this," Shan said. "When did you get the crane?"
    "Fair enough," Ian said. Thankfully, he also turned his head and faced forward again, removing that powerful gaze from the side of her face. "My parents gave me the statue ten years ago, as a graduation present when I got my Ph.D. They bought it at a private auction the autumn before. It had no papers, no recorded archaeological context, so I didn't donate it to a museum, as I do with most of their other gifts."
    "Ten years," said Shan. "That's a long time." She turned left down a small side road when Ian pointed at it. "My family has owned that particular statue for almost fifteen hundred years."
    She heard Ian's breath falter. "That's a long time, too," he said.
    "That statue and its four siblings have been guarded by my ancestors for more generations than I can count. It's the cornerstone of our past and our future, of our power and our pride." Ian pointed again, and Shan turned right, fast. The tires squealed. "So you tell me, Professor. Which one of us is the thief?"
    Before he could answer, Shan saw the bright neon sign advertising the Mighty Marmoset Sports Bar. What kind of stupid mascot was a marmoset? She whipped the car into an open spot just past the door, yanked on the parking brake, and looked at Ian. The car continued to rumble beneath them. Shan shifted into park and twisted the ignition to off. The engine died, and silence filled the vehicle.
    "I'm--"
    "No. Save it," Shan said. "This isn't the time. Let's just shelve the name calling and get out of this alive. Okay?"
    She turned to Ian, forcing herself to look him in the eyes, even though she really wanted to just stare at his shoulder, or look past him out the window. She was afraid to see the effect of her words, and angry that she had let herself lash out. Most people didn't understand. They didn't have the kind of past she had, the kind of responsibility. But Ian was an archaeologist dedicated to finding the truth about ancient cultures. Something told her that he would understand, or at least try to. He didn't deserve the guilt trip she was trying to foist on him. She looked into his eyes, silently begging him to say something.
    "Okay," he said quietly. Shan's gut twisted. That wasn't the something she'd been hoping for. An arrogant backlash would have made it easier for her to maintain her anger and resolve. Hell, everything would be easier if she didn't like Ian. She could take the statue and leave him to run to the police for safety. It wasn't her fault that Ian had the crane, or that his friend Buckley was clueless enough to have it photographed. It wasn't her fault, and they weren't her responsibility.
    But her mother would disagree. The women of the Jade Circle devoted themselves to the protection of the helpless, the underdogs. The Circle was broken, but Shan couldn't knowingly dishonor its mission.
    "Let's go meet Buckley."
    Ian said nothing as they got out of the car and walked into the bar. If his head was bothering him, he hid it well behind a mask of determination. Already, she missed his quirky smile. She couldn't help but feel like she had banished it.
    The Mighty Marmoset was