The Diamond Affair Read online

  CHAPTER 13

  He'd been gone forever. Ruby checked the clock again. Maybe not quite forever. Jake had left three hours ago, but it was still too long to be visiting a father he didn't seem to like.

  She sat on a bench seat in the bay window with the lights off so she couldn't be seen by any unwanted visitors, and waited.

  Her fingernails were all gone by the time a car's lights swung into the driveway half an hour later. She jumped up, then promptly sat down again. She didn't want to seem too eager, too anxious, so she curled up on the window seat and pretended to be asleep.

  When Jake walked in, he didn't make any noise, not even a rattle of the keys. The only way she knew he was there was by a strange sense of wellbeing that infused her.

  Most people would turn on a light when they walked into a dark room. Jake didn't. Nor did he pass through to get to the hallway beyond or even approach her. Did he even know she was there?

  She cracked an eye open but saw nothing. She opened the other. Still nothing. Where was he? She knew he was there. Her body had gone into high alert, tingling all over. She frowned into the darkness.

  Then the silhouette of a man split from the other shadows, his shape achingly familiar. She smiled, relieved.

  "What's so funny?" the shadow asked.

  "How did you know I was smiling?" She sat up. "Are you wearing night vision goggles or something?" It wouldn't surprise her if he could see in the dark without them. Just another skill that put him up there with Superman.

  "The moonlight is angled perfectly through that window. It's falling right across your face."

  "Oh. So why didn't you say something when you first came into the room?"

  He hesitated several beats. "I thought you were asleep," he finally said, turning on a light.

  She squinted at him. "What's with the red cap?"

  He removed it and threw it on a chair. "Just felt like wearing it."

  "You've been out somewhere," she said, standing.

  He grunted softly. "Good observation, Einstein. I went to my Dad's, like I told you."

  "They didn't teach you how to lie in the SAS, did they?"

  He cocked a brow.

  "Matt can't lie to save himself either."

  The brow lowered. He swung round and left the room. She followed him into the kitchen. "If this has anything to do with me, I want to know about it." She felt like a hen pecking a brick wall and not making so much as a dent.

  Jake put the coffee pot on the stove and switched on the gas. "You ordered pizza," he said, opening the box. "And ate none of it."

  "I wasn't hungry."

  He picked up a piece and ate it.

  "At the risk of straining our friendship," she went on, "I'll ask again. Where were you?" But even before she finished speaking she noticed the hand that held the pizza slice. The skin had split across the middle knuckle and bruises decorated the rest. "You hit somebody!"

  He kept eating, and kept avoiding her gaze.

  "Fat Frankie?" When he didn't answer, she stood directly in front of him and pushed the pizza box out of his reach. "Did you go see him? Or Beauvoir?"

  He swallowed. "Right the first time."

  She thumped his arm where she knew there were no bruises from the car accident. "Jake! You idiot! You...you idiot!"

  "I heard you the first time."

  She hit him again. "How can you be so frivolous about this?" Thump. "You could have been killed." Thump thump. "What could you have possibly hoped to achieve by visiting him?" She would have hit him again but he caught her fists in one hand. His fingers closed around her wrists.

  "That hurt," he said simply.

  "Yeah, right. As if I could hurt you." She tried to pull her hands free but he wouldn't let go. Or perhaps he would have if she'd tried harder, but the truth was, she liked being held by him. Liked simply just being near him, touching him, feeling skin against skin.

  He muttered something that sounded like ‘Yeah' but she couldn't be sure.

  "You're a liar, Jake Forrester. A bloody liar. And a, a..."

  "An idiot?"

  She was pretty sure she pouted. She was absolutely sure she began to cry. A tear slipped out of her right eye and down to her jaw where it precariously hung without falling.

  "Ruby," he murmured. "Don't." He let go of her hands and swiped the tear with the pad of his thumb. "No crying on my watch."

  His watch. His duty. His job. She had to remember that. Had to remember she meant nothing more to him than an assignment, albeit an important one thanks to the connection with Matt. He didn't feel what she felt. He didn't care about her, about the Florentine or about the truth. He only wanted to wash his hands of his debt to Matt and leave Melbourne. Tears and emotions were wasted on him.

  So why did she seem to have them in abundance whenever he was around? She felt like she was chock full of tears and every emotion known to womankind. If she didn't let them out, she might overflow.

  "Don't lie to me again," she said simply. "Promise me."

  He cupped her jaw. The gentle, sweet gesture nearly brought on more tears but somehow she held them back.

  "I can't make that promise," he said. "If it meant keeping you safe, I would be the most convincing liar this side of the equator."

  Her heart tripped over itself. The feminist in her wasn't supposed to like that statement. She shouldn't want him to lie to her. But the keeping her safe part made her want him all the more.

  "Jake," she murmured, turning her face so she could kiss his palm.

  But his hand suddenly dropped and she kissed air.

  He turned around and removed the coffee pot from the stove. The surface of the dark brown liquid rippled.

  "I should have known you wouldn't believe me," he said. "You and your brother have a talent for seeing through my lies." He made a sound which could have been either a laugh or a grunt, it was hard to tell. "I went to see Fat Frankie at his apartment."

  "His apartment! You couldn't have picked a more neutral or public place? He might have killed you!"

  He pulled out two mugs from the cupboard. "Have a little faith in me, Ruby. I'm not a complete idiot. I did somehow make it through two tours of Afghanistan and one in Iraq."

  She gave his broad back a wry smile. "Sorry. You're right. We agree you're not a complete idiot. Only a half-wit perhaps."

  She couldn't see his face but she could swear from the way his ears lifted that he was smiling. "As to not being in a public place, I didn't want it to be public. It's not easy to beat someone up with onlookers standing around gawking."

  "You beat up Fat Frankie? For me?"

  He lifted one shoulder as he poured out the coffee. "It was for me too. For my health."

  She frowned. "Your health?"

  "I've heard it's good to have a release for aggression. I do feel a hell of a lot better." He winked at her over his shoulder.

  "I bet Frankie doesn't."

  He handed her a mug. Fragrant steam spiraled off the coffee and up to her nose. She inhaled it, feeling more hopeful than she had in two days. With this man on her side, she could achieve anything, even get Beauvoir off her back.

  "He probably has a headache but that's about it," Jake said. "On the up side, it might get worse when he sees Beauvoir tomorrow."

  "Why?"

  "Because he'll probably suggest to his boss that the meetings between Sinestri and Sonya are about the stolen Florentine, not a lovers' tryst."

  "Beauvoir suspects them of having an affair only?"

  "At the moment it would seem that way."

  "What else did Frankie say?"

  He shrugged. "That's about it. He's not a man of many words. Not interesting ones anyway."

  She got the feeling that wasn't it, that Frankie had more to say, but getting that information out of Jake would be like hand feeding a lion. Dangerous and stupid.

  "So now what?" she said, slumping against the kitchen bench. They'd exhausted just about every option open to them and they were none the w
iser. "We do some more listening at Beauvoir's?"

  "Maybe."

  Warning bells sounded in her head. Whenever Jake gave a vague answer, it meant he was up to something. "If you go beating anyone up again, I'll kill you."

  One side of his mouth lifted. He was laughing at her. She wasn't in the mood for teasing. She was tired and angry and so damned frustrated that she couldn't do anything about her predicament. She hated staying at the house while Jake did all the real work. It was boring as hell and bad for her nerves, not to mention her fingernails.

  "Wherever you're going tomorrow, I'm coming with you," she said.

  "We'll discuss it in the morning." Which she knew was a ‘no'.

  "Jake," she said on an exhale.

  "Ruby. Not now." He sighed and rubbed his temple. She'd forgotten he must be as exhausted as her. Just because he hid it behind a he-man attitude, didn't mean he didn't need sleep or that this situation wasn't getting to him too.

  "You okay?" she asked.

  "Yes." He sighed again. "No. Ruby, there's something I need to ask you."

  That sounded ominous. "Go on."

  "What do you really know about your assistant?"

  She bristled. "What are you getting at?"

  "That he could be the one who stole the Florentine."

  "He didn't!"

  "How can you be so sure?"

  She threw up her hands. "Because he's my friend. I've worked closely with him for four years. We socialize together. I've had him and his partner around for dinner and they've had me around to their place for barbeques. Damn it, Jake, he's a nice person. He's not once taken anything from the shop, and believe me, in my industry it's almost impossible to find someone who doesn't slip a small stone or two into their pocket and blame it on a customer. I can't believe you're suggesting—"

  "Hey, calm down." He held up his hands in surrender. "It's just a suggestion." His gaze locked with hers. "But it's one you need to consider. How well do you know him? Or his partner for that matter?" She was about to say something but he touched her lips with his finger and the words simply slipped away. "Let me finish," he said, voice steady, commanding. "Sometimes good people go bad. They get in over their heads or accrue debts they can't pay." He dropped his finger. "Maybe that happened to Aaron."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Does he gamble? Does his partner? You say you know Aaron, but what do you know about his partner? Or his partner's family? Some people would do a lot for the one they love." He pressed his hands back against the kitchen bench and drew away from her. "A hell of a lot." He spoke so quietly and low she had to strain to hear him.

  She hated to admit it, even to herself, but he was right. She knew that better than anyone. Matt had given up so much for her—a university degree, a social life. It wasn't until she'd been old enough and financially secure that he'd signed up for the SAS. Before that, his life had been totally dedicated to putting her through university, making sure she had a healthy social life. But would he have committed a crime for her?

  She honestly couldn't answer that.

  "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

  He checked his watch. "It's late but call Aaron's anyway. If he answers, tell him everything's all right and you're safe and you need to speak to him about something. If not, leave a message."

  "But if he's the one who stole the Florentine then he'll know that's not true. He'll know Beauvoir would still be after whoever stole it, or whoever he thinks stole it, namely me."

  "So if Aaron falls for the bait, we'll know he's most likely innocent. If he makes excuses not to meet up, he'll go to the top of the list."

  "And then?"

  "And then we go find him."

  "But he'll know we're after him. He might leave the country, if he hasn't already."

  "I'll put some calls out, get the cops involved. He'll be stopped at any airports if he tries to fly somewhere. But more importantly, we can notify Beauvoir. We tell him our theory, tell him Aaron is the most likely suspect and to leave you alone."

  He handed her the phone. She took it and stared at the keypad. She had a bad feeling about this. Aaron was a good person. If he'd stolen the Florentine—and it was a big IF—it would have been for totally valid reasons, as Jake suggested. Did she really want to turn Beauvoir's wrath onto him?

  "If it is Aaron," Jake said, "then he's letting you take the fall for his crime. Is that what a good friend does?"

  She chewed the inside of her lip to stop it wobbling. This wasn't fair. She shouldn't have to make this choice.

  "You can't keep running, Ruby. You don't deserve this."

  She dialed Aaron's number. It rang out to his message bank and she almost cried with relief. She didn't think she could have a normal conversation with him at that moment. As it was, leaving the message was hard enough. She gave him the number and told him to call back when he got the message because she needed to speak to him. She made sure to mention the drama about the missing diamond being all over.

  She hung up and handed the phone back to Jake. "I feel awful."

  He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. "I know that was hard but you did a good job. Now, go to bed. You look exhausted."

  He was right. She was dog-tired. If she didn't rest, she'd be no good to anyone tomorrow, and she needed to have her wits about her if Aaron rang back.

  ***

  Ruby awoke with a start. She'd heard a noise. It was still dark but someone was talking down the hall. Jake? But who was he talking to? She got out of bed and unplugged the bed-side lamp. She brandished it like a baseball bat and stepped out of her bedroom.

  There was the noise again. Not talking this time, but moaning, and it came from Jake's bedroom. She raced down the hall but stopped at the door. She could hear no other noise except his occasional moan. He could be injured. Dying. She had to go in and face whoever else was in there.

  She drew in some courage and opened the door. In the darkness, she could just make out Jake tossing and turning in bed. There was no one else in the room. He must be having a nightmare.

  He mumbled something she couldn't hear then grunted and lay completely still on his back, the sheets a tangled mess at his feet. She let out a breath. Good. It was over. He was safe. Troubled, apparently, but safe.

  She made to leave. In the instant she turned her back, Jake leapt out of bed and shoved her against the door, knocking the wind out of her lungs and mashing her cheek into the wood.

  "Who are you?" he snapped. "What do you want?"

  She tried to tell him it was her, to back off, but she could do nothing more than squeak and try to breathe. His heavy body crushed hers so that she couldn't even twitch a muscle.

  But just as suddenly as he'd jumped on her, he let go and stepped back. "Jesus. Ruby." He swore loudly.

  She bent over, holding her sides and trying to suck in oxygen but it felt like there wasn't enough going around.

  "Here." Jake came up behind her and placed both hands at her sides, near her breasts, pulling her up. "Stand up straight like this. It helps the air flow."

  She nodded. She could feel the difference already. After a few deep breaths, she was back to normal. She wanted to turn around and ask him what the hell he'd thought he was doing but he was holding her tightly and pulling her back against his chest. She didn't want to move. To hell with fingering blame—he'd obviously thought she was an intruder, either from his nightmare or his real life, and had done what he usually did under those circumstances. Fought.

  "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "You okay?"

  She nodded and pressed her head back against his bare chest. His heart beat erratically and loudly, in time with hers, fusing both their bodies with the rhythm. He slid his hands from her sides around to her stomach and folded them there, holding her against him.

  It felt so good. So right. Just the two of them in the darkness and each other's arms, anchored to the spot and not going anywhere. Not wanting to.

  "I'm sorry," he whisp
ered again.

  His arms tightened around her but she managed to turn a little. She brought up a hand to his cheek and lifted it so she could see his face. His eyes shone like deep, dark wells in the night as they watched her, perhaps not yet trusting that she was all right.

  "I'm okay," she assured him. "Are you?"

  He let out a shuddering breath. "Think I'll be fine again in a minute."

  She smiled and turned fully in his arms so she was facing him. He still held her but not so tightly, not as if she would fall down if he let her go. She lowered her hand from his cheek to his mouth and caressed the top lip with her thumb. It was the perfect shape. Plump and bow-like, gently curving out to the ends. She just had to kiss it.

  So she did. Softly, testing at first. He kissed her back, tentative, perhaps afraid he might hurt her again. But then she, or perhaps it was he, deepened the kiss.

  He groaned and picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. He lowered her gently and broke the kiss long enough to help her out of her pajamas, then he stripped off his shorts and lay beside her. His fingertips caressed her breasts, her stomach, her thighs. His mouth followed, planting tiny kisses over her skin, sometimes licking or nipping.

  "I'm sorry," he murmured again as his hand went south.

  "Stop saying that. I told you, I'm fine."

  "Not for that, for this. I want you so much. But it's so wrong. I don't want to hurt you but...I can't stay. I can't be with you beyond these few days. You understand, don't you?"

  She understood. She hated it, but she was beginning to realize it wasn't about her. But she didn't want to think beyond the moment because she'd never felt so alive, so beautiful as she had in the arms of this man. She reached down and stroked his erection.

  He sucked air between his teeth then let out a strangled groan. "Ahhh, Ruby, you don't play fair." He pressed a finger to her moist curls and began to rub but she nudged him away.

  "I want you inside me," she whispered. "I want to be as close to you as I possibly can."

  He shifted so he was lying on top of her but somehow not putting his weight on her. Then he kissed her, capturing her gasps as he entered her.

  He set a slow, easy pace that seemed to last all night until they both collapsed onto the bed in each others arms. Ruby's last thought before falling asleep was that their love making had felt like a farewell.