by Nana Malone
"You're here early."
He gave me a brisk nod in way of greeting. "We have a fucking problem."
I led him through the mudroom and the butler's pantry to the kitchen. "Do you want coffee? It's about to start any second now."
"Yeah, thanks."
I opened my god-awful green drink and chugged it down without stopping to take a breath because that was when you could taste it. When I finished, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "What's going on?"
He pulled out the padded velvet holder, and my heart rate accelerated even faster than when I was running on the treadmill. This was it. Once I took care of this problem, the Elite would no longer be an issue. I'd be one step closer to unseating the Van Linsteds. Lucas unwrapped the velvet and I marveled at the way the stone glistened under the penlights from the kitchen. "It's beautiful."
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's an exquisite fake."
I choked on a cough. "What the fuck did you say?"
"Yeah, it's fake. I had the gold tested, it's eighteen carat at best. But the diamond is manmade. Well made. Stunning, actually. An excellent replica. And the craftsmanship on the bracelet is second to none. A true artist made this."
I ran a towel through my hair. "Where the fuck is the original then?"
"Isn't that the question for the ages?" he asked as he rubbed his jaw.
"Fuck. What now?"
Lucas shook his head. "I don't know, dude. There could be a dozen different scenarios where the real diamond might have been stolen from right under their noses years ago, but we wouldn't know. No one has ever been close enough to check."
"That stone is the cornerstone of their wealth and power. It's worth hundreds of millions. Marcus has gone so far as to use it as collateral on investments."
"I don't know what to tell you. Because if this is what Marcus is using for collateral, it's not real. Or he’s working off of a past appraisal."
Think. Think. Think. There was no way Marcus would have used a forgery as collateral knowing full well it would need to be authenticated. “The Van Linsteds have made their share of real estate investments along the way, never putting up their own money, so it would have to have been appraised recently."
"That's true. If he's using that gem as collateral, then the original has got to be around somewhere. But what April was wearing for that gala is a fake. And there's no way to know where the real one is."
"Fuck." I started to pace back and forth. "There has to be a way. Another way to verify. Unless it's just that she doesn't wear the real thing when she goes out."
Lucas shrugged. "That is a distinct possibility too. I thought of that. But that's even worse news."
"Why? It means that the real one is still in play."
"Yeah, it's in play, but we're going to have to steal it right out from under them at the Van Linsted estate. And I'm good. I'm very, very good. But that's going to require some Mission Impossible-style Houdini antics, and I don't know if we have the chops for that."
Did we have the chops? I had no idea. What I did know was that I couldn't hand over a fake to Rowan Downs. There was no way we’d get by with fucking over a man like that. So I was going to have to deliver the real one or give up justice for Toby, and I was not going to allow that to happen. And from what Lucas was saying, we couldn’t get verification unless we could get into the Van Linsted vault. I stared at him. "You can do it, can’t you? You’re that good?"
He lifted a dark brow. “Me? Yes, with an experienced crew, which we are not. The real thing would be in the vault if it's at the estate, but it’s going to have the kind of security that makes your balls shrivel up."
The bloody vault. "Jesus Christ, how the fuck are we going to get into the Van Linsted vault of all fucking places?"
He shrugged. "The real question is, how are we going to get out?"
"Jesus Christ, you're even more insane than I am for even considering it."
"You have a better idea? Because this, pretty though it may be, is not real. We need access to that vault.”
"You say that like it’s simple. This is the Van Linsted estate we’re talking about."
"Not simple but not impossible. I just need time.”
“The one resource we’re short on,” I muttered.
“Have faith. I love a challenge.” His gaze lifted to meet mine. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.” His glance flickered up as if he was inquiring about Liv.
"She's okay. Doc says bruises and bumps, nothing broken. Sore ribs. The fuckers hit her."
Lucas's lips formed a thin flat line. "You have a name?"
"I'm working on it."
I didn't want anyone else in on the details until I'd at least talked to Liv. And I wanted the first crack at the murdering gits. With the team, I'd have to follow some kind of rules, and I didn't want to follow rules. Those goons had put their hands on Livy. And I wanted to scorch the earth.
"When I know, you'll know."
He nodded. "Well, I'm sure she's okay. And she was a trooper. She handled April like a pro. Actually, maybe one way into the vault is that April offers her a tour. That way we can get a look-see at the vault. April owes Livy her life whether she wants to admit it right now or not.”
I ground my teeth. I hated that plan. That plan was going to require Liv and I to smile in the faces of jackals.
But I could do anything for vengeance. Despite my distaste for it, it wasn't a terrible plan because he was right. They owed Livy a debt of gratitude. And if there was one thing the Elite understood, it was the payment of debts. So it looked like I'd be putting out a call to Marcus Van Linsted because Lucas was right; a peek in their vault could be crucial.
“You think Liv is safe?”
I swallowed hard as the aroma of coffee filled the kitchen. “I have no idea. Those fuckers could come at her again, and I’d rather she not be a sitting duck.”
"So, now our mission is divided. Find the kidnappers and get into the Van Linsted estate."
Said aloud, it sounded absolutely nutters. "We're going to need all hands on deck."
"I agree. I absolutely agree."
Livy
The good news was I didn't have too much swelling on my face. There was a bruise, but it was faint enough to be covered by makeup. My lip was swollen, so I'd have to wait for that to go down. Luckily, Ben had fixed me an icepack before I went to bed, and it wasn't as bad as it could have been. But the real travesty were my wrists and ankles where I'd been bound and the bright covering of purple and yellowish bruises on my abdomen, my arms, and my legs from being hit, thrown, and dragged.
All in all, I was fine though. As I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me, I felt marginally better. At least I was standing, and I didn't smell like gasoline, so that was a bonus. However, I was still pretty terrified. That was going to be a constant thing for a while.
It could be worse. You could be dead.
There was a knock on my door, and I grabbed my robe, easing my arms in and dropping my towel before knotting it at the waist. When I shuffled to the door and opened it, I gasped in surprise. "Telly!"
"What's up, home slice? How are you, love?"
"Ah, well, you know, kidnapped. But escaped."
She laughed even as her gaze drank me in. "I've always said if you were ever kidnapped they would return you post haste. I'm glad to see that's true."
I stepped back to let her in, and she hesitated. "Oh come on, Tell, it's me. I'm fine."
"Well, you don't look fine. Sorry if I'm a little bit wobbly, but my best friend got kidnapped. K-I-D-N-A-P-P-E-D! All because she knew some admittedly fit-as-hell men. But kidnapped. There has to be a line."
I coughed a laugh. "Tell, relax. This time, I don't think he was the culprit."
She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, stop it. I mean, I understand his dick might be fantastic, but you can't just let him get away with this."
How did I say it without sounding crazy? "He didn't do anything. Look, Tell, I don't know w
ho it was that took me. I do know that somebody had been watching, and he's definitely Eastern European. He chased us and tried to run us off the road, then he escaped. But Telly, I've seen his picture in my mother's research."
She frowned and then perched herself on the corner of the bed before eyeing it dubiously. "Do I want to sit on this thing?"
I shrugged. "Um, looks like housekeeping has been through, so they probably changed the sheets. You’re safe, for now."
She sighed. "Why don't you tell me what surfaces are safe to sit on that you haven't christened yet?"
I laughed. "Well, I think there's a bench in the closet we haven't gotten around to yet."
She pushed to her feet. "You know what, I'll stand. I will stand."
I laughed and then shoved her back onto the bed.
"Oh my God. It's been a while since I have been where a dick was, I really don’t want to know what has happened here. Or do I?"
I laughed. "How's Carmen?"
Telly ran a hand through her hair. "Oh, you know, she's fantastic actually. She's worried about you, of course."
"Of course. You know, what with the kidnapping..."
I rummaged around trying to find clothes, but the only things that seemed somewhat appealing were a pair of Ben’s happy face boxers I’d bought him. I jammed my feet into a pair before I lost the robe and then grabbed one of Ben's ultra-soft workout tees. When I slipped it on, Telly laughed. "Oh, you're at the height of sexiness now."
I snorted a laugh. "Don't make me laugh. It makes my ribs hurt."
Her gaze roved over me, cataloging every bruise and scrape. "My God, you are a mess. Tell me how you really are."
I didn't know how to answer that. I sat down next to her and grabbed the towel again, wrapping it around my head, turban style. "Honestly, I don't know. I feel numb. Last night I started thinking about everything, and then I couldn’t sleep. If it hadn't been for Ben insisting that I needed orgasms to relax, I don't think I'd have been able to sleep a wink. But when he was done with me, I knocked the hell out. Something about being in his arms makes me feel like I'm safe there."
"So you're saying that you don't think the abduction was related to him, that this whole mess isn't because of his secrets?"
I shook my head. It wouldn’t have mattered if it were because of the Elite. I’d made my choices. But I knew where to lay the blame. At my own feet. "No. Given the fact that guy was at that warehouse, I think this has more to do with me and my research than Ben. We still haven’t talked it all through."
Telly chewed her lip. "Moppett, we are at the point where you are getting kidnapped from places. Now is the time to tell him everything. Hold nothing back. I'm pretty sure he loves you."
I grinned at that. "I'm sure you'd be right."
Telly's eyes went wide like saucers. "No shit. Did you guys exchange the magic four letter word?"
I laughed. "Yeah, we said it to each other last night."
"That's amazing that you guys are going to go for anal. Good for you."
My jaw unhinged. Telly burst out into a fit of giggles. "Oh my God, your face. You should see it right now."
I just gaped at her. "Telly!"
"What? Everybody’s doing it.” She waggled her eyebrows at me. “So, not anal then?"
"You're ridiculous."
"Hey, a girl’s gotta keep it fresh. So you're in love?"
I couldn’t help the smile. "It certainly appears that way."
She ran her hands through her hair again. "Sweetheart." I leaned forward and gripped her knee. "You don't need to keep running your hands through your hair like that. I saw the massive rock on your hand the moment I opened the door. So are you going to hurry up and tell me how she proposed, or are you going to keep me in suspense?"
Now it was her turn for her jaw to unhinge. "You kneeling Queen! You knew the whole time. You didn't say anything."
"Well, I saw it when I opened the door. I was going to say something, but then you barged in."
"I did not barge. I forcefully walked."
"Come on, let me talk about something happy. Please tell me about this engagement."
"Oh, it's going to be spectacular. I have been waiting for my wedding day since I was a little girl."
By the time I met her in college, Telly had been out since she was fourteen, but that didn't mean that she didn't plan on having the wedding of the century. And that was Telly. Flashy and always over the top. That was why I loved her. "Oh my God, these bridesmaid's dresses are going to be insane."
"Yes, they will in fact be insane. Ugly as hell too. There are a lot of bitches I need to repay."
It felt so good to sit there and laugh with her and talk about things that were completely normal and hopeful. It made me want the future to come. Because in that moment, planning for the future was exactly what I needed.
7
Ben
The whole team had assembled inside the great room. Once I'd put out the call about the fake diamond, it had taken Bridge thirty minutes to make it to the house. He was followed soon after by East. The rest of the team was in the house within the hour. None of my mates were at all happy about it.
Bridge just paced back and forth. "Is there any fucking thing we can do?"
Lucas laughed. "Well, I had suggested that you lot buy a diamond and we craft a fake. But you vetoed that plan. So we have no other options. Now, we have a fake in our hands, and we don't have access to the real one. So I'll bring it up again. You can pool your resources, buy something worthy."
East shook his head. "When you suggested it the first time, I did my research. There isn't even a diamond in the market that's remotely close to this one. And you think Rowan Downs won't know his family’s work? He’s obsessed with the Canary Jewel."
Bridge scrubbed a hand over his stubble. "It's an option. He has never seen it. It's been gone for two generations. How would he know?"
I shook my head. "They're fucking diamond merchants. Do you think they won't know?"
East agreed with me. "No. Besides, the Canary Jewel is well documented. We're going to need a diamond of the same age. Between that and crafting the rest of that fucking bracelet to perfection, we don't have time."
Lucas rolled his shoulders. "I know some excellent forgers who could do it with a good enough image. We can get a really good fake on the rest of the piece. It's just a diamond. You all are rich enough to get it."
East shook his head. "No. That doesn't work. Because at the end of the day, the Van Linsteds are still going to parade it around. The whole point of this was revenge. There's no revenge if they're still in power. That rock is at the root of everything for them. And you think Rowan Downs won't know? Sure, maybe he anticipates that we're going to replace theirs with a fake, and he'll have the real one, but it has to be the real one. We have no room for questions on this."
Roone was on Lucas and Bridge’s side. "No, no, no. There's leverage enough. They can get a damn good reasonable facsimile together, and the boys only need Downs to fall for it long enough to get the Van Linsteds out of power."
I shook my head. "No. We know how far they’re willing to go. If we're going to do this, we need the real deal. We need Downs to have unwavering faith. We also have a small problem. There is supposedly an etching on the back of the bracelet. None of us have ever seen it, and it's not recorded anywhere. So unless we can get in and actually see the goddamn stone, it's impossible. And if we're that close, we need to fucking steal it."
Lucas stood up and started pacing again. "Fucking hell. I don't know what else to say. Sounds like our only option is to break into fucking Fort Knox."
Roone just laughed. "You're mad, mate. You know I love you like a brother. Hell, I love you more than my own brother. But that's fucking mad."
Lucas laughed. "Oh, I know."
Bryna tried to calm him by rubbing his back, but he shook her off. "No, love. As good as your massages are, they're not going to fix this. We're backed into a corner."
There wa
s shuffling on the stairs, and I was surprised to see Telly coming down with Liv. "I thought I told you to keep her upstairs."
Telly rolled her eyes. "Oh, look, a roomful of handsome rich men, and beautiful rich women. My kind of place. Discussing another heist?"
East lifted a brow. "Who's this, Ben?"
I’d forgotten they hadn’t met. "East, this is Telly. Liv's best friend and original cracker of the drive."
East rolled his eyes. "Oh, so you're Telly Brinx?"
She grinned at him. "The one and only. My God, are all of you this good looking? This makes me almost regret that I have given up dick."
Lucas coughed a laugh then. "Oh my God, I think I love her."
Bryna whacked him, and he laughed even harder. "Oh come on, she's funny. Not as funny as you, of course." He leaned over and kissed his fiancée.
Introductions were made all around, and Liv sidled up to me. I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You should be in bed."
"I'm not going to lie around in bed. Clearly, we have a problem if the whole team is here."
She lifted her chin in greeting to everyone. "What's up, guys? Did you steal anything good lately?"
Lucas chuckled. His good mood seemed restored for some reason. "Not like we didn't have the most impossible of all tasks in front of us. I'm glad to see you up and around. Ben was going a little nuts without you."
"Yeah well, can't keep a good woman down. Besides, you should see the other guy."
Roone gave her a nod that said he appreciated her feistiness. I'd have to clock my cousin later. I kissed her on the forehead. "You should be lying down. You had a hell of an ordeal."
"I'm well aware of the ordeal. But obviously, we've got trouble. It wasn’t the Van Linsteds or the Elite that took me. I was taken because of the research into my mother’s book, and I’ve put you all at risk."
Shit. She didn’t know the two things were likely connected. We hadn’t had much time to talk about the picture or Evan Zolov and his involvement with the Van Linsteds.
