“Of me? Why?”
“Because it’s rare and exciting and beautiful, of course.”
“Barf,” Atlas said through the earpiece that all the team was connected to. They were trying to keep the airwaves as silent as possible so that they could all listen in to what Bastone had to say, but apparently, Atlas couldn’t keep his feelings to himself on that one.
Sequence’s stomach sunk. It was a smarmy and gross line, of course, but there was something possessive about the way he was talking to Naomi. He’d hoped that they’d be able to confirm that Bastone only had a passing interest in her. That after today she’d be out of harm’s way where he was concerned. But suddenly, Sequence worried that she’d enchanted Bastone. Because why wouldn’t she have? She was enchanting.
“Let’s take a look at it, shall we?” That was her voice then, with a tinny, false quality to it that spoke to her discomfort.
There were the zipping and clicking noises of her unpacking her back and then—ahhh. The bliss of finally having eyes on the scene. Just as they’d practiced, Naomi set up the spectrograph first so that they’d be able to see the scene.
Sequence’s phone filled with the single shot of the room where Naomi was. The room was large and opulent. There was a boar’s head on the wall and everything was painted in a rich red. There was a fire crackling in one corner, though it was unseasonably warm outside. Behind Naomi, Bastone stood, his hands behind his back and an unreadable expression on his face.
The man’s face was bland, olive in color with deep inset eyes. He had probably been handsome at one point, but now had the sort of smudged look of someone who’d drunk too much liquor over his life. But his expression was watchful, intelligent. He looked a little messy, but that was an illusion. The man was sharp. His eyes watched Naomi’s hands as she set up her tools.
“Jesus,” Swift muttered in Sequence’s ear and Sequence knew why. Naomi had just adjusted the camera, under the guise of unscrewing a lens cap, and brought into view a pile of gems.
There was at least a fistful of gemstones of varying sizes and colors, though most were the impersonal glitter of diamonds. Next to the pile was a smaller blue stone that Sequence guessed was the blue diamond she’d referenced before.
He didn’t know much about gems, but he knew that blue diamonds were supposedly rare.
“I’ll save the best for last, I think,” she told him, and got started on the pile of gems.
Under Bastone’s watchful eye, she went through each gem one at a time, appraising their clarity, cut, carat, and color of each one. She took detailed notes and sorted them into groups.
“As usual, these are of the highest quality, Frank. You should be pleased.”
“And the blue?”
Sequence watched her hand tremble just the smallest amount as she picked it up with a caliper and ran it through the gamut of appraisal techniques as she had with the other stones.
“It’s exquisite. I’ve never personally seen its equal outside of a museum.”
“Good. I’m glad. I wasn’t sure what I’d gotten my hands on with that one, but if you insist it’s of high quality…”
“The highest.” Naomi cleared her throat. She was nervous. This was the hard part. She’d gotten all the business done and now there wasn’t anything to do but tell him this was the last time she was going to see him.
As they’d practiced, Naomi began to slowly pack up her bag, leaving the spectroscope for last.
“Frank, I wanted to let you know that today was my last day at Ellsworth’s.”
“Oh?”
Sequence watched Bastone take a step toward Naomi. He stiffened, one of his hands curling into a fist.
“Yes. And I just wanted to let you know that Ellsworth will still be available to take over all my clients and whoever he hires to replace me will be top notch. I’m sure. You know Ellsworth. Everything needs to be the best for him.”
“Miss Cutler, I’m disappointed. Over the last few years you’ve spoiled me. I’ve come to expect my gemologist to be just as colorful and appealing as the jewels themselves.” Bastone lifted a hand to Naomi’s hair and brushed it off her shoulder.
Sequence put a hand on the car door, ready to burst free at a moment’s notice.
But Naomi merely twinkled with laughter. “You’re sweet. Always such a flatterer, Frank.”
“I don’t suppose you would consider working with me on an individual level, now would you?”
Sequence watched Naomi stiffen almost imperceptibly. They’d prepared for Bastone to ask her this, but she’d been nervous about her answer. She had to be firm. No wiggle room. If she made up some excuse, it was possible Bastone would attempt to call her on it.
“No, Mr. Bastone, I’m afraid today is goodbye.”
“Ah. Naomi, you wound me. We’re back to Mr. Bastone again? It took me four years to convince you to call me Frank.” He gave her a smile that changed his face. It softened him. It was disarming and almost charming. Sequence wanted to punch that smile off of Bastone’s face. She returned his winning smile and continued to pack up. “Today is goodbye, Frank.”
“You didn’t give me any warning.”
“It’s… all happened very fast.”
She was doing well, but Sequence could see her hands starting to shake. She didn’t want to lie, she wasn’t good at it, and what she’d just said was an outright lie. She’d been trying to leave Ellsworth’s for three years. Been working toward it for three years. And there was no way in hell that she’d have told Bastone before today lest he try to stick a wrench in the works. To keep her from going.
“Ellsworth isn’t firing you, is he?” Bastone asked and his eyes became very beady.
Even in the shitty camera feed, Sequence watched Naomi go white. “No! No. Mr. Ellsworth has always been kind and fair.”
Bastone continued to watch her for a moment as she packed up. Sequence got the impression that his mind was moving extremely quickly.
Bastone moved into her space again. “If today concludes our professional relationship, then I wonder about starting up a personal relationship, Miss Cutler.”
Naomi froze. But to her credit, she started right back up again. “You flatter me.”
“I’m not joking, Naomi.” He leaned forward and selected one of the larger diamonds from the pile she’d just appraised. He held it up to the base of her throat, like the pendant on a choker. “I have a lot of things I could offer you.”
Sequence forced his hands to loosen around his phone lest he crack the screen in half.
“Easy, bro,” Atlas spoke through the earpiece. To anyone else listening, it would sound like Atlas was warning Bastone to ease off under his breath. But Sequence knew those words were meant for him personally. His twin knew that he was about four seconds from storming the castle.
Luckily, Naomi was more in control than Sequence was. “I’m sorry, Mr. Bastone, but I have a boyfriend.”
“Good girl,” Rook muttered under his breath. “Just get him off your back. Get out of there.”
Bastone’s eyes were narrowed and beady in the live feed, but he wasn’t moving any closer to Naomi as she packed up her things. Soon she’d be done packing and the live feed would go black once the spectroscope was packed up again. Sequence dreaded the moment. He wanted her out of there and buckled in to the back seat with his foot on the gas pedal.
“That so?” Bastone rolled up onto the balls of his feet. “Probably some professional sports playing brute, now huh? Pretty girl like you.”
Naomi smiled but there was no mirth in it. Sequence watched as she, turned away from Bastone, grappled to come up with a story. “No sports, but he’s a big guy. He’s… an Iowa farmboy. You know how they grow ‘em out there. All that fresh air and corn.” She laughed, as if both she and Bastone were in on the joke, but anyone who knew her even a little bit could tell that she was nervous, and trying to lay a massive hint.
“Is she talking about me or you, you think?” Atlas whispered to Seq
uence through the earpiece.
Geo laughed, but it was a tight sound.
There was a long pause while Bastone watched her. And soon, there was nothing left to pack. Naomi quickly set away the spectroscope, plunging the live feed into black.
“So, this really is goodbye, then.”
Sequence wished to God that he could see Bastone’s face, but his tone actually sounded resigned. Sequence would have put money on this asshole pursuing her doggedly, boyfriend or not. But for a moment, he just sounded like a tired older man, fielding the rejection of a young and beautiful woman.
“I’m afraid so.” Naomi was smart enough to make her voice sound just a touch regretful. “I wish you the best, Frank.”
“And you, lovely Naomi.”
There was silence for a moment and then the sounds of Naomi’s heels clicking on the ground. Sequence wanted to sag in relief, but she still wasn’t out of the house yet.
“Goodbye, Rick. Give those babies a squeeze for me.”
“You got it, Naomi. See you soon.” Obviously Rick hadn’t been in the room with Naomi and Bastone if he had no idea that this was the last time he was going to be seeing her.
She made a noncommittal noise and then there was the blessed sound of deadbolts pulling back.
Sequence slouched in the driver’s seat and tossed his phone to one side, attempting to look like a disinterested driver of a mid-range car service. He desperately wanted to get out of the car and open the door for Naomi, but she’d already discussed with him that her drivers never did that. It would look strange if Bastone or his security were watching.
The few seconds that it took her to walk down the walkway, her heels clicking on the cement, were some of the longest of Sequence’s life. He felt as if she had some sort of invisible tether around her waist and at any second, Bastone might come out on his porch and yank her back.
“Movement on the door,” Geo said in their ears.
And sure enough, the front door was opening. Sequence’s hand went to the butt of his gun. Bastone was on the porch. He had his hands in his pockets as he watched Naomi walk toward her car.
He was just a bit shorter than Sequence had thought he’d be from the live feed. He opened his mouth like he was going to call something out to Naomi, but then he clapped it closed and just watched her go.
“Just a few more feet,” Atlas whispered. “Don’t turn Naomi.”
Naomi opened the door of the SUV and Rook shrank back, careful to keep out of view of Bastone. She placed her bag carefully on the floor and then some reflex made her look back to the porch.
Sequence watched the blood run out of her face as she realized that Bastone was watching her. She waved a quick, friendly wave and he ducked his head to say goodbye. Naomi slammed the door closed.
Sequence locked the car doors and attempted not to burn rubber.
“Oh, Jesus,” Naomi muttered as she sagged against the door.
“You did it,” Rook said. “You did it, Naomi. It’s over.”
“Buckle up,” Sequence called back to her.
Mindful that they were still in Bastone’s neighborhood, he immediately navigated toward the BQE. He didn’t think they were being tailed, but they’d already decided not to risk any stops for the other members of the team. It would be too suspicious.
So Sequence drove as if he were driving her back to Manhattan. At the last second, when he was certain that they were not being followed, he deviated south, toward Brooklyn and toward the bunker.
As soon as they pulled into the garage at Rook Securities, Naomi was out of the SUV. Sequence came around the car to see her tossing her arms around a very surprised Rook. She gave him a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. Sequence braced himself as she then bounded toward him on those long legs of hers, her strong arms looping him and her forehead nestling against his neck.
“I feel like a hundred million bucks,” she told the men, doing a little jig on those fancy shoes. “Strike that. I feel like more than that. I feel like a big old blue diamond is what I feel like.”
Sequence laughed as he grabbed her bag out of the backseat of the car. Naomi automatically reached for it and he let her take it.
The three of them made their way toward the conference room for a debriefing. Naomi and Rook were talking back and forth but Sequence stayed quiet. He had to admit that all he really wanted was to sit her down in a seat, strip off those ridiculous shoes, and kiss her from head to toe. But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
So Sequence deviated to the kitchen instead. By the time Sequence came back with a plate of sandwiches for everyone, they were already knee-deep into the debriefing with Naomi.
“Yeah, what was the deal with that?” Atlas asked Naomi. He and Swift and Geo had obviously been dropped off by their cab. “The blue diamond thing?”
Naomi gratefully took the sandwich that Sequence offered her and took a bite big enough to make a sailor blush. She had high color in her cheeks and her eyes sparkled. She was doing her hummingbird thing again, but in a good way this time. She vibrated with good vibes.
Sequence sat down in the seat across from her and took a sandwich himself.
“I’m… not entirely sure,” she eventually said once she’d swallowed the bite to end all bites. “It was a surprise, to say the least. I’ve never seen a gem of that value in his possession before. If he’s had them he’s never shown them to me.”
“How much was it worth, you think?” Geo asked, opening her sandwich and adding in a layer of potato chips, just like she always did.
Naomi weighed her head back and forth as she thought. “Well, I don’t generally appraise the value of stones, Bastone takes them elsewhere for that. I’m just there to verify that nobody slipped him cubic zirconia. But an 11b fancy intense blue?” She caught Sequence’s eye and grinned. “Seriously, that’s the name of that classification. I guess I’d put it at around six or seven.”
“Jeez, that’s half a year’s rent!” Geo exclaimed.
Naomi laughed and took another bite of her sandwich. She spoke around the food. “Not six or seven thousand. Six or seven million.”
She laughed at the five blank faces staring back at her.
“I’m sorry.” Swift held up a hand as if he could pause this information to better understand it. “Bastone had a gemstone worth six or seven million dollars and he just had it lying out on the desk. And then he just handed it over to you like it was a marble?”
“And you just appraised its value like it was any other stone?” Sequence couldn’t help but speak up. Apparently this woman had nerves of absolute steel.
Naomi, still grinning and chewing, just shrugged. “It’s definitely one of the more valuable stones I’ve ever handled. But it’s not the most valuable. The fact that it was a blue, well, yeah, that’s really interesting. But, you guys, this is my job.”
“You’re a boss.” Atlas pointed directly into Naomi’s face and then raised his hand for a high five.
“And now, I’m technically my own boss.” They slapped hands and she did a little booty shaking dance in her chair.
“Get it, girl,” Atlas said as he grinned.
“So,” Naomi said, turning to Rook. “What’s the verdict? Am I safe to go?”
Rook, the only one not eating, considered her for a long minute. “I’m going to continue evaluating your case for the next few weeks, and of course, we still want you to keep your security system activated. But, based on how Bastone reacted to the news of you leaving, it’s my assessment that you don’t have anything to worry about.”
Sequence knew those words meant that Rook was still suspicious of Bastone and that Naomi wasn’t completely out of the woods. Hell, she might never be, considering what kind of man Bastone was. But it also meant that Rook considered her safe enough to let her free in the world. She was no longer an active client.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Naomi relaxed back into the passenger seat of the SUV. She was officially done with Bastone and with
Ellsworth. She was fed, watered, and fully hugged by every member of Rook Security. Now she got to enjoy a car ride with Sequence while he dropped her off at home, officially a free woman.
Naomi let her eyes flutter closed, but they snapped back open when she felt Sequence’s hands at her feet. He yanked both of her high heels off before he straightened back up and put his seat belt on.
“What is it with you and my heels?”
“They’re sexy as hell, but I can barely look at those ankle-breakers.”
Naomi grinned and folded her feet under her as he pulled out of the driveway and headed up to the Upper East Side.
“It’s nice of you to give me a ride.”
He just raised an eyebrow at her.
Naomi stretched her arms over her head. “I think I need more yoga. It’s like my mind knows that this day from hell is officially over, but my body hasn’t gotten the memo yet. I can feel myself still all spooled up.”
When she looked over, Sequence was studying her again, but this time with a dark expression on his face.
Naomi gulped. She felt like this man was made of magnetic material and she was a set of house-keys. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fling across the car and face-plant directly into him.
She didn’t blame herself for wanting to scrape her cheek across his beard or open the collar of his shirt and take a hearty sniff. She was only human and the man was so freaking hot.
Plus it had been a very, very long time since she’d slept with anybody. Not since her detective almost two years ago.
“I always loved this view of the city,” Naomi chirped. “Did you know that building is the tallest condo in the world? Yup. All the other tall buildings in the world are commercial, I guess? Have you been to One World Observatory yet? It’s such a crazy view. You can see all the way out to Far Rockaway. Fastest elevator I’ve ever been in.”
And on it went. Naomi channeled all her spooled-up, nervous energy into words for the entire drive home. Sequence, though he smirked in a few places and nodded in a few others, did not contribute to the conversation. On a different day, Naomi might have been able to stop the runaway train that was her mouth. But right then? All revved up from her day and from being alone with him? There was no chance of her slowing down.
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