“Then we’ll get you into summer school,” he said, keeping his tone upbeat for her sake, even though summer school meant more bills. Law school tuition would be coming due soon for Brandt, and now he had more classes to pony up for. But getting Kylie and Brandt through school was his mission, and he was glad he could support his family, even if it meant busting his ass and working all the time. It also meant he’d need to find another gig quickly once this one wrapped up. If it wrapped up. “How’s the tutor? Is he helping?”
“So much,” she said, then sighed, the contented sound of a Disney princess after she’s caught a glimpse of Prince Charming. His radar went off before she even said the next words.
“He is so handsome. I think I might be in love with him already.”
Jake cringed as he walked past an ice-cream shop. “Let’s not jump the gun on the romance, Kylie. Let’s focus on the schoolwork.”
“I know. I will. But it doesn’t hurt that he’s dreamy.”
Jake shook his head, cursing himself for having picked a tutor she wound up crushing on. Next time, he’d need to hire a nun to teach her science, because now he had to get his little sister to focus on school again, not boys. Some days, it was exhausting taking care of her and doing his best to surrogate parent her from afar. He wondered what his dad would say. How his mom would handle this. What would they do when the baby of the family wound up distracted by boys? He wished he knew, but it was now up to him and his oldest sister, Kate, to make sure the younger kids made their way safely into adulthood.
“I’m sure it doesn’t, but let’s talk physics. Tell me what’s going on,” he said firmly, refocusing her on the task at hand.
“I have a test tomorrow. The tutor is going to study with me this afternoon, so I’m hoping that’ll help.”
“Yeah, me, too. But listen, Kylie. You can’t just stare into his eyes and let him hypnotize you with hotness. That’s not going to help.”
“You’re one to talk. How’s your island hottie?” she asked, needling him as only she could.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said with pretend stoicism.
“Ha. Deny all you want. You can’t fool me.”
“Never could,” he muttered playfully. “Back to you. You’re going to focus on studying, ’K?”
“I will. I promise,” she said, and Jake knew his little sister was trying, but hell, she was trying him, too.
But that was just the way it was. She was his complicated girl, and it was his job to see her through. That’s what his dad would have done. When he finished with Kylie, he checked his screen to see if Steph had tried to contact him. Then he rolled his eyes at his own pathetic actions and promptly reprimanded himself. He was seeing her in an hour. He could totally wait. He needn’t act like some lovesick fool, staring at his screen to see if his woman called.
His woman?
He smacked the side of his own head.
Get it together.
Last night was just sex.
Steph was just fun.
Their time together was only temporary. She was not his.
He shoved the phone into his pocket, and the metal case clanged against metal. Hitting the edge of the little trinket he’d lifted from her hotel. He didn’t want anything to happen to that goodie.
CHAPTER THREE
“The ruby is gorgeous. It looks so real!”
Splash.
“Check out the emerald. I wonder what a real one that size would be worth.”
Rubber fins slapped the crystal-blue waters as a pair of curly-haired sisters from the quartet of thirtysomething couples in the stingray group freestyled their way to the treasure chest. The chest gleamed with fake riches under the dock, fifteen feet away from where Steph and Devon dug their toes into the sand and watched the couples in their private tour group having a blast.
Steph bumped a wet fist with Devon. Their customers were getting a kick out of the make-believe treasure. The two women pretended to paw at it as they neared the box of oversize fake gems, the kind of chest that would fit right at home inside a fish tank.
“Never gets old,” Devon mused.
“Wouldn’t it be something to really find a chest full of jewels in the sea,” Steph said as the sun warmed her shoulders and deepened her tan. “Maybe even diamonds. Maybe modern-day swashbuckling pirates are hiding all their jewels here in the ocean.”
She wished the hunt for the diamonds were as easy as making a beeline underwater for gems. Grabbing them, taking them home to Miami, converting them to cash, and repaying those whose accounts had been skimmed. Now she had to grapple with mounting evidence against her stepdad, as well as her own frayed hope that someone else was behind all those e-mails that seemed to damn him. Maybe even Isla. The only way to find out was to find the jewels.
“Buried treasure is just an old wives’ tale,” Devon said quietly.
“I know. I just wish sometimes it were true,” she whispered, fiddling with her treasure chest necklace that her mom had made for her, remembering the night Jake had brushed the pads of his fingers against it as they’d walked on the beach and she’d told him about her parents—about the father she never knew and her deep and abiding love for her mom. She shivered from the memory of how sweet his words were that evening, how gentle his touch. A sad wistfulness descended on her. She’d really liked the guy. He’d been fun and forthright, witty and sharp, and caring. He’d had such a wonderful heart . . . or so it seemed until he stole her diamond this morning, even though some of the messy details of the theft nagged at her brain.
She chased away thoughts of him as the sisters admired the gleaming blue sapphire at the top of the pile of gems. The sister in the purple bikini grabbed a fake rock.
“Everyone loves a sapphire,” the purple-bikini sister declared as she held up a huge blue rock, the sun glinting off its surface. “I’ve never understood why diamonds are worth more. These are much more stunning.” She gazed intently at the phony gem, studying it from all angles.
“It’s so gorgeous,” the other one chimed in. “It looks priceless.”
“It does,” the purple-bikini sister said.
Steph straightened her spine, awareness zipping through her. That simple action of holding the sapphire reminded Steph to keep her eye on the prize.
Sapphire. Eli. Diamonds. Money.
She needed to stop alternating between anger and sadness over Jake. This trip was never about a man. It was about a mission—a chance to right a wrong. She was meeting Jake in less than an hour, and she had to figure out how to play the angles with him. Not moon over what might have been. Besides, this was all for the best. She was at odds with Jake, and her brain had known all along to keep a distance from him.
Twenty minutes later, she and Devon said good-bye to the group from the doorway of the snorkel shop.
“Hope you enjoyed your time in the water,” Devon said.
“We had an amazing morning. The stingrays alone were worth the trip, but you made it so much fun with the treasure chest,” the purple-bikini sister said as she fastened a tie around her wet hair.
“Here. Take the sapphire,” Steph said with a smile, placing the bright-blue stone in the woman’s hand when she finished knotting her strands.
The lady clutched the rock to her chest as if it were a true prize. “I’ll take it back to Idaho and say I uncovered it in the Stingray City Sandbar,” she said, then waved as they departed.
Steph set to work straightening up the shop and putting away gear on the shelves. “Thanks again for letting me do the tour with you,” she said to her buddy. Her own tour started in three more days. She was guiding a group of tourists on a dive through some of the nearby wrecks not far from shore, then out on a longer excursion dive to Little Cayman, sixty miles away. There, on the north side of the island, were some of the best dive spots in the world, including the Bloody Bay site with a wall so deep it was nearly vertical, making for a spectacular dive. She loved that spot and couldn’t wait to
visit it again.
“My pleasure. I told you you’re a good-luck charm. One of the guys in the group said he’s already told some friends who are coming here next month that they need to do our stingray tour.”
Steph’s eyes lit up. If there was one true thing that was priceless, it was positive word-of-mouth. She punched Devon on the biceps. “That is awesome.”
“They said how much fun you were, too, with the jewels,” he added as he grabbed mesh bags of gear.
She beamed as she tucked the snorkels away in the storage room. “Well, that pretty much makes my day.”
“I found his comment all the more amazing considering I’m pretty sure you were pissed about something before the tour started. You did a good job, though, focusing on the customers,” he said, arching an eyebrow and waiting for her to pick up the baton of the deeper conversation. “What’s on your mind, Steph?”
She sighed. Shrugged. Fiddled with her hair. Then bit the bullet. “What would you do if you suspected someone you liked took something from you, but you weren’t entirely sure. Would you confront that person?”
“Whoa.” He held up his hands. “That’s a loaded question if I ever heard one.”
“I know,” she said with a heavy sigh as she adjusted a mask neatly next to some fins.
“Care to tell me more? So I can help?”
She pursed her lips, rewinding to the last few days with Jake. “I’m not sure where to start.”
But the truth was, she didn’t want to say the words out loud—Did the guy I slept with steal the diamond my stepfather bought with stolen money in the first place? Nope. She couldn’t breathe those words aloud. She didn’t want either the front or the back end of that statement to be true.
This was a mystery best solved solo, so she finished her work, packed up, and headed to her Jeep, still noodling on the details.
Jake was a professional. He cracked safes and covered his tracks for a living, so why was the safe left open? Wouldn’t he assume she’d check her safe? He wasn’t sloppy; she’d learned that much about him. The man had amazing follow-through, both on the job and in bed.
Still, he’d stayed in her room all night. Hell, he’d asked, damn near insisted on spending the night, and he knew how to break into a safe. She just wasn’t sure why he’d done it the way he had. Maybe to throw her off the scent? Make it seem like someone else had broken into the safe?
She burned with frustration.
How was she to proceed with him? Business as usual or full inquisition?
As she pulled on the handle of the auto, she stole one last look at the calm blue water, teeming with friendly stingrays. An oxymoron.
But in it, she found the answer.
Stingrays sounded scary.
After all, who wants to be stung? But rather than fear them, tourists kissed them.
Steph would glean more answers with honey than vinegar. Confronting Jake about stealing the diamond would only give him a greater chance to backpedal. She’d need to act like nothing was amiss. She wouldn’t let on that she suspected he was a thief.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
CHAPTER FOUR
She looked good.
But then, that seemed to be the woman’s specialty.
Being stunning. Being hot. Being the sun-kissed beauty he was damn lucky to spend a little time with.
As she walked down the block, all he could think about was smothering her in kisses. Cupping her face in his hands, gazing into her gorgeous blue eyes, lacing his fingers through that blonde hair. Maybe even tugging on it.
Did she like hair pulling?
Note to self: find out if Steph enjoys hair pulling, spanking, and playful biting.
She wore an aqua-green sundress with some kind of swirly pattern. He intended to take it off her. Soon. Very soon. But first they had business to do. Catered lunch to order. A mission to accomplish. He sat outside at a café a few blocks away from the gallery. A Frommer’s guidebook was open on the table, adding to the tourist look he’d perfected.
When Steph reached the table, she shot him a sultry stare that scorched him. With her mere inches away, his earlier wish for the case to end quickly vanished into thin air. Let the case drag on. Let the diamonds go unfound for a few more days. He wanted time with her. To get to know her better, her body and her mind.
But the voice of reason told him the more he gave in, the more he risked. Only, he wasn’t thinking with reason right now. He wasn’t thinking at all. Only feeling how much he longed for this woman.
“Good afternoon, gorgeous mermaid,” he said, his voice dry and husky.
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she said with a wink, then parked herself on his lap and threw her arms around him.
“Good to see you, too,” he said with a chuckle.
She clasped his face in her hands and purred. “I missed you this morning.” Her voice turned to a feathery whisper. “I can’t wait to have you inside me again.”
Oh Lord.
The woman didn’t mince words.
His dick shot straight up, and he was grateful she was on his lap, covering his hard-on. He was even more grateful that she claimed his mouth in a heady kiss. She pressed her lips to his; the taste of her was so damn sweet. He nearly groaned in pleasure, a sound that would’ve been wholly inappropriate in public company.
He slipped his tongue inside her warm mouth, and his brain went hazy. All thoughts of work, and tutors, and summer school, and jobs, and whatever else he needed to do crumbled to dust in the caress of her lips. She kissed like a dream, and he could get lost in these kisses, in this sweet, feisty, fiery woman.
He let himself for a minute or two, as her hot kisses blurred out the world.
But in the back of his mind the clock ticked loudly. As much as it pained him, he broke the kiss. “One, that was epic. Two, I want more. Three, I’ve been thinking about you all morning.”
“I’ve been thinking of you, too,” she said, running her fingers along the front of his shirt. She smiled at him, a grin that spread from sea to shining sea. She was happy today. Wildly happy, and it was infectious.
“You’re cuddly today.”
She shrugged coyly, then brushed a finger along his jawline. “I guess the best sex of my life makes me that way. Hope you don’t mind,” she said, pursing her lips playfully. She sneaked a hand behind him and gripped his ass. Squeezed it hard.
He hitched in a breath. “Now listen, sexy girl, you’re going to send me into the gallery with a hard-on if we keep this up.”
“But I like you hard,” she said, gripping the fabric of his shirt. Her hands were everywhere. Zipping all over him. Grabbing him. Touching him. Like an attack of fantastic sensations.
“It’s a state I vastly enjoy being in when I’m with you. But I do work better when I’m not thinking about fucking you,” he said, then lifted her off him, and they left the busy café and turned to a side street away from the crowds.
“Ready to place the order?” he said, then ducked down a quiet block along the beach.
She reached for her phone from her bag, blocked her number, and made the phone call.
They needed to get inside Isla’s gallery to look around. Nighttime would have been ideal, but there was simply too much security in the evenings in this section of town. Stores, restaurants, and high-end hotels nearby employed ample guards after hours, so they’d have to find a way to get into Isla’s office during the day.
Their plan was risky but far safer than breaking in after hours, when they stood a good chance of being caught and hauled away. They had to get inside during the day, when no one suspected a break-in.
As Steph called, Jake crossed his fingers, hoping all the pieces fell into place.
“Good afternoon. This is Clementine’s Catering,” the woman who answered the phone said in a cheery voice.
As a palm tree swayed gently in the breeze by the water, Steph adopted her best professional tone. “Hi there. This is Lynx O’
Malley’s personal assistant. We spoke earlier when I placed an order for lunch.”
“Yes, indeed. How can I help you? This is Clementine.”
“Ah, wonderful. Good to chat with you, Clementine. I’m calling to confirm the lunch delivery to Isla’s Island Gallery. It will be there in twenty minutes, correct?” Steph asked, pushing her sunglasses up on the bridge of her nose. Earlier that day, during the morning planning session with Jake at her hotel, they’d come up with the plan—it was a distraction strategy, but Steph hoped it would work long enough to sniff around. All they needed was to buy some time in the daylight, when no one would suspect what they were up to.
Steph had placed the order, supposedly on behalf of Isla’s favorite artist, who was on a meditation retreat. Steph had paid for the pending lunch delivery with an American Express gift card, so she remained untraceable.
“Yes, ma’am. We pride ourselves on on-time delivery,” Clementine said, sounding as peppy as her name. “One p.m. sharp. We’ve got the beet salad, the cucumber sandwiches, the mushroom caviar—”
“And the olives?”
“Indeed, we have the olives.”
Jake stood next to her, an eager look in his wide-open eyes. She flashed him a thumbs-up, like she genuinely wanted to reassure him that everything was on track between the two of them. He grinned in return. Fabulous. He had no clue she was on to his ruse.
“And you’ll be sure to stay and serve all the food?” Steph said, returning to her phone call and resuming her pace along the street, Jake by her side. “I ask because Lynx wants Isla and her staff to feel treated to a wonderful meal as a special way of saying thank you for all the amazing work she’s done for the art community,” Steph said with a flourish in her tone.
“In my humble opinion, nothing quite says thank you like specialty olives and roasted beet salad.”
“Excellent. Lynx is so thrilled. He can’t wait to hear how much she enjoys the gourmet catered lunch,” Steph said, thinking that Lynx wouldn’t even know he’d sent them lunch for a few more days. She suspected he wasn’t tied to his phone while on a retreat. They walked past a sandwich shop boasting Caribbean-themed panini served on the patio under a red-checked awning. They smelled yummy, and the scent reminded her that some nourishment would be mighty welcome in her belly. But there’d be time for that later.
The Sapphire Heist (A Jewel Novel Book 2) Page 2
