Dark Diamonds (The Jewel Series)

by Serena Zane

  “They belong to Chase.” Kevin glanced at the broken lens. He didn’t want to contemplate what happened to Chase when the lens got smashed. Kevin witnessed too many things in his line of work to picture Lucy’s brother as anything other than a beaten prisoner held by cold killers. Killroy gave him a quick look and his eyes returned to the frames. Kevin could tell he thought the same thing.

  “So, they kept him in the warehouse,” Killroy said quietly. “They must’ve moved him. I didn’t find any sign of him in my section. Did any of you?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “Right, then we need to get into one of these crates. Halverson?”

  The agent stepped forward and Killroy motioned to the crate nearest them.

  Halverson leaned over and picked up a hammer left on the ground by the crate. He began to pry. The nails screeched. Halverson wrenched on the lid to get the nails loose enough to view inside.

  The lights flashed on.

  “Who’s in here?” The shout echoed around the small contingent of agents like a death knoll.

  “Quick, back up top,” Killroy ordered in hushed tones. “We can’t afford to be detected. He isn’t here. Cindy? You up there?”

  In answer, Cindy lowered the cables from her perch on the roof. As one, they attached the climbing gear into place and started to scale towards the only escape like three black spiders.

  Halverson slipped and let out a curse.

  “Hey there, stop.”

  Kevin looked down—a mistake. It slowed him down and he saw the reddened face of an old security guard with a gun. He tried to quicken his pace, but the increased speed made his buckles clank together drawing the guards’ attention.

  “I said, stop!”

  A shot rang out and Kevin felt a white hot pain sear through his upper left thigh just as his hand gripped the roof’s ledge. Killroy grabbed him and hauled him over.

  “Let’s go.” They re-anchored their cables and scaled down the outside of the warehouse.

  When they touched ground they ran toward the van. Kevin hurried, and ignored the pain that gripped his thigh. He flung himself through the open van door as Cindy started to pull away. Halverson slammed it shut.

  Killroy glanced at Kevin and they locked eyes for a moment, until Kevin’s gaze started to fade with pain. His skin felt clammy with sweat that poured down his face.

  “You don’t look good. That guard probably reported the break-in. If we go to a hospital, the police will get involved. We don’t need that right now. Take him to Montgomery’s place, Cindy. She’ll know how to fix him up.”

  “Okay boss.”

  Killroy took off his bandana and tied it around Kevin’s leg. The pressure would help slow the bleeding, but Kevin’s condition continued to deteriorate.

  “We should be there soon, Garrett.” Killroy’s voice seemed far away.

  “Thanks,” Kevin replied through clenched teeth as he leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes. The pain felt unbearable and that run hadn’t helped matters any. The voices of his team echoed in his head.

  “He’s passed out. Put a little speed into it.” Despite the late hour, the traffic remained heavy in sections and it took them what seemed to Kevin like an eternity to reach Lucy’s apartment.

  They pulled up to the curb. Cool air rushed in and touched Kevin’s face as someone jumped out of the van.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Knock, knock, knock the urgent pounding on the door startled Lucy from her bath. Quickly grabbing her Michigan State jersey, she slipped the shirt on as she ran for the door. Lucy tossed it open, surprised to see Halverson standing in the open doorway, breathing heavily. His hand was raised, prepared to knock again.

  “Garrett’s been shot,” Halverson spit out as soon as he saw her, “We can’t go to the hospital, and no one at the safe house is trained to fix a bullet wound. Can you do something?”

  “Of course. Where is he now?” She looked into the hall half expecting him to be on the other side of the door.

  “They’re bringing him up. He passed out on the way over. Garrett’s lost a lot of blood.”

  “Right. Let me get my supplies and camping cot.” Lucy forced herself into action. “You get a plastic tablecloth from the kitchen and a white sheet from the linen closet. Get some water on to boil as well. We’re going to need to sterilize the equipment.” As she spoke, she gestured to where Halverson could find the supplies and he moved quickly to follow her orders. Lucy’s mind went into overdrive as she thought of all the different possible scenarios.

  Imagining the worst, Lucy ached to rush to Kevin’s side as they brought him up. Time was of the essence when a patient lost blood, and she mentally forced herself to be professional. Her med course taught her to be both calm and focused. She lifted up a silent prayer of thanks for her undercover ER assignment and went to work.

  Lucy pulled the cot from the closet and set it up in the living room. Halverson came in and they placed the plastic tablecloth to cover both it and the surrounding floor to prevent splattering on her carpet. Tossing the white sheet over the top for some relative comfort, she threw an extra pillow at one end.

  Lucy and Halverson finished the makeshift examination table just as Cindy and Killroy brought Kevin through the front door. She breathed a quick sigh of relief. The bullet only took a chunk of flesh from the side of his upper left thigh. She needed to sanitize the wound and stitch together the ragged ends. It’d leave quite a scar.

  She worried about how pale he looked, though. As she ran a hand over his forehead, it came away clammy with his sweat. She took a deep breath.

  “It’s not as bad as Halverson made it sound,” Lucy stated as they laid him on the cot, “but I’m glad he passed out. We need to sanitize that wound and get him stitched up. Cindy, please take my needle and scissors into the kitchen. Boil them, and bring them back here still in the pan. Make sure to wash your hands. Killroy, I need you to go wash and then put on these gloves and come back, please. I’m going to need your help holding the wound together as I stitch it up. Halverson, hold him down. This will sting, and it may wake him up.”

  Lucy put on a pair of latex gloves. She cut away Kevin’s pant leg, and pulled out the antibiotic spray from her first aid kit. She proceeded to spray it on the infected area. It worked better than alcohol but still stung like the Devil.

  Kevin woke cursing. He tried to sit up, but Halverson held him down at his shoulders. He glared at Lucy.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” He tried to grasp at his thigh where the bullet grazed him, the area red, and inflamed around the wound.

  “We need to stitch you up. Sorry, there’s nothing for the pain.”

  “Luce, here’s the needle and scissors. You want me to put on a pair of those gloves too?” Cindy asked as she came back into the room.

  “Sure, here you go.” Lucy handed a pair to her as Cindy set down the pan, and slipped them on.

  “What next?” Cindy cocked her head to the side in a trademark move and looked expectantly at Lucy.

  “Get the needle and thread it with this,” Lucy told her, holding up a roll of first aid floss.

  “Not a problem.” Cindy picked up the needle from the pan and started to thread it.

  A groan sounded and Lucy looked at Kevin just as he passed out, again. She laughed and thought of how many people she’d come across in the ER with a fear of needles. At least Kevin didn’t throw up all over her carpet.

  Lucy thanked God she didn’t have a queasy stomach. She took several gauze pads and blotted up the surrounding area free of blood. Cindy handed her the needle.

  “Killroy, I need you to hold the edges together. That’s it.” Lucy watched as Killroy carefully pressed the skin closed. “Now, hold it there while I sew.” When she finished the stitches, Lucy stepped back to admire her work.

  “He’ll be limping for a time, but all he needs to do now is wake up. Let’s move him into the bedroom and get this mess cleaned up. I can bunk on the couch.
” Still business-like, Lucy finished up and cleaned her apartment as the team got Kevin into the bed. Glad Halverson thought to use one of her disposable tablecloths; she picked up the ends and folded it over. She saw her hands tremble.

  “You okay?” Killroy asked in a concerned tone as he came up behind her.

  “Fine. Thank you for trusting me with this.”

  “I want to be honest Montgomery; I really had no other options.” She gave him a doubtful look, but he gave her a sincere one back. “You know that the hospital’s out of the question. The security guard spotted us. I knew the police would get involved and I don’t want to deal with them right now. There’s enough on our plates and no one at the safe house knows what to do. I’ve got complete confidence in your ability to handle the situation.”

  Lucy tugged at her hair. “I just pray it’s enough. His blood loss worries me.”

  “Let me know when he wakes up. The plan continues. We meet at headquarters in the morning.” With that, Killroy, Cindy, and Halverson left the apartment.

  Lucy closed the door behind them and leaned against the cool wood. What else could go wrong? She decided to make a fresh pot of coffee and wait for Kevin to wake up.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The sun rose without a fuss while Lucy sat watching the rise and fall of Kevin’s chest. He slept through the night, and she’d spent the evening in the rocker she got from her grandmother. Her skin tingled. She glanced up and his eyes were on her. Lucy smiled, “Morning.”

  “Morning. Where am I?”

  Lucy laughed as she watched the expressions cross his face as he took in the flowered comforter and frilly pink pillows.

  “You’re in my bedroom. Killroy and the team brought you here last night to be patched up. How’s the leg?”

  Best to stick to the safe topics, she thought. Lucy glanced once again at the bare expanse of his chest. Dark sable hair curled its way down his abdomen. Her cheeks heated.

  “The leg hurts like hell, but I think I’ll survive.”

  Kevin grinned, his teeth gleaming like a wolf in grandma’s bed. Lucy suddenly thought she needed a red cape and a basket. Only this wasn’t grandma’s bed. It was hers, and a very sexy man sat in it right now. She squirmed in her seat.

  “Good,” she nodded and rose. “I’ll get you some painkillers. They should help some. I’m certainly glad you passed out last night when I needed to sew you up. Otherwise, Halverson would have put you out. I don’t know if I could handle a needle on someone who’s awake.”

  Kevin lifted the covers and surveying the neat row of stitches on his thigh, he turned visibly pale.

  “I want to say thank you for the good stitching.” He threw the covers back, the wound on his leg red and angry. The ragged ends on his pants held a frayed look kids would pay top dollar for, but he got it from a bullet. Hell of a price to pay. His fingers tenderly traced the stitches and she couldn’t help wishing they traced something else—something far more personal. He looked up, “So… thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Would you like some orange juice before you get up? We both need to go into headquarters today. Plans are altered a bit since you went and got yourself shot.”

  “I didn’t…” he started to speak.

  Lucy held up a hand to silence him. “Kevin, we both know that if you hadn’t been careless you wouldn’t be sitting there with stitches in your leg. Come on, we’ve got a job to do.” She threw his shirt to him. “Hurry up and get dressed. I’m anxious to find out the altered plans.” Lucy walked towards the bedroom door.

  “Montgomery… thanks again.”

  She stopped in her tracks, turned and glanced at Kevin. “Anytime.”

  “Can we talk for a minute?” His brows drew together and he watched her intently. With cautious eyes, he eyed her as she came and sat down next to him on the bed.

  Lucy moved her gaze around the room in an attempt to avoid looking at him directly, unnerved with his state of undress. “What is it?”

  “I need to talk to you about the case before we see Killroy.”

  “Why?” She started to twirl her hair. “Nothing’s changed. Just because you got shot does not mean we’re going to halt the plans.” She stopped to rub her hands on her thighs, still trying to avoid eye contact. “Everything proceeds as normal. That’s what Killroy told me this morning. The part which changes is your role. You’re going to be more in the background with that leg. That’s what we need to discuss at headquarters.”

  Kevin shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, “It’s not that,” he placed his hands on the edge of the bed and gave her a stern look. “I want you to back out as well and let us handle things from here. There are other ways than you going undercover in the midst of these extremists.”

  Lucy’s eyes went wide and she glared at him. “This is my brother we’re talking about. If anyone’s going to go along and wrap this case up it will be me. Don’t try to talk me out of it Kevin. I won’t listen.” Lucy got up from the bed and started to leave. Kevin grabbed at her wrist.

  “Be reasonable, Montgomery. You’re not really needed; the bait is set. We can catch Conner and bring him in. Why continue to put yourself into danger?” He tried to hold her hand, but she jerked it out of his grip.

  “Because if I don’t, then I won’t be certain anything will be done about my brother. Besides, you seem to forget, Kevin, the team needs me to be there. Conner’s expecting me to receive the diamond. If I’m not there, he’ll suspect something’s up.” She looked at the worry written across his face and her tone softened. “Why do you care anyway? I thought your first concern was for the agency.”

  Kevin took her other hand and pulled her in front of him. “It’s not only the agency I care about. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  Standing so near Kevin started to affect her senses. She gazed down into his eyes and they reminded her of a stormy sea as she looked into their depths. She held her breath.

  “I know it’s been hard. Chase is my friend, and I’ll do anything I can to bring him back.” He paused and rubbed a thumb over the pulse in her wrist. “I need to tell you…”

  She waited, beginning to grow impatient. “What? What do you need to tell me?”

  “It’s my fault.” She could see the sea form into a wave of guilt as his gaze left hers and focused on the floral bedspread. “It’s my fault they took your brother. I’m sorry.”

  “No,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper of denial, “it can’t be.” She shook her head. “How?”

  “I let down my guard, on the case. For a couple of months everything went smoothly, until we ran into snags. The information Conner gave us stopped being valid. Killroy put me there specifically so your brother would be protected. We didn’t understand how deeply imbedded we were. I was supposed to guard Chase’s apartment that night. Nothing happened out of the ordinary for two weeks. We got cocky,” he said, meeting her eyes, “and careless. The night they took Chase, I was an hour late getting to my post. He told me not to worry about it. When I arrived at the apartment,” Kevin paused to look away, again unable to hold her gaze, “they’d taken Chase.”

  “Kevin, you can’t blame yourself.” She reached up a hand and stroked his shoulder. “Weren’t there other agents assigned to watch his place?” Lucy knew that Killroy would never let an agent in that much danger stay by himself for long.

  “Sure,” he shrugged. “There were other agents, but it was my responsibility. I should’ve been there.”

  “I don’t blame you Kevin. Chase knew what he got into. That’s why he came to me. He was going to be taken. He protected you by not saying anything. I’ll bet he knew that you would try to stop it and blow the operation, or get yourself killed trying to save him.”

  His eyes flashed.

  Kevin would do everything possible to save a friend and teammate. She felt her eyes water, but she wouldn’t look away.

  “I feel even more responsible for you, Montgomery. If I lost you, I don’t t
hink I’d be able to continue in the Agency. I don’t want you to put yourself on the line anymore.”

  “Kevin, I can’t just…”

  “You can, Montgomery. Leave it be.” He stared into her eyes, his iron gaze willing her to listen to him.

  “No Kevin, I can’t leave it be. I know you want me to, but I can’t. You understand.” Lucy started to turn away from his probing eyes as she felt the tears start to fall from her own.

  He wouldn’t let her. Kevin pulled her down in front of him and drew her into the circle of his arms. He crushed his lips to hers.

  ***

  The velvety softness of her mouth molded to his as their tongues warred together. He could taste the saltiness of her tears and he ached to take all the pain from her. Kevin’s muscles became rock hard as Lucy pressed her voluptuous body into his.

  He sought a solace he couldn’t seem to find anywhere else. Kevin felt as though a volcano activated. Lucy’s hands moved like smooth sand as she stroked his back. Her skin felt soft as silk, as he inched up the cashmere sweater she wore. Heat spread through his body, and Kevin gave himself up to the desire that took over his senses. He wanted the world to disappear in her arms. God, he’d wanted her so badly for far too long, and here she was, in his embrace.

  Kevin fought with himself to break off the kiss. His gaze landed on her neckline and he let out an animal growl as his lips moved of their own volition to the sensitive spot at the base of her neck.

  Lucy gasped and he felt her breath on his skin. In the back of his mind a little voice told him his actions weren’t wise. Kevin growled again and buried his face deeper into her scent.

  “Kevin…” Lucy’s husky voice broke the silence in the room. “We need to stop… please…” Her voice broke off.

  His hand pushed up the silky material of her bra and rubbed over the tip of her bared breast. The top hardened with the touch of his hand. God, she’s beautiful. He bent and took the succulent pink bud into his mouth. “Lucy, I can’t. Don’t ask me to stop now. Not now.” Years, too damn long a time to wait, he thought, knowing that he didn’t want to stop. His lips claimed hers again with a fierce hunger.