“No it’s not,” Creek replied.
He held out his hand and opened his palm. In it was an enormous ruby, the size of a golf ball, cut and faceted to resemble the shape of an exquisite heart.
“This is Alessia.”
I sat utterly stunned. The ruby was spectacular—a deep, vibrant red that seemed to radiate all the way through with crimson light. Creek picked up another old article that had been lying inside the box.
“The priceless de Bargona ruby has been in this aristrocratic Italian family for generations, but recently was reported missing by the Count before he departed from Cincinnati.”
Creek pointed to the date on the article. It was written sixteen years ago.
“Did my dad steal it?” I shuddered.
Creek shook his head.
“No, Alessia gave it to him before her father shipped her back to Italy. I heard rumors about it in Turtle Shores, but no one ever saw the ruby, so I thought it was a tall tale. Lorraine claimed Alessia’s dad made her walk up to Doyle on the day she was scheduled to leave and declare that she never loved him. But when she did, she slipped this heart-shaped ruby into his hand.”
“So he’d know she was lying,” I breathed. “And she’d love him forever and ever—”
“You got it,” Creek smiled a little. “This is Alessia. To Doyle, anyway. It’s her heart.”
I scrambled to my feet. “Okay, we gotta get out of here.” I picked up the pieces of the box and shoved them to the back of a shelf. “Put those tarot cards in your pocket,” I said, grabbing the Swiss bank account sheet from the floor and the ruby in his hand. “And those news clippings of Alessia.”
Creek stuffed them into his tux. I folded the account page and slipped it inside the bust of my dress and gripped the ruby firmly in my hand. But when we opened the door to walk out the humidor, our eyes met a very disapproving figure.
Not Tweedle, which was no surprise since we’d hadn’t been there for half an hour yet. It was a tall, older woman with gray hair pulled back into a severe bun and wearing a matronly, white gown that stretched awkwardly over her thick middle, making her look like an upright refrigerator. She had a long forehead and a hooked nose, and she held a gnarled, mahogany cane in her hand. As soon as her raven-black eyes rested upon mine, I knew . . .
“M-Mother Superior?” I faltered.
She smiled in that chilling way she always had that could stop even the liveliest girl’s heart.
“Robin,” She trilled. “I thought I spotted you on the dance floor tonight. You look ravishing, my dear. Especially with that new red hair. Now surely you intend to pay your debts, am I correct?”
“What?”
“Your tuition. The thirty thousand dollars your father still owes Pinnacle.” She pointed her gnarled cane at me. “You do realize that’s the reason for the fundraiser this evening. Your old Alma Mater?”
I gasped like a fish.
I had no idea Mother Superior ever stepped out of her nun’s habit, let alone for a benefit. And it wasn’t like I had the chance to read the fine print on that poster at that bank.
“Certainly,” I piped up, trying to buy time and choking down the urge to take a swing at her. But I knew the woman outweighed me, so I scanned for a way to make a run for the door.
“Then hand over that lovely gem in your palm,” she insisted.
I stole a glance at Creek. For the first time ever, I saw him look at me in total shock.
How did Mother Superior know about the ruby?
At that moment, Tweedle appeared at the door.
Mother Superior simply gazed at me and smiled.
“Never mind him. I want that stone.” The grin on her lips faded to a thin, tight line. “All of Cincinnati knows about the de Bargona ruby that went missing years ago. And obviously, you’ve found it. Give it to me—”
“What? You knew Alessia de Bargona was my mother all along?” My cheeks flushed with rage.
“Let’s just say, I suspected as much. Little details—the birth certificate and social security number that didn’t quite match. And your olive complexion and curly hair do make you look just like her, you know. Alessia was the talk of society once. Her father even enrolled her at Pinnacle. He never dreamed she’d be a little whore on her home visits and get pregnant with that white trash boy. Fortunately, at Pinnacle we’re paid to keep these kinds of secrets. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a day of reckoning.”
She gripped her mahogany cane in both hands and gave me a fierce whack upside the head, then reached out for my hand. The woman was built like a Sumo wrestler, so I didn’t have a chance—
Except for the fact that Creek made a dive and knocked her over like the tower of Pisa, throwing aside her cane. In an instant, Tweedle was on top of him, drilling him with punches. Creek gave him a hard left hook, sending him sprawling across the Cigar Room floor.
He bolted to his feet and grabbed my hand, yanking me upright.
I was still holding my head, which throbbed like a jackhammer had been cracking at it.
“Do you trust me?” Creek cried.
I shook my head, confused. “What? Why would I be here if I didn’t—”
Tweedle moaned and began to stir.
Creek gripped my shoulders and shook me so hard it hurt.
“Do you really, really trust me?” The urgency in his eyes made me shiver.
I saw Mother Superior stumble to her feet along with Tweedle. They both blocked the door of the Cigar Room, so it looked like we were goners.
“Then hold on, no matter what,” Creek said. “Hear me, Robin? Just hold on!”
With that, he jerked at my hand and we made a mad dash for the windows that faced the front lawn—
A huge crash echoed in my ears.
For a brief moment in time, we were weightless . . . floating . . .
And I saw little specks of glass sparkle all around us like gems as we fell—fell—fell into the beams of the floodlights below.
Chapter 22
I still had a white-knuckled grip on the ruby as Creek raced down a country road at over a hundred miles an hour, taxing poor Sadie’s engine to the max.
But near as I could tell, we’d gotten away scott free!
As long as I didn’t count my royal headache and the smeared blood that had ruined my beautiful gown. The shards of window glass we’d broken through had cut us both all to hell. Even my forehead was dripping, and I could taste the weird iron flavor of blood that trickled down to my lips. After falling from the window, we’d landed in a thick hedge that Creek had been smart enough to notice surrounded the entire house, just in case we needed an emergency escape.
I didn’t even want to know how often he’d used that exit strategy.
I just felt lucky we were alive—and safe. Bleeding and scratched up like nobody’s business, maybe, but nothing Granny’s bandages couldn’t fix.
Swiveling around in my seat, I peered through the limo’s rear window. No headlights followed us, and we were almost home.
A part of me couldn’t believe I’d just thought of it that way.
Home used to be my term for the mansion we’d left. Now, it was a humble tree stand in the middle of fricking nowhere. But the difference was that Turtle Shores was filled with people who truly cared about me, and Indian Hill wasn’t.
“Creek,” I said, fretting about Brandi now that we’d had a chance to catch our breaths. “How long do you think it will take us to get money out of the Swiss bank accounts?”
Creek glanced over at me. He hadn’t dared to turn on the headlights, so I could only see his face in the silvery moonlight that filtered through the windshield. His forehead was streaked with blood.
“Hard to say for sure—maybe a week or two.” He wiped some blood off with his tuxedo sleeve. “Nick of time for Brandi, I reckon. As long as we provide proof that we can pay, the chemo center won’t expect the balance for another month.” He nodded. “I think everything’s gonna be okay.”
I heave
d the deepest sigh of relief I’d felt in ages.
Leaning my head back, I rubbed the smooth, ruby heart between my fingers.
“I have no idea how much is in those accounts,” I said. “But it might change our lives.”
“Not for a long time, baby,” Creek replied mysteriously.
I could feel Sadie slowing way down on the gravel road as Creek braked to make a turn into a really black stand of woods.
“We barely made it out of there tonight. We’re just lucky Tweedle and Co. don’t know where we live,” Creek said. “But let me tell you something. Smart crooks don’t make hasty changes—that’s how idiots get caught. So as far as we’re concerned, we pay for Brandi’s health care, and that’s it. No frills.”
I bit my lip and nodded.
It would be so nice to move my dad into a more comfortable apartment with better amenities, but I could see Creek’s point. It wasn’t worth coming out of hiding and getting us all arrested.
The limo dipped and swayed over the forest road until Creek brought it to a stop.
“C’mon,” he cut the engine. “Let’s head for our tree stand and sleep for, I dunno, maybe three days.”
I laughed a little. Sounded perfect to me.
When Creek opened his door, no dome light stung my eyes. He’d turned it off in case anyone was on the prowl. But still being gallant, he walked around the front of Sadie to open my door. I sank my bare feet into the cool dirt and stood up—Brandi’s pretty high heels had been casualties of our crazy sprint across the lawn to escape the house.
“Mademoiselle,” Creek said, taking my hand.
He stared at my bare feet in the moonlight, and I could almost hear him smile.
“I have to say, this has been one of the most amazing nights of my whole life. And a hell of a thrill ride.”
Creek’s lips pressed against mine in the dark.
A soft—exhausted—and totally enchanting kiss.
I wanted to fold into his arms right there and fall to the soft forest floor, then sleep for perhaps a thousand years.
But there was something still nagging at me, something I couldn’t shake.
And I was unable to pretend it didn’t matter any more.
“Creek,” I asked as his lips pulled from mine. He gave me one last kiss on the forehead and tugged on my hand to lead us away from the limo, deeper into the woods. “We’ve been through so much together,” I continued, walking alongside him. “I mean, we could’ve failed tonight and gotten caught, and never seen each other again. So I want to know, I mean, I think I deserve to know—”
Creek stopped and turned to face me.
He was stunning even at night, with the way the moonlight highlighted his features and made strands of his blonde hair look pale as an angel’s.
“Say it, Robin,” he sighed. “You can be straight with me. What do you want to know?”
“What did you say to my dad? Behind the gypsy wagon at the hoedown? Neither one of you will tell me, and you both dodge it every time I ask.”
“Shhh,” Creek gently put a finger to my mouth. Before I knew it, his lips met mine again.
Only this time, it was the kind of kiss that made me feel as if he were pouring his soul into mine, tinged with blood, sweat, and even a few slivers of glass.
His arms enveloped me in the moonlight and he held me close. When he finally lifted his lips, he edged them to my ear.
“I told him . . . I love you,” he whispered.
I know he said it in his very softest voice, but his words resounded in my heart like a kettle drum.
“And I asked him,” Creek paused, “if some day he’d let me have your hand. I wanted an answer while he was still well enough to speak.”
White-hot tingles coursed up and down my body and fanned out to my limbs, making me feel like I glowed from within. I opened my mouth to let out squeal, but Creek slipped his palm over my lips.
“Robin,” he said quietly, “your dad bowed his head and cried. He knows I’ve made you a criminal.”
I wriggled fiercely from his grip until I’d broken free.
“But we don’t have to stay that way,” I countered. “I love you, too! What if we pay back Cinci Federal from the Swiss bank accounts? We don’t know how much is in there—it could be millions. And we didn’t take anything from Bob or Tweedle that didn’t really belong to other people. Think about it, Creek. We don’t have to let any of this define us. There’s still a chance we can start over—”
An eerie, white light suddenly flooded the woods.
I half-thought it was my own euphoria from Creek admitting he loved me. But the light was so bright it cast black tree shadows all around us and made our eyes burn.
We turned to what looked like the source and heard heavy engines roar. Two huge Hummers plowed through the woods with enormous light racks mounted on their roofs. They were headed straight for Turtle Shores.
Creek clutched my hand and dived behind some brush. He grabbed my shoulders in a panic.
“Tweedle’s got henchmen?” he cried. “Robin, why didn’t you tell me—I never would have come back here!”
“I—I thought everybody knew!” I said, spitting leaves. “I mean, they were always just rumors in Cincinnati, but—”
“God dammit! Don’t you know rumors mean facts in the underworld? No, no,” he hugged me close, “of course you don’t. You weren’t raised on the wrong side of the tracks. Listen,” he pointed to the Turtle Shores compound. “If Tweedle’s men have come here, then that means he knows all about your dad’s roots, including where the trailer park is. Maybe that Mother Superior chick filled him in. We have to be crafty as foxes to get him out of there.”
“Who?”
“Your dad! Don’t you get it? They’ll use him to make you fork over the ruby and anything else they think you’ve got. Whatever’s important to you they’ll take for ransom. Just keep hold of my hand, and don’t make any noise. I know a back way they won’t suspect.”
Creek began to crawl on his knees and I followed suit, hating myself for mourning the total destruction of my dress. Surely it wasn’t as important as my dad! Yet with each rip and tear, I had to shake my head. My one beautiful moment in life was over. We were back to reality now, and the rocks on the ground cut and bruised my knees. After a few minutes of sneaking through shadows, beneath the scope of the Hummer headlights, Creek stood and tugged on my hand until I stumbled to my feet.
He hugged me so tight that we blended in with the long, tall shadow of a tree. We could still hear vehicles crashing through the woods and voices hollering, but we couldn’t make out their words over the racket. Creek grasped my hand and splayed my fingers to feel something against the tree trunk—a wooden plank. Then he patted my shoulder and I could feel his body brush against mine as he ascended up the tree. Must be a ladder, I realized. I tucked the ruby into my cleavage and hoisted up the hem of my tattered gown to follow him.
When I reached the top, I felt for a tree branch but instead touched a wide board. Creek snatched my arm and lifted me to stand on a plank that I assumed must connect between trees. I’d never dared to walk on one of them before like Dooley, let alone in a ball gown—
“Go, Robin!” Creek whispered. I could see his dark figure moving across the plank, and I tested it with my bare foot, feeling like I was about to step on a highwire. But the problem was I’m not an acrobat! Carefully, I padded across the wood, holding out my arms for balance, until I got so scared that I just scampered to the other end, breathless.
“Good job,” Creek whispered, giving me a high-five. “Now only fifteen more.”
“What?” I gasped.
“You heard me,” he stepped out on the next plank. “Let’s get a move on!”
My heart beat as fast as a hummingbird’s as we criss-crossed from tree to tree. Thank God the planks were stable. And the fact that I was barefoot helped me grip the wood with my toes and steady myself each time my balance wavered. I carefully inched over each one, watching
Creek’s silhouette in the moonlight trot easily across the boards. In his dashing tux, he looked like a character from a fairy tale who could magically skip between trees. That thought made me giggle for a second, and I lost my footing and found my body pitching into the night air . . .
There’s nothing like falling under a canopy of stars in a sparkly ball gown to make your life seem completely surreal.
The ground met my back with a cruel thud. Reality check—
“Robin, you okay?” Creek dropped from the tree and was instantly at my side.
Roaring engines sounded perilously close, and we could see the bright lights of the trucks closing in. Creek quickly laid on top of me, covering my iridescent dress with his black suit.
“Ow,” I whispered. “You’re really heavy.”
My complaints were interrupted by an awful silence.
Creek and I both held our breaths.
We could hear the Hummer doors slam shut, then the sickening crunch of boots through brush.
“They gotta be here somewhere. We saw their car.”
“You know these backwoods types. They can vanish like groundhogs.”
I elbowed Creek. “That’s Tweedle’s voice,” I panicked. “He came with them.”
“Shit, these woods go on for miles. They could be anywhere.”
“Then shoot.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” Tweedle ordered. “Open fire and flush ’em out.”
“What if we hit one of ’em?”
“What do you care? You get five grand a piece no matter what. You can bury them out here and nobody’ll know.”
I swallowed hard.
Oh my God, five grand is all we were worth? Before the ball, the very dress I was wearing could’ve commanded five figures—maybe six! We should’ve just sold it to pay for Brandi’s treatments. But then we would never have found my mother’s heart—
I wriggled my hand over the bust line of my dress, relieved to find the ruby was still there.
Creek gripped my fingers with a painful urgency, as though it might be the last thing he ever did.
Robin in the Hood (Robbin' Hearts Series Book 1) Page 20
