So I simply say, “Thank you.”
Quincy O’Donnell enters the room. “I remember the day I brought my daughter home from Club Y.” I’m amazed that he doesn’t even flinch when he says it. I can’t imagine finding my own daughter in a bondage club. “Something had happened to her. And it’s taken six years for me to figure out what.”
He steps forward and extends a hand. I lift mine, way more shakily than I would like, and accept it.
“You’re welcome here. You’re also free to walk away. At least as soon as you’ve healed up a bit. I have a feeling my daughter will be more than happy to serve as your nursemaid.” He shakes his head. “I began to wonder if I’d ever see a day when someone caught her interest for more than ten minutes. It seems you’re the man.”
He turns on his heel and leaves the room.
Jade shoves aside some of the tubes and wires so she can lie down next to me.
“You’re an easier mark than I thought you would be,” she says. “But I’m happy to continue your training, if you like.”
I shake out a little laugh, wincing when I jiggle something that isn’t ready to be moved. “I just might take you up on that.”
“I’ve been thinking about Ireland,” she says. “I’ll fit right in there. And I’ve never been. Have you?”
“Nope.”
Her glorious hair, half hers, half existing only until she grows out her own, flows across my chest. I lift up a piece of it. I can’t believe she’s Emerald. And I can’t believe I didn’t know her the moment she walked into my room.
Dark hair, red hair. Pale, tan. Brown eyes, green eyes.
And the breasts. Those were definitely new.
Except maybe some part of me did. I knew right off that she was different. I just had no idea she was also exactly the same woman as that vision I never let go of.
“I figure we should probably get to know each other a little more. It’s been sort of a rushed courtship,” she says.
“Is that what we’re calling it?”
“It’s probably going to be good to see you in a situation where we’re not about to steal something or escaping people who are trying to kill us.”
I run my hand along her arm. “I think I might have to give you that,” I say. “Maybe a vacation will do us good.”
An older woman in jeans and a flowered blouse, but definitely with the air of a nurse, enters the room to check my blood pressure and temperature and sternly remind me to rest.
Jade doesn’t leave my side. She pulls up pictures of vacation homes on her phone, and we make plans for after my recovery. I keep having to touch her to make sure I’m not having some sort of strange near-death vision.
“So what do you want me to call you?” I ask. “Emerald? Jade? Marissa? Crystal?“
She looks up at me, her green eyes shiny, like jewels. “Which one do you like best?”
“Crystal,” I say. “It’s pretty.”
“My mother is Scandinavian,” she says. “Maybe we can spend some time there as well?”
“We can,” I say. “What did you decide to do about the swords? Or did Antony find them?“
Crystal glances up at me with a mischievous grin. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
She lays her head on my shoulder. As a hush falls over whatever building we’re in, I take a long deep breath and exhale.
I have no idea where I am or what I’m doing next. I don’t know if I still own property, or have a cent to my name, or what Antony might have done to unravel my decades of work.
But I find it doesn’t matter. For the first time in a long time, I can relax.
I’ve found the only thing that matters, the girl — the woman — who fills the hole that’s eaten at me for six years.
And I will not let her go.
Epilogue: Jacob
The drive to the castle is long and deliciously slow. For the last ten miles, we’ve been completely outside of civilization. Around us are rolling green hills and long expanses of empty countryside. It feels like heaven.
Crystal reaches over and covers my hand in hers. Even though it has been three months since she rescued me from Club Y, it’s still often hard to believe that she’s really here.
I’m in the process of selling two of my buildings in Manhattan, ones Antony couldn’t get his hands on. I’m keeping the deli with its hidden bunker. We have sealed off the tunnel between it and the high-rise where I once lived. Antony managed to take that one, but he has no idea it connects.
The deli actually has a small family living space at the back. I find it perfect. Plus, the deli is super useful for offloading smaller illegal items if I choose to get back in the business. Until then, a retired Vigilante and his wife are running it as part of their retirement.
For now Crystal and I are on hiatus as thieves. Should I later feel the need to increase my wealth again, I will certainly consider going back for a heist.
Or honest work.
Nah.
Regardless, for now I will relish the solitude, the rolling green hills, and a castle Crystal has fallen in love with.
“I can’t wait to see inside it,” she says. “I’ve been trying to visualize it from the pictures, but I don’t think I can quite get the sense of scale.”
I smile over at her. “You’re going to want to throw a giant Cinderella party in that grand ballroom, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely,” she says with a laugh. “I’m already designing a gown for my grand entrance.”
Our private road should be approaching. I slow down the car, and we peer out the window to make sure we don’t miss it. The directions, handwritten on a napkin by an innkeeper about twelve miles down the road, literally say to turn onto the dirt road next to the rock shaped like a mama bear.
“There it is!” Crystal cries. “It is shaped like a mama bear.”
I pull up to the unusual stone. She’s right. You have to know what you’re looking for, but I can make out an upright bear with a big Buddha belly and two rounded arms reaching out.
“We should name her Imelda,” Crystal says. “And your mama bear can watch over us every time we turn toward home.”
“Imelda it is,” I say. I drive forward and turn onto the hard-packed dirt road. It seems to lead to nowhere, and we roll along at a slow speed, waiting for our first glimpse of our new home.
We crest a hill, and then we see it.
“Oh,” Crystal says. “Just look at it.”
The castle is surrounded by nothing but farmland for miles. It is gray and massive, and looms over the ground.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Crystal cries.
We drive forward. A tall stone wall surrounds the castle, complete with turrets. Great iron gates are thrown open in the front. As we approach I spot two cars inside. A butler, because of course a castle requires a butler. And a housekeeper. We will add more staff over time. A property this large will require groundskeepers and maintenance workers, just to keep the basics in order.
It’s an outrageous purchase, truth be told, but Crystal’s excitement is infectious, and I find myself smiling as we pull around the giant fountain on the front lawn to arrive by the grand double doors that are two stories high.
“This is even crazy bigger than I had imagined,” Crystal says.
“It is quite large,” I say.
I kill the engine, and Crystal jumps out of the car.
I walk around the Aston Martin that we had shipped from the States. I’m not letting this car go for anything.
The front door opens, and a tall, stiff man in black pants and a crisp white shirt steps aside. “Welcome, sir and madam.”
“Ooooh!” Crystal says with a giggle. “He’s perfect.” She throws her arms around the man. “I love you!”
“Very good,” he says. “Would you like a tour?”
“Yes!” she squeals, and grabs my hand. “Let’s look!”
We follow the butler inside. The front hall is massive, with a great stone fireplace and groupings
of chairs throughout. Lamps line the walls and chandeliers hang low in an attempt to banish the dark.
“It’s like a movie!” Crystal says. She looks around, and then her eyes rest on the fireplace. “Oh! They did it!”
I follow her gaze.
Then freeze.
“You didn’t,” I say.
“I did!”
I walk up to the stone wall. Above the enormous hearth are seven swords arranged in an artful semi-circle.
“Is that really them?” I ask.
“It is!”
The stones gleam from the hilts.
“The blades are replicas, of course,” she says. “And easy to remove so as not to affect the value of the original hilts.” She clutches my arm. “Do you like them?”
I laugh. “I love them. I can’t believe you never sold them. They are worth more than the castle!”
“True!”
I pick her up and turn her in a circle. “Happy?” I ask her.
“So happy.”
I set her down. “First kiss in the new house?” I ask.
“I hope there’s more than that,” she says. She glances around for the butler, and upon realizing he has made himself scarce, whispers, “I also had the dungeon set up.”
“Oh, did you?
“I did. I want you to shackle me naked to the cold stone wall.”
I brush her hair away from her face. “Your wish is my command.”
“I’m sort of hoping you’ll command me a little bit.”
“Oh, I will.” I lean in to kiss her, savoring this moment, the new home, and the time I’ll have to learn every little thing there is to know about her. We can train here, plan here, or just be.
We’re interrupted by a sharp rapping on the door, the sound of metal striking metal.
“Who could that be?” Crystal asks. We creep slowly toward the entrance.
The butler appears from nowhere, but I wave him away.
I stand to one side of the door and Crystal moves to the opposite one. She glances around, then picks up a heavy iron vase and dumps the fresh flowers on the floor in a cascade of water.
I fling open the door.
Then pause.
It’s my brother.
“Zaccai?” I ask. “What are you doing here?”
He looks over at Crystal. “Do you always welcome guests with bludgeons?”
Crystal looks over at me. “This has got to be some family of yours. He’s a dead ringer.” She sticks the vase back on the shelf.
“I’m this big lug’s brother,” Zaccai says.
“Oh!” Crystal says. “Jacob mentioned you!” She rushes forward to give him a hug. He pats her back and looks over her shoulder at me in clear discomfort.
“You have a hugger,” he says.
“I do.”
Zaccai turns to the door. “I’ve brought company.”
He steps aside, and another man enters, perfectly dressed in a suit even I might envy.
“This is Jax,” he says. “An associate of mine.”
Associate. That means another Vigilante.
Jax nods to me and takes Crystal’s hand to bestow a kiss on the back of it. I glower at him as she blushes.
“We’re out of the game,” I say to Zaccai. “Unless you’re here to carry out that hit that was placed on me.”
Crystal scowls and jerks her hand back so that she can grab the vase again. She holds it threateningly near her head.
“No, no,” Zaccai says. “You two just have a skill set we’re interested in.” He pauses. “Well, she does.” He switches his gaze to Crystal. “I assume she can train you.”
I draw her next to me. She still wields the vase. “We’re retired,” I say. “On indefinite hiatus.”
Zaccai nods. “Well, all right.” He pulls something from his pocket and tosses it to me. “Use that to contact me if you change your mind. The reward is seventy million.”
I catch the small square. It appears to be a lump of metal.
“How do I use it?”
“Just hold it in your hand until the metal warms up. I’ll find you.” He gives me a little salute and turns to the door.
“Don’t you want to stay a little while?” Crystal asks. She’s lowered the vase. “You haven’t seen your brother since you were a teenager!”
Zaccai glances over at me, and I see my mother’s blue eyes in his face. He always did look more like her. “I’ve seen him now. Teach him what you know about explosives, and we’ll get to know each other plenty.”
He heads out the door. Jax gives us a sharp nod and follows him.
I watch them get into a gleaming gray car. It glides away, silent and stealthy, then disappears, only the occasional glint of metal and a puff of dust indicating that it even exists.
“They’re making those cars crazy good,” Crystal says. “You should trade yours in for the new model.” She sets the vase back down.
“What do you think the job is?” I ask.
“Who cares?” she says. “We’re retired.” She takes the metal cube from me and sets it on a shelf.
I laugh. “You’re right. We’re ordinary folk in an Irish castle.”
“Exactly.”
“So what next, my Irish-American princess?”
She takes my hand and leads me toward an archway. “Let’s go find that dungeon.”
* * *
I hope you enjoyed The Diamond Thief! If you are curious about the Vigilantes, there is a whole series about Jax!
The Vigilante’s Lover Series
Also by Annie Winters
The Vigilante’s Lover
The Vigilante’s Awakening
About the Author
Annie Winters is the romantic suspense pen name for USA Today bestselling author Deanna Roy. She also writes serials under the name JJ Knight.
Find her online at her web site, her Facebook page, her Facebook group of Vigilante fans, or on Goodreads and Bookbub.
The Diamond Thief Page 15