Dangerous Proposition

by Jessica Lauryn

  Looking up, she spotted a door. Something told her it didn’t lead to an elevator waiting to take her to the top floor.

  She could only imagine what sorts of activities took place in a multi-story building with only one window. She only hoped she lived long enough to tell the girls in the teachers’ lounge what they were.

  Taking a deep breath, Julia stepped inside the stairwell. She climbed several flights of steps. Reaching the top, she came before a door. It was large, and it was made of steel. Taking a deep breath, she walked forward then knocked on the door.

  The titanium barrier swung inward, and the entrance to a dimly lit room was revealed. Griffin Strycker, who was wearing a white collared shirt and pants, stepped into the doorway.

  “Delilah.” He smiled. “So, we meet again.”

  “Oh, cut the crap.”

  Eager to be through with the inevitable, Julia pushed past him. The room he was standing in was larger than she’d realized. It had a decent amount of furniture, which lessened the likelihood that he’d simply set up camp there in the hopes of luring her in.

  There were china cabinets in the corners and ornate shelves stacked with books. Two leather couches stood opposite them. They centered around a glass coffee table. Atop it was a bottle of wine and two wineglasses.

  Julia gave the wine a double take. The fact that it was sitting on ice couldn’t be good. Either that guy had a bimbo stashed in the other room, or else he’d been expecting her. She was really, really hoping it was the former.

  Emitting a dry laugh, she turned to face Griffin.

  “Too much?” he said.

  With her hands at her sides, Julia started forward. Coming before him, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not sure what sort of kink you’re into, but let me make something perfectly clear. The only reason I came here is because you said you know where my father is. And I’m not leaving until I get some answers.”

  “Naturally, sweets. I just thought you might like a drink first.” Griffin walked to the table. Picking up the bottle of wine, he took a corkscrew from beside the ice bucket and popped the cork.

  She wouldn’t accept a drink from this guy if she was dying of thirst. But if he intended to drug her, perhaps she could use his twisted plot to her advantage.

  “Whatever.” She walked past him, taking a seat on the couch. Crossing one leg over the other, she patted the seat beside hers.

  “I’m impressed,” Griffin said, sitting against the edge of her cushion.

  “Yeah?” Julia inched back. “And why’s that, slick?”

  “You finally managed to lose that boyfriend of yours.”

  Julia cleared her throat. Thinking quickly, she forged a cool smile. “Yes, well. You don’t exactly get the inside track on your enemies by shunning them. Do you?”

  “Westwood’s your enemy now?” Griffin narrowed his gaze. “When did that happen exactly?”

  “When he decided to screw my father out of half a million dollars.” Taking a breath, Julia said, “My dad and I have been planning this for months, how I’d get close to Colin and trick him into confessing his crime. I’d certainly love to meet the genius who thought kidnapping Tucker Dyson was going to lure the guy in. In case you haven’t noticed, Colin Westwood only looks out for Colin Westwood.”

  Griffin eyed her carefully. Stroking his chin, he said, “All this time, you’ve been playing Westwood? Hoping to do what, exactly?”

  “Take him out of the picture, of course. Theoretically speaking, once Colin Westwood confesses he stole the money, he’ll be of little use to us. Except, of course, for that multi-million dollar operation he’s working for.” When he didn’t correct her, Julia went on, “Naturally, when I realized that you and I were on the same side, I knew I could trust you. In fact, I was hoping that we might work together. Work out an arrangement that could work to our”—she tapped her cheek—“mutual advantage.”

  “I’d say there’s a definite possibility.”

  As the yellow liquid was poured into her glass, Julia watched Griffin’s hands. They appeared to do nothing but pour.

  “What did you have in mind?” he asked.

  “An exchange.” She took the wine as it was handed to her. “My father, for Colin Westwood.”

  The lanky man’s irises popped. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because.” She leaned in close. “The idea was never to kill Colin Westwood. Only to make him suffer.”

  “That’s very interesting. You know, there is another man who would be very impressed with your tactics.”

  “I’m sure there is,” Julia said, her eyes drifting to the wine in her glass. Seeing that it was clear short of a few bubbles, she said, “But I work alone. With my dad, I mean. We work alone.”

  “Perhaps I could persuade you to change your mind.”

  “How?”

  Griffin smiled. He gestured to the hallway opposite where they were sitting. “There’s a whole world of reasons waiting for you. Come see for yourself.”

  She had no intention of walking into a trap. But a brief distraction might give her an opportunity to switch their drinks, in case he had somehow managed to slip anything into hers. She stood, waiting for him to take the lead.

  Griffin started down the hall. He walked past a series of doors to one larger than the others, which appeared to be a safe. Very wary that he might attempt to lock her inside, Julia stood several feet back as he typed the combination onto the computer board positioned to the right of the door.

  Opening it, Griffin revealed a room more that was more than half the size of the one they were standing in. As she stepped inside, Julia’s foot kicked against something hard. She gasped. Around the room were metal cabinets. Griffin opened one, sliding back a tray containing garnets. The one beneath it held emeralds, the one atop it sapphires.

  The color of the gemstones, sharp and bold, was breathtaking. They were numerous, all lined up in a perfect arrangement. The cabinet beside it held sparkling white diamonds, more of them than Julia had ever seen in her life.

  “What in the world…” She opened her mouth, unable to hide her astonishment. “What is all this?”

  “I have to give you credit, sweets. You’re quite the little liar. For a minute there, you actually had me believing your story.”

  “What are you talking about? What I told you was the—”

  He took her hand, pushing up the cuff of her shirtsleeve. He fingered her ruby bracelet. “Westwood gave this to you. Didn’t he?”

  Julia was so startled she couldn’t speak. How had he known she was wearing a bracelet, or that Colin had given it to her? Her heart pounded in her chest.

  “Your story was convincing,” Griffin said. “But there’s one piece of the puzzle you missed.”

  “What piece would that be?”

  He gestured for her to walk ahead of him. The two of them exited the safe, and Griffin shut the door. A moment later he returned to his seat on the couch. Julia sat beside him.

  “Twelve years ago,” he began, “a young billionaire with powerful connections and vast resources started a business venture. Specifically, he smuggled gemstones, diamonds mostly, from Africa. There were laborers and miners, of course, but the operation consisted primarily of ten men, three of whom reported directly to the leader.”

  Please tell me the leader wasn’t Colin, Julia thought, doing all she could to reassure herself that anything this man told her would be a lie.

  Looking square into her eyes, Griffin continued, “Of those three men, one was an ex-crime boss, one a Harvard grad, and the other, unbeknownst to the leader, was an undercover cop. The cop, a man by the name of Dexter Scott, kept his identity a secret from the leader for over three months. That was, until the leader caught him taking pictures late one night. Naturally, the leader didn’t want blood on his hands, so he recruited a young man who was eager to assist him with his ‘problem.’ Only, instead of following through on his assignment, the young man ran. And, unbeknownst to the leader
, he did that with the help of his brother.”

  “The young man’s brother, heir to his own family’s fortune, told the leader that he would recruit someone to finish the job the assassin hadn’t. But in the midst of his doing so, he stumbled upon some valuable information, something the leader didn’t want anyone, namely his father, to know.”

  Julia didn’t imagine there was anything worse than learning that someone managed a diamond smuggling operation. She settled her hands against her knee caps.

  “The young man’s brother agreed to keep the leader’s secret on one condition. That was, if he made him a partner in his smuggling enterprise, Project Gemstone.”

  Julia perked up her ears. This story was unbelievable, and the chilling look in Griffin’s eyes assured her that what he was saying was the truth.

  Her mind was racing. She wondered who each of the players on the board might be. She was even more anxious to know why he was so eager to throw the information onto the table.

  “Why are you telling me this?” she asked uneasily.

  “Because,” he answered with a cool smile. “The young man’s brother is Colin Westwood.”

  Julia gasped. She threw a hand over her open mouth.

  A man as rich as Colin Westwood couldn’t possibly need to smuggle diamonds. He might have gotten swept away by the glamour of being part of a criminal enterprise, but he couldn’t possibly have blackmailed his way into something like this. It had to be a lie. Something Griffin had made up to get her so flustered she couldn’t think straight.

  Of course, if Colin was involved with this Project Gemstone, it would explain a lot. Why he was so secretive, and why he’d insisted she come to New York with him instead of going to the police. Why he felt responsible for her father’s disappearance. What he’d had to gain from keeping her by his side all this time.

  Tears stung in her eyes. She turned, unable to keep them from trickling down her face.

  “Why should I believe you?” she demanded sharply.

  “Look at your bracelet. The stones are cut the same way as the ones in my vault. Westwood got it from a jewelry emporium here in the City, one that purchases its stones from a third-party carrier, which gets its cuts from Project Gemstone.”

  Julia’s vision blurred. She could hardly believe this was happening. Could Alec have been the hired gun? Had Colin helped him escape? From what Abigail had told her, Alec had acted very strangely when the two of them had talked about Mark Becker. He’d sounded as secretive as Colin.

  Then there’d been Lena’s engagement ring, the one Lucas Ramone had given her, the one with a stone the size of a pigeon egg.

  If she was right, and everything Griffin had said was true, then Colin had blackmailed Lucas Ramone to finagle a partnership in his enterprise. And the man Julia had wanted since she was a teenager—maybe even loved—was a lying, plundering criminal.

  She didn’t want to think about that. In fact, she absolutely could not think about it. Biting back her tears, she saw that Griffin’s eyes were still on the safe. She sat up straight and leaned forward. With one eye on him, she carefully switched their wineglasses.

  She sat back, crossing one leg over the other. “Actually,” she said, “I think I could use that drink right about now.”

  Griffin turned. He picked up the glass she’d placed in front of him. “A toast,” he said. “To you, Julia. May this be only the beginning of your good fortune.”

  “I’ll drink to that.” Julia clanked her glass with his. Lifting it to her lips, she sipped her wine in big swallows. The liquid relaxed her, and she had more of it than she’d intended to. She watched Griffin carefully as he drank from the other glass.

  Setting hers on the table, she sat back. Her throat felt warm, but no more than it had when she’d drank wine in the past. She eased into a smile. “So, slick. This whole ‘take Tucker Dyson to get to Colin’ plot was certainly something. Minus the whole ‘take Tucker’ part. How’d you come up with it, anyway?”

  “What makes you think I have the slightest idea what you’re talking about?”

  “Come on. Don’t tell me you’re just some peon on the totem pole. When you mentioned the three men who reported to the leader, I thought for sure that you were one of them. The Harvard grad, isn’t that right?”

  “Let’s just say”—Griffin smiled in her direction—“that Colin Westwood is in for one hell of a surprise.”

  “And what the heck is that supposed to—” Julia caught her head. Her body, suddenly unsteady, shifted sideways.

  “Woo,” she said. “Strong stuff.”

  “Really? Something tells me you’ve played beer pong with the best of them.”

  “Well, maybe once or—”

  A wave of dizziness overcame her. She slid like a slinky, collapsing onto the couch’s armrest. She lost her grip and tumbled face-first onto the carpet.

  “What the hell did you do to me, you bastard?” she said, speaking in a voice that was barely a whisper.

  “What’s the matter, baby cakes? Pick up the wrong glass after you switched them on me?” Stroking her cheek, Griffin crouched beside her. Thrusting his hand into her hair, he lifted her head, bringing his lips against her ear. “Don’t you worry. I plan on taking very good care of you, Julia.”

  With her last ounce of strength, Julia raised her hand to smack his face. But before she could lift her arm, everything went black.

  Chapter 21

  It was late in the afternoon. Birds chirped as the branches on which they were perched swayed in the breeze. Sunshine lit the acres of grass that surrounded the Westwood Mansion.

  The air was warm—it was the best weather they’d had in weeks. Alec planned on taking full advantage of it. He was going to do something he hadn’t in ages—take Lena on a picnic.

  Of course, an afternoon of champagne and deviled eggs wasn’t likely to lead to the romp in the sand it used to. Not with his wife having entered the second trimester of her pregnancy. But he could always hope for a miracle.

  Entering the dining room, he glanced toward the head of the table, where he expected to find Lena enjoying what had become her favorite afternoon snack, strawberry ice cream and peanut M & M’s. But instead, he found Jeffrey polishing with a bottle of lemon oil.

  Hoping that perhaps they’d finally made it past the cravings stage of the pregnancy, Alec approached him and said, “Pardon me, Jeffrey. Have you seen Lena?”

  “No, sir,” the butler replied, eyes fixed firmly on the spot he was cleaning.

  Stepping closer, Alec stared at the section of pine. It didn’t look any different from the wood surrounding it.

  “Did she mention she was going out?”

  The older man shrugged. “I couldn’t say, sir.”

  “Jeffrey…”

  “Sir?”

  “Look at me.”

  With his eyes focused on the floor, Jeffrey dropped the cloth he held. He offered a strained smile, as he often did when he was in a hurry to watch his favorite television program and he’d neglected to vacuum behind the furniture.

  “Where is my wife?” Alec asked, throwing a hint of warning into his voice.

  Jeffrey hesitated a long moment. “Out front, sir.”

  “Doing what, exactly?”

  Jeffrey sighed. “She’s going after your brother.”

  Son of a bitch! Alec charged to the staircase. He hurried down to the first floor, nearly tripping as his foot missed the final step. Noting that he was still standing, he made a dash to the front door.

  As he stepped outside, he caught sight of the driver putting Lena’s suitcase into the trunk of the town car. He raced down the path. Drawing a short breath, he clasped his wife’s elbow as the driver opened the passenger door.

  “Planning a road trip?” Staring Lena down, he said, “You don’t mind if I ask where you’re going, do you?”

  “Peter, would you please excuse us?” Lena’s eyes followed the older man as he walked to the porch. She lowered her voice and said, “
Colin and Julia are in trouble. And unlike you, I’m not willing to sit at home while the two of them are missing in action in the middle of a suicide mission.”

  “Well that’s too bad,” Alec said. “Because I’m not letting you go after them.”

  Patting her baby bump, which was now the size of a small watermelon, Lena answered, “Last time I checked, this is my body.”

  “Last time I checked, this is my car.”

  “Then I’ll take a cab,” she said, turning on her heel.

  “The car’s not the problem.” Alec tailed her as she wandered from the running vehicle. “I have no idea what sort of danger you could be walking into. If it’s Lucas’s men we’re dealing with, there’s no telling what sort of hijinks they’ll pull. I’ve been trying to track down Colin for three weeks. The investigator I hired can’t find him. Julia Dyson, either.”

  “Dear God, Alec!”

  “I want to help Colin and Julia as much as you do, but this isn’t the way.”

  “Then suppose you tell me what is the way,” Lena said. “Sit back while Julia and your brother vanish off the face of the earth? They need us, Alec. Colin would be the first one to come to your rescue if you were in his shoes.”

  Alec seriously doubted that. But he wasn’t about to let his brother die, either. Colin might have made his bed, but he was still his brother, more like family to him than his own parents. He supposed he owed him something for that.

  “You’re right,” he said, cringing as he said the words. “But the last thing we need is something happening to you or to the baby.”

  “I’m going,” Lena said, climbing into the car.

  Alec sighed. “Then I guess I’m coming with you.”

  * * * *

  By the time he arrived at the hotel, which was sometime around noon, Colin was in rare form. His heart was racing, and there was a sharp pain in his abdomen. He was so furious that he had left Julia alone at the hotel that he was barely breathing.

  Entering the lobby, he charged ahead, almost plowing down the bellboy. After what was barely an apology, he raced to the elevator then pounded the button for the second floor.