by Anna Lowe
“Do you remember what happened when you got to Maui? Did someone meet you at the airport?” Boone asked.
Nina stood, frowning. “I can’t remember.” Damn it. Why couldn’t she remember?
She started to pace, trying to stimulate useful memories. Not the license plate of her mother’s dinged-up car or the name of the cat she’d had as a kid — Paddington — but something that would shed light on her current situation.
“Who would want to kill me? Why?”
“My money’s on the wife,” Cruz said immediately. “Her and the stepdaughters.”
Nina held her head with both hands. “I don’t even know them. Why would they want me dead?”
“That old geezer left you—”
“His name is Lewis,” she snapped.
Cruz threw his hands up. “He left you fifty million reasons for someone to want you dead.”
“But I didn’t do anything. I never asked for the money. I’m not sure I even want it.”
“Hell, if you don’t want it, give it to me,” Cruz said.
Boone growled and shot Cruz a warning gaze.
Nina took a deep breath, telling herself to piece things together logically. She all but ran to the table where her mail lay and snatched up the thick envelope with the fancy print. Might there be some clue there?
A sheaf of papers slid out, along with a paperback-size package of some kind. She skimmed through the papers quickly.
Dear Ms. Miller, they all started, and most went on in legalese. All she really registered were a few snippets. Things like estate should be settled quickly, or account set up in your name, and all funds should be cleared by the end of the week.
All of it was dry, impersonal, and focused on money. Things she didn’t really care about. She cared about the who. The how. The why.
She turned the package over in her hands. It was wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with a string, like a wartime parcel of some kind. There was a note tucked behind the string, and she pulled it out. The script was long and loopy, the way her grandmother’s generation had been taught fine penmanship.
Dear Nina,
There are many crooked souls on earth — but many good people, too. You’re one of the latter. Thank you for all your kindness and good cheer. Thank you for bringing joy to the world, one mugful at a time.
She squeezed her lips together, wondering when Lewis had decided to will so much money to her. Wondering why he never told her.
Money can’t buy love or happiness, but it sure helps keep a roof over your head. My Mary was never one for foolish purchases, and we saved every cent we had. But when I saw her admiring this, I indulged both of us with one fine thing. Mary didn’t wear it out often because she didn’t like to show off, but she wore it at home. She said she loved how the light caught the color. If I had a daughter, I would leave her this, the jewel of my heart. So I leave it to you and wish you all the love, joy, and laughter that was in my dear wife’s heart
Yours truly,
Lewis McGee
Nina ran a finger over the writing, wishing she had a chance to thank Lewis for his trust.
“You gonna open that?” Boone asked quietly.
Nina wasn’t so sure. There was nothing Lewis could have squeezed into that package that could move her as much as his words. When she finally did reach for it, her hand trembled. The package was warm as if it had been left out in the sun. But it had been lying in the shade, and she swore the heat was coming from within the wrapping — or was she imagining that?
Slowly, she untied the knot and unwrapped something the size of a cigar box. Black and shiny, the jewelry box gleamed in the sun. She opened the tiny silver clasp, pushed back the layer of cloth covering what was inside, and—
Nina sucked in a sharp breath and sat down. Hard.
“Oh my God.” She repeated the words a few times. Lewis had left her that?
Footsteps whispered over the floor as Hunter and Cruz came to peer over her shoulder along with Boone, who whistled.
“Holy crap.”
“What is it?” Hunter murmured, and even Cruz seemed drawn in by the mystery.
Carefully, she clasped the silver chain and drew out the jewel, holding it up to the sun.
“A ruby,” she whispered. A ruby almost as big as a golf ball that caught the sunlight and glittered red from a thousand different facets.
“Holy shit,” Cruz muttered.
“A ruby?” Hunter asked, taken aback.
“A ruby.” She nodded, thinking of Lewis’s words. The jewel of my heart.
Chapter Thirteen
“The plot thickens,” Cruz muttered.
Boone wanted to smack the tiger — for no good reason other than being so unbearably on edge. In part, that was due to Nina being tense and the way her emotions jumped over to him. But also because of what he’d just learned. Cruz was right. Nina had millions of reasons for some jealous soul to want her dead.
She also had millions of reasons to no longer need him.
Money couldn’t buy everything, but hell — fifty million dollars? He lived in a shack by the beach on another man’s land. His life savings was closer to five hundred dollars than a thousand. Sure, Nina liked him, but really, how long would that last? Nina was a nice, responsible girl, and sooner or later, some nice, responsible man would lure her away.
His wolf growled. That was Tammy with Kramer. Nina is different. She’s special.
That was the problem. She was special — but he wasn’t. He was just him. Worse — he was a wolf shifter, and Nina was human. The shifter world was full of danger and intrigue. Pulling her into it would only expose her to more danger.
As if she’s not already in deep? his wolf snarled.
Holy shit, Cruz muttered into his mind. You know what that stone is?
Boone shrugged. What did he care about some gem? All he cared about was Nina.
That’s no ordinary stone, Cruz insisted.
Well, duh, Sherlock, he wanted to say. It had to be worth a fortune.
Look at it, Cruz hissed.
Boone looked. Okay, a big red stone. A big, freaking expensive red stone.
Feel it, Cruz insisted. Hell, just get anywhere near it.
Boone wasn’t about to grab Nina’s jewel, but he cupped her hand. Nina held the gem by the silver chain, but when she caught it in her left hand and brought it closer to her face, the temperature around him rose by two or three degrees.
It’s one of the Spirit Stones, Cruz murmured.
Boone leaned away. Holy shit.
Bet you — oh, let’s say, fifty million dollars — that’s what this is, Cruz went on.
“What do you know about this gem?” Hunter asked Nina very casually.
“Nothing. I didn’t know Lewis was rich.”
“He never mentioned it?”
She shook her head. “He barely ever mentioned his wife, and when he did, he choked up.”
Boone looked at Cruz. The Spirit Stones were a collection of five precious stones with special powers that had once been owned by a powerful dragon clan. But that horde had been scattered to the four winds centuries ago. And although the stories sounded a little kooky to him, Boone knew better than to doubt them. Kai’s mate, Tessa, was the keeper of the Lifestone, and it had protected her from dragon fire.
He went through the stones in his head. According to Silas, there was a Lifestone, a Waterstone, a Windstone…
This is the Firestone, Cruz murmured. It has to be.
Boone clenched his fist before the shake in it showed. He hadn’t given much thought to the Spirit Stones. The Lifestone was one, and it had helped Kai and Tessa fight off the dragon who’d been intent on claiming Tessa as his mate — and that was that as far as Boone was concerned. Tessa was awesome, and she fit right in with their little band of shifters at Koa Point. The place hadn’t felt the same since she and Kai had left for their trip to Arizona.
So, no, he hadn’t spent much time wondering about the other Spirit Stones
. But now, Silas’s words echoed through his brain.
When one of the stones wakes, it calls to the others.
Boone stared at the ruby. Is that why it was here? He thought destiny was bringing him Nina, but maybe she’d just been dragged along by fate.
We need to get a hold of Silas, fast, Cruz muttered.
Boone nodded. The problem was, Silas was somewhere in the continental US, tracking down the treasure stolen from his family by the dragon who’d attacked Tessa. Silas had been in and out of contact over the past few days. Who knew when they’d hear from him next?
Hunter rustled through the papers on the table and pulled one out to show Nina. “Look.”
Boone leaned in as Nina read the copy of a decades-old newspaper clipping out loud. Something from the society pages.
“Mr. and Mrs. Lewis McGee attending a benefit dinner for the Children’s Cancer Fund. Mrs. McGee is seen wearing the Harrington Ruby, purchased at an undisclosed price three months ago. It is said that Elizabeth Taylor lost the bid for the stone once owned by the Duchess of Rothersay…”
“He sent this thing by registered mail?” Cruz asked, looking at the envelope.
“That’s the best way,” Nina murmured. When Boone stared, she shrugged. “Lewis told me lots of stories, like how the Hope Diamond was once shipped by registered mail to make it look like a plain package instead of something worth millions.”
“Here it is again,” Hunter said, flipping through the printouts he’d amassed. When he put a finger right on the page he was seeking, Boone was impressed. The bear shifter must have been up half the night, tracking all those articles down.
The article was another obituary for Lewis McGee, and one section was underlined. Among his assets are a ten-million-dollar Florida estate and the six-million-dollar Harrington Ruby…
“Six million?” Nina screeched, quickly tucking the ruby back in its case and pushing it away.
But monetary value was just one aspect of the gem, and Boone knew it. What power does the Firestone have? he asked Cruz.
Can’t remember. Did Silas say?
Hunter looked blank, too, and Boone wanted to shake them both.
“When did you say you got this?” Hunter asked Nina.
She turned to Boone. “Yesterday the receptionist said the mail just arrived, right?”
He nodded.
“I wonder if the lawyer even knows what was in there,” Cruz mused.
Boone shook his head. “I doubt it. He was probably just acting on McGee’s orders.”
“So does someone want Nina dead for the money or the ruby?” Cruz asked.
Nina shivered, and Boone nearly did, too. A Spirit Stone complicated things by a factor of ten. Twenty. Fifty. Humans coveted gems for their monetary value, but shifters revered the Spirit Stones for their powers. Dragons were especially drawn by the legends and mystical aspect of the stones. Silas had suspected that his archenemy Drax might have been behind the fight for Tessa’s Lifestone…
Shit. Boone could protect Nina from humans and from most shifter species. But if dragons were involved, that was a whole different ball game. He wasn’t afraid to take on a dragon, but odds were, he’d lay down his life in doing so.
I’d die for Nina, his wolf growled.
Of course he would. The problem was, he’d prefer a long, happy life with her. An honorable death didn’t have the same appeal.
He hung his head. Maybe a long, happy life with Nina wasn’t even in the cards. Maybe he was kidding himself about that.
An alarm buzzed, and Cruz went to check it out. “Someone at the front gate.”
Boone flashed his teeth, warning Cruz to be on his guard.
Like you have to tell me that, Cruz grumbled before heading off. Boone could practically see the tiger shifter swish his tail, miffed.
Hunter stood and followed. I’ll back him up. You try to get ahold of Silas.
When Hunter strode off, Boone was sorely tempted to pull Nina into his arms. Did the news change anything between them? But Nina was still processing it all, he could tell. She tucked McGee’s note into the jewelry box as if it were every bit as precious as the gem, then stood abruptly.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” she asked out of the blue.
A moment later, they both broke into laughter and fell into each other’s arms. He hugged her fiercely, more relieved than he could say. Maybe he still had a chance with her. Maybe once he explained…
“I guess the waitress part is in my DNA,” she laughed.
He shook his head. “What’s in your DNA is your ability to listen. To smile. To make people feel like they count.” His heart skipped a little at the thought. She’d sure done that to him.
She tucked her head along his shoulder and held on tight.
“Do you remember everything now?” he ventured.
“Not everything. I still don’t remember how I got on that boat that night or who those men were. I remember further back, though. At least, the important things.”
“Then tell me the important things,” he whispered, figuring it would do her good.
“I remember my mom.” She sniffed a little. “I remember my house and the people I worked with. Good folks, really. And the nice neighbor from across the street — Mrs. Lorenzi. She made me a lasagna when my mom died and always kept an eye out for me. I remember going to college…”
She trailed off there, and he held her tighter. “What did you want to study?”
She laughed, though there was no joy in the sound. “Psychology. But I had to stop when my mom got sick. It was hard enough to juggle work and study, and then the bills started adding up…” Her voice faded again.
He smoothed his hand over her hair. “I’d bet you anything that McGee guy would have preferred you over the best shrink.”
She laughed. “You’re not supposed to use the word shrink.”
“Tell you what,” he said, inhaling her scent. “When you get your degree, I’ll make sure I won’t call you a shrink.”
She pulled back and looked at him with eyes wide in wonder.
“What?” he asked.
She smiled. “My mom used to say that the same way. ‘When you get your degree.’ Like she really believed I could do it someday.”
“I do believe it. Even without fifty million dollars, I would still believe.”
She frowned, and he cursed himself for bringing it up.
“I don’t even know what it’s like to have money. I buy most of my stuff at thrift shops. I clip coupons. I’m not sure what I’d even do with a thousand dollars, let alone fifty million.”
“You could finish college, for one thing. And you know what? You can shop at thrift stores and clip coupons for as long as you want.” She laughed, but he persisted. “Why the hell not?”
She pulled him back into a hug. “That’s what I love about you, Boone.”
His ears perked, and his heart stopped momentarily. Did he dare ask if she meant it?
Dare, his wolf egged him on. Dare.
“Love?” he whispered, holding his breath.
Nina looked up at him. She caught her lower lip with her tongue, then nodded slowly. “I didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with someone so quickly, Boone, but yes, I do. I mean, I think I do. I mean — I know I could be all mixed up. But what else can it be? When you touch me, I feel alive. When you’re away from me, part of me wilts and dies. I look at you, and all I want is you. You make me feel good. Happy. Secure. I don’t need fifty million dollars. I don’t need a jewel. I wouldn’t know what to do with it. I just need you, Boone. And that’s love, right?”
Boone locked his knees before they buckled at the force of her words.
“That’s love,” he managed. “I love you too, Nina. Ever since the first time I touched you…” He trailed off. Did he dare finish that sentence? The first time I touched you, my wolf howled inside. You’re my destined mate, Nina. I know you are.
He was still wrestling with words and emotions when h
eavy footsteps scuffed the perimeter of the building, and Hunter cleared his throat.
Boone didn’t release his hug. Hunter could wait.
Boone, Hunter called.
Not now, man.
Boone. Hunter’s voice was sharper, and that should have been a sign. Hunter never got riled up. Never. But Boone was so focused on Nina, he let that detail go.
I said, not now.
It’s got to be now, man. Kramer’s here.
Boone froze. Nina pulled back, picking up on his tension immediately.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
Hunter looked at his feet, at the thatched roof, then at the floor. Anywhere but at her face. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Boone snarled and stepped forward. Like hell, he’d let Kramer in to see Nina. Kramer has nothing to do with Nina.
Hunter pursued his lips. Not Kramer. Not exactly. But his client…
Kramer had a goddamn client?
“Who’s here to see me?” Nina’s voice trembled. She might not be a shapeshifter, but she sensed the danger, all right.
Hunter took a deep breath and glanced at Boone, then Nina. Why did he look so…sorry? So sad for them both?
“Who is it?” she insisted.
Hunter opened his mouth, closed it, and finally opened it again. “Your husband, Nina. Your husband is here to see you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Nina’s mind spun so fast, she couldn’t think straight. Her thoughts collided and bounced off each other, splitting her mind. She stared at Hunter. He was kidding, right?
Slowly, he shook his head.
Wait. How could he mean it? She wasn’t married. She couldn’t be.
“But…” she said, turning to Boone for support.
Boone’s face was pale, and the space between them turned cold. “Your husband? You have a husband?”
“No!” she yelped. “I mean, I don’t remember…”
She could see the anguish all over Boone’s face. How could you not remember your husband?
She asked herself the same thing. No, she demanded it of herself, jabbing an accusatory finger in her mind. How could she love a man enough to marry him and then forget? If she had a husband, he’d been completely erased from her mind, the same way the traumatic memory of getting into the motorboat had been wiped out.