by Nova Raines
Kaidan’s eyes are wide, disbelieving. “So you stole the diamond? You never mentioned any of this. If it’s true, why didn’t you just go to the police?”
“They told me they have cop friends and would know if I did. And they threatened to hurt Rowan if I didn’t do what they wanted.”
Kaidan steps closer, until he’s mere inches from me. I feel Rowan stiffen beside me, ready to intervene.
Kaidan searches my face. “Why didn’t you just tell me? If this is true… why? Why steal from me? And when? Was it that last night…?”
He looks so betrayed, I want to hug him, but he must hate me so much right now. “Yes. It was. I wasn’t planning on taking it, but they had Rowan. They were going to kill him! I didn’t know what else to do. And I was going to tell you, but then the FBI showed up, and I never got the chance. And I was afraid that when I told you, you’d think I only got close to you to get the diamond.”
“And did you?” he asks, his voice rough.
“Maybe… maybe at first. But—”
Kaidan holds a hand up and turns to go. “I can’t listen to any more of this.”
I reach out and grab his sleeve, and he hesitates. “I thought I had more time! James said he was working on removing the one condition, but clearly he was just stealing all my money. I took the diamond to the law office, hoping I could get some of my inheritance… but then I found out the money was gone. I did the only thing I could to get them to free Rowan. I gave them the diamond as collateral to buy us some time.”
Kaidan pushes my hand off his sleeve in disgust. He doesn’t believe me. He thinks I’m full of shit. He heads toward the door, and I hurry over to my phone. “I have proof.” I shove the phone in Kaidan’s hands. “Look.”
He flips through the pictures—pictures of Rowan’s destroyed apartment, of Rowan, beaten up, kidnapped. His brows go up, and he looks at Rowan as if comparing his bruised face to what I’m showing him.
Kaidan looks back at me, hurt in his eyes. “How am I supposed to trust you? This could just be part of your scam.”
I wish to God I could escape the way he’s looking at me right now. Like I’m shit on the bottom of his shoe.
Rowan steps forward. “I know where their operation is based out of. We’ve been there. This isn’t a scam. Hayley was going to turn herself over to the cops a few days ago… I didn’t want her to. We were gonna try to get the diamond back. She just did what she thought she had to do. To save me. If you wanna go to the police, you better tell them I stole that diamond.”
Kaidan rubs his forehead and walks away from us both and over to the couch. He sinks down on it, head in his hands. I go and sit in the chair across from him, too scared to sit beside him. The way he looked at me just now… I’ll never be able to erase it from my mind. Or my heart.
He hates me. But I hate myself more.
Rowan gives me a look, and I gesture for him to leave. He pauses but then heads back to the guest room to give Kaidan and me a minute alone.
When Kaidan finally raises his head, his expression is hard. There’s no feeling in his eyes. He’s cold. Distant. But I know now that he’s just hiding all his pain. Pain I caused.
“We’re taking care of this,” Kaidan says firmly. “Now. I can’t deal with any more scandal.”
I nod. “I’ll do anything you want.”
“Good. Get Rowan back out here.” Kaidan clenches his jaw and looks through me, like I’m not even there. Like he can’t bear to look at me. “We have some plans to make.”
It’s Tuesday morning, and our plan is in place. There’re so many ways for this to go wrong, I can barely count them all.
I’m sitting in my Mercedes in the seedy part of town where I came to get Rowan, but it’s not at their base of operations. Luis asked me to wait for him several streets away. There’s a rare storm brewing in the skies, and a few fat drops of rain plop onto my windshield. It fits my mood perfectly. The warehouses to either side of me are riddled with graffiti and broken windows and appear to be totally abandoned. And there’s not another person in sight. I don’t want to do this, but I have to.
I take a deep breath and check the rearview mirrors again to be sure the paps haven’t followed. I took the car out last night and had to do a whole lot of maneuvering to get them off my trail. But now I’m clean. I tap my steering wheel nervously and glance over at the briefcase of money sitting in my passenger seat. Kaidan’s money. My phone beeps, and I startle in my seat. It’s a message from Rowan.
“Back out. I can go instead of you.”
My hand’s shaking as I type back.
“They were very clear that it had to be me. They don’t want to see you again.”
“Be safe. We’re close by. I can see you from here.”
I take a deep breath and dart a look around again. Wherever he is, I can’t see him. I’m not alone. But still. So much could go wrong before they could get to me. They aren’t that close, because if they were, Luis might detect them. And I was told to come alone.
We’re only gonna have one chance to pull this off.
A black SUV pulls up a few yards away on the other side of the street, and I try to put on my game face.
Luis’s beefy henchman Carlos gets out of the car, and instead of the rush of fear I expect, all I feel is red anger. These fuckers have made my life a living hell and forced me to make choices I never wanted to have to make. It ends today.
I grab the briefcase, get out of the car, and resolutely stride toward Carlos. I wore my usual clothes for this: high heels, jeans, and a tank top. Not the best get-up for this mission, but I don’t want them getting even a whiff that this is going to go any different than they expect it to.
Beefy’s wearing dark glasses, so I can’t see his eyes. “Get in.”
A little flicker of fear courses through me. I can’t let them take me away from here. “No. You said we’d meet in a building here. I’m not getting in that car.”
“Get in or no deal.”
“Then the deal’s off.” I hold my chin up, hoping my bluff works, but my heart is pounding so hard I can hear it.
Carlos gives me a stiff nod.
“And I also want to see the diamond,” I add.
Carlos taps the window, and it rolls down revealing Luis in the passenger seat. He says something to him. Luis looks tense as he flashes me the diamond. My heart beats even faster. Then Luis rolls the window back up.
If he hadn’t brought the diamond, this plan would be dead in the water.
“Follow me.” Carlos says. “Luis will meet us inside.”
Carlos crosses the street back to where my car is and uses a key to unlock the door to the empty warehouse. I follow him down a corridor and into an enormous, empty room. There’s trash along the walls and an old tattered mattress in one corner. But otherwise, the place is deserted.
We wait a couple of minutes, me clutching my briefcase, Carlos staring at me, hands crossed in front of him. My pulse is a rush in my ears as the seconds tick by.
After what seems like forever, Luis and another one of his thugs enter the room.
He takes off his glasses and gives me a smarmy smile. “I’m glad we finally get to do business. I was starting to worry about you.”
I stare him down. “Maybe you should worry about yourself.”
He cracks a real smile at my brazenness. “The money.”
“The diamond.”
Luis pulls out the diamond, and I hand over the briefcase as he drops the necklace into my palm.
My future, in the palm of my hand. Any time now, Row. It’s all I can do not to look back at the entrance to see if my rescuers are coming.
The other thug steps closer to me, and Carlos holds open the briefcase so Luis can count the money.
The full amount I owe is in there, including the interest he charged me.
Luis closes the briefcase, apparently satisfied, and nods to Beefy #2. His hand closes around mine, and I let out a cry as he rips the necklace from my grasp
.
“That’s mine!”
Carlos hands it back to Luis, and Luis gives me a look of disgust. “Oh, didn’t I mention? I’ll be keeping this.” He drops the diamond into his jacket pocket and gestures to his men.
I glance around at all of them and manage to look at the entrance. Empty. Rowan’s not here. No one’s here yet, and these assholes just took the money and my diamond. And now they’re leaving.
I can’t let Luis leave with the necklace. Rage courses through me. I’m not even thinking as I lunge toward Luis.
I don’t get very far. He grabs me by both arms and whirls me around. His arm presses against my throat. I flail and manage to scratch my nails down his face before he can stop me.
The cold barrel of a gun presses into my temple.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Luis hisses into my ear. “It appears you’re a loose end.”
He crushes my throat, and I struggle to suck some air in. Black dots dance around in front of me. He’s going to knock me out. Then take me somewhere and kill me. This is it. I fucked up. This is the end. I try to kick my feet, but the gun against my head is a warning I can’t ignore.
And then I’m sliding toward darkness.
“Let her go.”
The voice sounds like it’s coming down a tunnel, and my vision’s hazy. But that was Kaidan’s voice.
Luis lessens his chokehold, and I take a pained breath. My vision returns, and I focus on the scene in front of me.
Kaidan is standing there with four of his personal guards right behind him, dressed in their usual black, including Charles. And all of them have their guns trained on the drug dealers.
Then Rowan appears at Kaidan’s side. He’s royally pissed off, and he’s got his gun pointed at Luis. “Drop your fucking gun.”
Luis loosens his grasp on me but doesn’t let go. “Fucking cunt.” His guards haven’t had time to pull their weapons, and they’re looking at my rescuers warily.
“Let her go,” Kaidan says, his voice hard. “The rest of you. Bullets on the ground. Then the weapons.”
Sweat beads up on my forehead. You could hear a pin drop in the silence. The thugs stare at my rescuers but don’t follow Kaidan’s orders. They’re waiting for Luis to make a move.
“Do it,” Luis says.
Carlos and the others take out their weapons and empty their cartridges on the concrete floor. The pings echo in the silence. Then they place the guns on the floor. Rowan and Charles kick them far out of reach.
After another tense moment, Luis finally lets me go and empties and lowers his weapon to the floor. I stumble forward a step, but the second Rowan kicks that gun away, I whirl around to face Luis.
My knee connects with his groin, and the look of shocked pain on his face makes everything worth it. He sinks down on the floor, grabbing himself, his face twisted in a livid grimace.
I give him a smile and pluck the diamond from his jacket pocket. “Oh, didn’t I mention? I’ll be keeping this.”
I saunter away from him and stand next to Rowan. The diamond cuts into my damp palm, and I’m suddenly heady from the adrenaline and maybe my almost blackout.
Rowan retrieves the briefcase full of money from Carlos and passes it off to Charles. Then he holsters his gun and, without warning, slams a fist into Beefy’s face.
I purse my lips and watch, unflinching, as bright red blood gushes from Carlos’s nose. He looks like he wants to attack Rowan, but with all the guns trained on him, he can’t.
“That’s for Hayley. And me,” Rowan says.
“You shouldn’t have gotten involved,” Luis spits at Kaidan. “I know who you are. You’ll pay for this.” He looks like he’s in pain as he stands up.
Kaidan steps into Luis’s space and leans close. “If you know who I am,” he says, his voice low and threatening, “then you know I have far more friends than you do.”
Luis licks his lips and doesn’t answer.
“You ever fuck with Hayley or Rowan or anyone I know ever again, or even breathe a word of any of this… that breath will be your last.”
Luis clenches his jaw but doesn’t say a word in reply.
Kaidan narrows his eyes. “Do. You. Understand?”
“Yes,” Luis chokes out.
Kaidan wipes his hands together like he’s brushing away filth, then takes the briefcase from Charles and heads for the exit. Rowan holsters his gun, and he and I follow Kaidan out. The guards stay behind so we have time to get to safety.
The second we’re back outside in the gray light of day, all the adrenaline drains from my body, leaving me weak, shaking. The Jag and another SUV are waiting, parked behind my car. We need to get out of here.
Rowan wraps me in a tight embrace, and I hold on to him like I might drown if I let go.
“You did great in there,” Rowan says. “It’s over.”
I give him a smile. “So did you.”
“You’re shaking,” he says. “Let me take your car. You ride with Kaidan.”
I glance at Kaidan. He’s a few feet away, watching me with an expression I can’t read.
I tear my gaze away. “I can’t,” I whisper. “He hates me.”
Rowan rubs a hand down my arm and leans close. “No. Trust me,” he says, his voice low. “He really cares about you. He’s trying not to show it, but he was a complete wreck back there in the car. Okay?” He pulls back to meet my eyes again. “If you care about him, too… I think you can work it out. Go with him.”
I swallow hard and give him a grateful smile as I hand him my keys. The Stone guards emerge from the building.
“Everyone in the cars,” Charles says, his voice urgent.
Two of the guards take the SUV, and Kaidan and I get in the back of the Jag.
Kaidan sits close to the window, and I sit as far away from him as I can. I know Rowan said he cares, but I don’t see it at all. He won’t even look at me.
Rowan pulls out with my Mercedes the second he sees I’m safe in the Jag, and we all follow.
I clench my hand around the diamond I’m still holding and watch Kaidan as he gets his phone out and dials someone.
My mouth drops open as he tells the police he has a tip about a drug operation. Then he gives them the address where they held Rowan hostage.
After he puts the phone away, I close my mouth and hand the diamond to him.
He plucks it from my fingers without touching them, without looking at me.
“I didn’t know you were gonna tip the police off. Do you think they’ll catch them?”
“I have more contacts than they do. They’ve got a dozen warrants on them. They won’t bother you again.”
“Kaidan… thank you.” I say, my voice small. I want him to look at me so badly that I risk gently touching his arm.
He glances over, but there’s no warmth in his brown eyes, no affection. “You want to do something to thank me?”
“Yes. Anything. What can I do?”
Kaidan shifts in his seat so my hand falls away. “I need to clean up my family’s reputation after this scandal. We just signed a new artist and have a huge PR event this Saturday.” He pauses for a moment, then averts his eyes. “I need you by my side for it.”
“But… we’re not…?”
“Together anymore? No. We’re not.” He says it like it’s a business arrangement he’s making. And I guess it is. The knife that’s already been bleeding my heart for days twists a little deeper.
“So… why do you want me there?”
“For PR purposes, we’re still together. It has to look like we’re handling this well and that you don’t blame me, my father, or the law firm for the loss of your inheritance. Once the embezzlement scandal dies down in a few weeks, we’ll quietly release a statement that our relationship has ended amicably.”
I try to ignore my pain as I nod. I owe him for cleaning up my dad’s mess. My mess. What did I expect would happen after this? It’s a miracle he even wants to see me one more time. “I’ll do it. Thank
you for helping me with this. And for… getting the diamond back to Serena.”
He slides the diamond into his pocket and looks down at his phone. “I thought you’d like to know the FBI has James Nordstrom in custody. They’re working on recovering all our clients’ money, including yours. But it could be tied up for weeks, even months, due to the investigation.”
“Thank you. And for what it’s worth… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
Kaidan makes a noncommittal grunt in reply, and I wait for a real response, but it never comes.
And now there’s nothing else for me to say. I can’t even bring myself to care about the money anymore. Or anything, for that matter. I’ve already made plans to move out of the penthouse and in with Rowan tomorrow, because there’s simply no money left to pay what I owe on my apartment. I wonder what the tabloids will think about that.
Kaidan ignores me completely for the rest of the drive back to my penthouse. I stare out the window, sadness enveloping me. Rowan must have said all that to make me feel better. Because whatever he thinks, it’s clear I’ve lost Kaidan.
How could he ever trust me or love me again after how I lied to him?
The drug dealers may be out of my life for good, but the relief is bittersweet.
Because I’ve also lost the man I love.
There’s something to be said for living simply. I think I finally get why Rowan walked away from the wealth, the lifestyle. While it’s true the paps have just followed me to his apartment, while I’m inside, I can pretend my life is normal. That I’m normal, and my name isn’t all over the tabloids.
If I found a way to get rid of the paps, I could start over. The way I think Rowan was trying to do. I know my presence isn’t helping, but he’s taking it all in stride.