“Okay, time’s wasting. Get up. We’re going to have a look for the gems. You have them, even if you don’t know you do. They’d be hidden in the stuff you brought with you, of course. So let’s get to work. Or rather, you get to work. I’ll observe and keep this gun on you. I don’t want to hurt you, Annie. I really don’t. But if it comes down to a choice between you and me getting what I want….Well, I’m a survivor.”
* * * *
Annie had trouble gaining her feet. The shaking had subsided, but hadn’t left completely. At least she knew Veronica wouldn’t inflict the kind of humiliation on her Rick planned. But she thought she just might be in more danger than before the other woman had ‘saved her ass’.
“Okay, what did you bring with you from New York? And before you suggest it, you should know that I went through all the crap you left behind the day after you headed West. I spent the better part of a day going through everything, so I know you must have it with you.”
“Um…just give me a minute to think.” Annie’s mind raced. She figured no one in the area thought much about that gunshot, because long minutes had passed and her phone hadn’t rung, and no sirens screamed. Her instincts screamed at her to buy time, though why, she had no idea.
“I brought a box of photos, my report cards, yearbooks, personal mementos. Some clothes. Some books. There are still a couple of boxes in my bedroom closet. One of books and pictures, one of clothes. Maybe….” She stopped mid sentence and frowned.
“Maybe what?”
“Well, maybe I don’t have the necklace itself. Maybe it’s like a note or something saying where it is.” Annie thought the suggestion sounded reasonable. With such an idea firmly in place, they could search every page of every book, eating up a mountain of time.
God, I wish my men were here. Not that she needed them to rescue her. Exactly. But in the last half hour, she’d had her entire world turned upside down and her life had literally flashed before her eyes. Looking down the barrel of a gun, she finally understood what was really important in life.
She didn’t care about schemes or gems or the money they would bring. She cared about being loved, and loving in return. That had been her dream all her life, and though the relationship she shared with Jesse and Grant was unconventional, it made that dream come true in a big way. That’s what mattered more than anything else. If she got out of this mess, she was going to take the chance of a lifetime. If they still wanted her, then she was going to trust them to know their own minds. If they still wanted her, she was theirs.
“That would make sense, Annie, except I really don’t think Jimmy foresaw his own death, do you? We pulled off the heist about a year before he got shot in that hold up. The plan was to sit on the gems. I was supposed to keep them, but Rick bitched about it so Jimmy said he’d stash them, that he had the perfect place in mind. I had planned to wheedle the location from him one night with a combination of booze and sex. But of course, his dying changed that.”
“Oh.” Hell. Annie felt her spirits drop as she moved slowly toward the bedroom.
The sound of heavy foot falls on the outside stairs chilled her to her bones.
“Annie, sweetheart, I know you’re up there. Don’t be mad at me, baby. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
* * * *
Billy shot his companions an assessing glance. He wouldn’t doubt their ability to come through for him under any other circumstances. But he understood how much they cared for the woman in that upstairs apartment.
He’d already taken all the time he could to assess the situation. From the bug he’d planted in Annie’s place, he knew Veronica was up there, that something had happened to Rutherford, and that Veronica had a weapon of some kind—most likely a gun.
There were only two ways into Annie’s apartment. Up the stairs or down the roof and through the living room window.
According to Jesse, there used to be a set of stairs from the store to the apartment, but the old buzzard who’d owned the place before Annie had taken them out and sealed the door.
“Damn place is a fire trap with only one exit,” Billy groused.
“Fine. Let’s get her out of there. Then you can report it to the sheriff,” Jesse replied tightly.
“I’ve already called the sheriff. He’s about twenty minutes out.”
“Fuck that,” Grant said.
“Exactly. Gentlemen, here’s what we’re going to do.” Billy realized as he mapped out his plan that either or both of these men could challenge his right to be in charge. If they did, he was toast. He didn’t have a badge or a gun. But he did have reams of experience. Okay, not in this exact situation, maybe. But this was more up his alley than it was either of these two cowboys.
“Damn it,” Jesse said when Billy finished. “I don’t like this one bit. If that bitch shot Rutherford, how the hell do you know she won’t shoot Annie?”
“I don’t. I didn’t catch all that she said,” Billy touched the Bluetooth that allowed him to continue to listen in on the conversation in Annie’s apartment. “I would have banked on Veronica being almost no threat at all. In fact, I had.” He shook his head.
They stood behind the shed at the edge of the back parking lot. They could see the lights on above the store, could see the apartment, but nothing of what was going on inside it. “I think she told Annie that she’d saved her ass, so maybe she only shot the bastard to protect your woman.”
“And might shoot again to protect herself when we do what you want us to do,” Grant said.
“Yeah, maybe. You have any better suggestions?”
“No.” Jesse and Grant exchanged one long look. Billy guessed that when a person knew a man all his life, he got to the point where he could know his thoughts without a word being spoken.
“You do glib better than I do, Jesse,” Grant said. “I’ll go with Billy.”
“Okay. Let’s just get this done,” Jesse said.
Billy led the way down the road and across to the back of the dry-cleaners. He was grateful that Grant climbed as quietly as he did.
The silent cowboy gave him a boost onto the roof, and Billy admired his strength when he then hefted himself up with no help. They crept along the crest, careful to keep their balance and their silence.
When Billy reached what he judged to be the right spot, he sat straddling the peak and tried not to look down. He really didn’t care too much for heights.
Grant got busy with the rope they’d taken from the truck, working quickly to form a slip-knot. Billy slid it over his head and snugged it under his arms. Grant shimmied forward and nodded. Billy inhaled deeply and worked his way down the roof, until he was at the very edge facing
Main Street
. Looking down, he could see the light through Annie’s living room window. He nodded to Grant, who in turn lifted a hand to signal Jesse.
The clear night amplified sound, and Billy could easily count the steps as Jesse climbed the stairs.
“Annie, sweetheart, I know you’re up there. Don’t be mad at me, baby. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
Chapter 20
Annie thought she would have a heart attack as Jesse’s words accompanied him up the stairs. Even though she’d only just wished her men were here, the last thing she wanted was for them to be in harm’s way.
She’d die before she let anything happen to them.
Veronica was beside her in an instant. Annie felt the gun pressing against her back.
“Get rid of him.” The other woman hissed.
Then he was there, opening the screen door, stepping inside. Annie’s heart was in her throat. If Jesse turned his head to the right, he’d see an unconscious man bleeding on her floor. Instead, he shot a wide smile at her and Veronica.
“Why, hello there, Ms. Ferris. I guess you ladies have a girl’s night thing going on, don’t you?”
“As a matter of fact,” Veronica said.
“Well now, I surely don’t want to go interrupting that. I’ll le
t you ladies get back to whatever it was you were doing just as soon as I set things right with Annie. I cheesed her off some this afternoon, telling her she rode a horse like a sissy city girl.”
He’d said no such thing. Oh, God. He knew! He knew something was wrong and was getting ready to play hero.
Jesse flashed another wide grin. “I am sincerely sorry, Annie. Can’t we kiss and make up?”
From behind them, glass exploded. Annie jumped as Veronica squealed. Everything seemed to play out in slow motion. Veronica spun around on her heels, bringing the gun up to meet the new threat. Jesse leapt forward, arm outstretched, reaching for Annie
No time to think, Annie grabbed the cutting board off the kitchen table, clutching it in both hands. Executing a pirouette that might have gained applause on a ballet stage, she slammed the board against Veronica’s right arm, knocking her aim off just as a shot rang out. When she realized the other woman still had hold of the weapon, Annie smashed the board against her again.
Veronica cried out as she fell to her knees, clutching her arm.
“Shit. Holy shit!” Jesse said as he reached her.
The next thing Annie knew, Jesse had his arms wrapped around her. He held her tight, and she wasn’t sure who was trembling more—her or him.
“Don’t ever get mad at me and come after me with that board, woman. You’re dangerous.”
Annie laughed, the idea that anyone would think her dangerous somehow delightful. Spotting movement by what used to be her living room window, she lifted her head from Jesse’s chest in time to see Grant swing down from the roof and climb into the room.
“Be careful! There’s glass everywhere.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Grant’s softly spoken words emphasized the near shrillness of her own She closed her eyes for one moment and shivered. She never wanted to go through another day like this one for the rest of her life.
Grant came over and hauled her into his arms. Jesse stayed put, not backing up that one step he usually did when Grant moved in on her. And then she felt his arms surrounding her to create the best group hug in the world.
In the distance, the blare of a siren could be heard.
“That will be the sheriff now,” a male voice said.
For the first time, Annie noticed Billy Woods was standing in her apartment. He seemed a little ruffled for having just crashed through the window, feet first, but really none the worse for wear. He’d been crouching by Rick, checking him over, she supposed. The way he used one of her dishtowels as a compress against the scumbag’s injured shoulder told her Rick was still alive. When Billy stood up, she noticed he had the gun Veronica had dropped tucked into his waistband.
Veronica remained crouched on the floor, still clutching her arm and weeping. Annie realized that the danger she’d been in was truly over.
“Nobody is who they appeared to be, apparently,” she muttered, giving Billy a sharp look. “Are you a cop? Because if you are I’m going to report your ass for using my men the way you just did, putting them in danger. That woman had a gun!”
“She’s a fierce little thing when she’s riled,” Billy said, aiming his comment at her men. Annie took one step toward him and he raised both hands. “I’m not a cop. I’m a bounty hunter.”
“Bounty hunter? Then you’re after my worthless brother-in-law?”
“No, ma’am. I’m after Aphrodite’s Tears.”
* * * *
The only one getting impatient with Annie was Billy Woods. Sitting in Jesse’s kitchen, a steaming mug of cocoa in front of her, her men on either side of her, Mr. Tinkles clutched to her chest as he had been during many of the traumas of her life, Annie let Billy’s impatience roll off her.
“I’m not implicating Veronica in planning the theft. She had an affair with my husband. She found out about the heist. She decided to try to cash in after his death, by retrieving the gems. Pardon me, but isn’t that what you’re doing?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t just shoot a man.”
“The man was trying to rape me.” Even now, several hours later, Annie could barely get the words out. She’d given her statement to the sheriff, of course. But she’d omitted any mention of Veronica’s confession. She hadn’t planned it, but she did owe the other woman for saving her from a fate that might very well have been worse than death. Under the circumstances, there would be no charges filed against Veronica. She had a broken arm, and had been taken to have that seen to.
Rick, under armed guard, had been transported to the hospital in Laramie where he was expected to make a full recovery. The police had already laid several charges against him. When they’d located his car just a few blocks from her store, they’d found extra ammunition for the gun, and several maps with a route to Mexico marked out. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Rutherford had been shot with his own weapon.
Annie turned her attention back to Billy. “Besides, you said you had my place ‘bugged’, something I’m pretty sure is illegal and which I can have you charged over.”
“I did have it bugged, as you well know, since you made me remove the damn device before we boarded up your window.”
“Then if you think she confessed, why don’t you just use your copy of the taped conversation to have her arrested?”
He just stared at her and she didn’t think he’d answer her. Then, hissing through his teeth, he said, “The tape ran out.”
“Can I get you anything, honey?” Grant stroked a hand down her back.
“No, thanks. I’m good.” She took a sip from her cocoa then petted Mr. Tinkles’ short brown scratchy fur.
Jesse’s hand rested on her other arm. Surrounded by love she felt much better.
“Will you two talk some sense into your woman, please? Rutherford isn’t a reliable witness. If Annie doesn’t come forward to testify, chances are Veronica will never be charged with anything more than unlawful use of a firearm.”
“We’re planning a long and happy life with Annie,” Grant said.
“That means we won’t try and persuade her to change her mind when she appears to be completely set on something.”
“Shit.” Billy shoved his chair back from the table. He paced the kitchen, and Annie couldn’t decide if he was trying to walk off his anger or think of a new argument to try and get her to change her mind.
“So tell me about this bounty hunting thing you do,” she said. “I’ve heard of bounty hunters who go after bail skippers and fugitives. I’ve never heard of one who goes after things.”
“Not just things,” Billy said. “You’re really not going to change your mind about Veronica, are you?”
She looked at him for a long moment. She imagined she would be having nightmares for some time to come. She recalled the terror she’d felt as Rick Rutherford lowered the fly of his pants. “Between the time when Rick broke into my place and you guys arrived, nearly an hour had passed. He said he was going to rape me, then beat me. He would have if not for Veronica.”
“Sweet Jesus.”
“Mother of God.”
Jesse and Grant’s oaths echoed softly. Annie hadn’t stopped to think what saying that out loud would do to her men. When they gathered her close, together, she held on until they all stopped trembling.
Annie accepted the tissue Billy held out to her and mopped up her tears.
“Like I said, not just things. I go after heavily insured things that the insurance companies have paid out on.”
“So you recover them and what? You collect a fee? If you find this necklace…”
“Aphrodite’s Tears,” Billy supplied.
“Aphrodite’s Tears. Like a goddess would have given anyone anything in apology. Who thinks these things up?” Annie scoffed. Both her men chuckled, and even Billy smiled.
That was good. She wanted Billy to smile. She needed Billy to smile. “So if you’d recovered Aphrodite’s Tears, the insurance company would have given you a fee?”
“Yes, ten percent of the recov
ered value. For example, the necklace was insured for ten million dollars.”
“Ten million dollars? Ten million dollars? Who in the hell would pay ten million dollars for one necklace? My God, are people nuts?” Annie couldn’t wrap her head around it.
“No, Annie. It was insured for ten million. But its value, if sold, is far more than that.”
“Does the client get the necklace back if he pays back the insurance money?” she asked. “Depends on the contract. The one Lloyd’s had issued for Aphrodite’s Tears stipulates that if the money is paid out under a claim, then the necklace belongs to the insurance company and can be sold. And not just for the amount Lloyd’s paid out, either. This was a custom policy. Cheaper for Piers that way, but not if the thing was recovered, of course.”
“So if the necklace was recovered, and given over to Lloyd’s then it could be sold?”
“Yes. Likely through Sotheby’s at special auction. And the person recovering the necklace would make ten per cent of the sale.”
“Any idea how much it would go for?” Jesse asked.
Annie could tell just by the way he’d asked that he was getting into the spirit of the conversation. However, he still didn’t seem to have any idea where Annie was heading.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on certain websites that ponder just such questions. Latest estimate is between twenty-five and thirty million.”
“Good Lord. So the person who recovers the necklace would get two and a half to three million dollars?”
As she watched, Billy went perfectly still. “You mean,” he said quietly, “that I would get between two and a half and three million dollars.”
“Well, yes. If you were the one to turn it over to Lloyd’s.”
He sat back, closed his eyes. She knew her men were looking from him to her and thinking— just as she knew Billy was thinking.
Before tonight, she’d never even heard of Aphrodite’s Tears. She’d had no idea her husband had been involved in a jewel heist, or that he’d retained possession of the stolen goods afterwards. That they had been in his possession, more or less, when he died. She hadn’t known the truth about him, or Veronica, or Billy.
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