“I’m in love with you,” she whispered. “I love you.”
He quivered against her. Rising on an elbow, he framed her face with his hand and looked down at her with somber, pain-filled eyes. Tess inhaled sharply.
“Oh, Jep, I said it too soon.… ”
“I love you too.”
She moaned with relief and happiness. Searching his eyes, Tess reveled in the adoration there but couldn’t understand the sadness.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, taking his face between her hands.
He shook his head in self-rebuke and smiled, easing his troubled look. “I’ve never said that before and meant it. It’s a shocker.”
She gasped softly. “Not in thirty-eight years?”
“Oh. I’ve meant it to my family—Kyle, Millie, my mother when I was about seven, not long before she died. I even told my Dad that I loved him, once. It embarrassed him. But no, I never put any commitment behind the words when I said them in the romantic sense. Until now. I don’t ever want to lose you. That’s a different kind of love from anything I’ve felt before.”
“Well,” she whispered, her throat burning from emotion, “I’ll make sure that you don’t regret saying it to me.”
He sat up, pulled her into his arms, and held her with an intensity that brought a bittersweet ache to her chest. It was as if he’d found some kind of salvation.
At that moment Tess realized that she couldn’t do anything to cheapen this great gift he’d given her. Unless she trusted him with every secret she held dear, she didn’t deserve him.
“I love you,” she repeated, smiling against his shoulder. “And I have something very important that I want to share with you.”
His arms tightened quickly, as if she’d startled him. He drew back and looked at her, his expression wary.
“Jep, relax,” she said soothingly. “Wait here and I’ll get it.”
“Don’t.” His voice had an odd, strained quality. “Not right now.”
Tess stroked his hair and smiled at him. “It won’t take long. And then I’d like to make love with you again.”
He let go of her reluctantly. She slipped into a cream-colored silk robe and went into the galley. There she opened the top door of the refrigerator, rearranged a stack of ice trays at the back of the freezer compartment, and removed the bottom one.
Standing at the kitchen’s tiny sink she dumped an ice cube into her hand. Smiling in anticipation, she folded a kitchen towel and placed the ice cube on top of it. She left the galley with the towel cupped in both hands, like a sacred offering.
Jeopard sat on the edge of the bed, looking oddly tense, the coverlet wound around the lower half of his body.
“Jep, there’s no need to be formal,” she said teasingly, indicating the cover.
Tess sat down beside him and held her hands out proudly. Frozen in the center of the ice cube was a blue diamond the size of a marble.
“My secret,” she said softly. “And now it’s your secret too.”
Jeopard stared at the melting cube. After a moment he almost laughed at the sick irony of it. The Iceman’s hopes had been ruined by a damned ice cube.
Everything shut down inside him. It was a self-protective instinct, the same way he reacted whenever his life was in danger or a delicate situation had just become volatile.
Only this time, he never wanted to feel any emotion again, because he knew the bitterness would eat him up.
“That’s some trinket,” he told her smoothly. “A present from Royce?”
“No. It belonged to my mother. My grandparents gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday.”
The hell they did. It disappeared twenty years ago. Royce stole it. He left it to you.
Jeopard took the ice cube in his hand and squeezed it. Tiny rivulets of water ran down his wrist. Tess dabbed at them with the towel.
“Good heavens, Jep, do you have a fever?”
He opened his hand and looked down at the magnificent blue stone emerging from its prison of water. “Your mother must have been an incredibly successful pro skier if she could afford something like this.”
Admit it, Tess. You know this came from the crown jewels of Kara. You know it’s the Blue Princess.
“Oh, the diamond has been in the Kellgren family for three generations. Grandfather says it belonged to his mother.”
Great story, Tess. Your sincere look is perfect.
“Honey, it must be word a small fortune.”
“Actually, it’s not. Royce estimated the value at around thirty thousand dollars. A diamond as large as it ought to be worth a lot more. But it’s got some flaws.”
“Not to the average eye.”
“No, but I can tell. I love it for the sentimental value more than anything else.”
Jeopard felt as if some small wild animal were clawing to get out of his chest. “Why isn’t it in a setting?”
“Grandfather said the old setting didn’t do it justice, so he had it removed. I’ll have a new one designed someday.”
Yeah, kid, the setting would have made it easier to identify. “You aren’t anxious to wear it?”
“I’d be too worried. It’s valuable enough to make it worth stealing.”
You ought to know, Tess. “Then why keep it on board the boat?”
She reached out and touched a fingertip to the glittering stone. “I never knew my mother. This makes me feel close to her.”
And you can’t risk putting it in a safe-deposit box. A nosy bank official might ask questions about such an unusual stone.
“Why are you showing it to me?” The last bit of ice melted under the diamond. It lay on Jeopard’s palm, a pale blue teardrop that glittered even in the dim light. Disgusted by the feel of it, he dropped it onto the towel in Tess’s hand.
She stared at him in confusion, looking a little hurt. “It’s a whimsical secret of mine. I wanted to show you how much I trust you.” She gave him a tentative smile. “My grandparents are worried that you’re up to no good.”
He forced himself to smile back as if that were the most unlikely thing he’d ever heard. “Tell them that your secret’s safe with me.”
Jeopard caught her chin, turned her to face him squarely, and asked in a teasing tone, “Any other secrets?”
Royce. Tell me again that he was a retired diamond broker. Tell me again that he left everything to his daughters.
She searched his eyes so long that he knew she was worried about his strange mood. He could almost feel her withdrawing. “No,” she said softly, and looked away.
Dammit Tess. That hurt worse than anything.
He felt as if he were being torn inside out. He couldn’t touch her, could barely look at her, and yet he knew he couldn’t risk leaving. That would make her more wary.
“Honey?” he said in a low voice that aimed for gentleness.
She looked back at him, her eyes troubled. “Yes?”
“I’m a bastard for acting so unexcited. Thank you for sharing the diamond with me. It’s just that I’m getting a killer headache. Remember that I mentioned I get migraines occasionally?”
“Oh, yes,” she said happily, and exhaled with relief. “I mean, you had me worried there, Sundance. Poor man.” She brushed her fingertips across his forehead. “Can I get you anything for it?”
“No. Maybe I can short-circuit it by going to sleep.”
He grasped her hand and curled her fingers over the Blue Princess so that he wouldn’t have to look at it anymore. “Go put that away. It concerns me that you keep something so valuable in an ice tray.”
Her eyes filled with adoration. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m careful.” She paused. “But I love you for worrying.”
It was all Jeopard could do not to wince openly. What was she trying to do, destroy him? Had he met an equal at the game of deception he played so well?
“Get under the covers and relax,” she murmured, stroking his neck. “Your muscles are full of knots! I’ll give you a massage.”
“No, I—”
“Come on, Jep. You can’t tell me it won’t help.” She kissed him jauntily. “Into bed, Sundance. I’ll be right back.”
Miserable, he got into bed and lay on his stomach, his head burrowed in a pillow: She returned a few minutes later, turned off the desk lamp, and climbed into bed beside him. The white curtains let in a bit of light from the dock lamps, but still the darkness was blissfully deep.
Jeopard dug his fingers into the pillow as her warm, gentle hands slid over his shoulders. He replayed what he knew of her and realized that she had no reason to tell him that she loved him if it weren’t the truth.
He ground his teeth. Unless she knew what he was after and meant to sidetrack him.
Jeopard considered that possibility for a long time, while she rubbed his neck and shoulders, occasionally bending forward to caress his back with a kiss. Each time she did, her breasts brushed against him.
“I feel a lot better,” he said, lying. “Let’s get some sleep.”
She lay down close to him and rested one hand in the center of his back. “I love you, Jep,” she whispered. “Good night.”
“Good night.” After a long hesitation, he swallowed hard and gave her the reply she wanted. “I love you too.”
Damn, he was glad that she couldn’t see his eyes. He hadn’t cried in years.
SHE DREAMED GUILTY dreams because she hadn’t told Jeopard about Royce’s being a jewel thief. She’d intended to tell the story after she showed him the blue diamond, but he’d looked at her so strangely that she’d faltered. And when she’d realized that he had a terrible headache, she’d decided to wait.
Tess woke up anxious to right her wrong. She reached for Jeopard and sat up sharply when she found him gone. Her heart pounding with a puzzling sense of dread, Tess squinted into a stream of early-morning sunshine that had slipped between a curtain and the air conditioner.
He could be out jogging.
But he didn’t jog—he hated it. He swam in the ocean every morning.
But he didn’t swim this early.
He’d gone to the Irresistible, for some reason. He’d be right back.
Tess bounced out of bed, threw her robe around her shoulders, and went to the port window. Oh, how silly, this compulsion to open the curtains and look.
Okay, so she felt silly that morning. Tess raked the curtains back.
The Irresistible was gone.
A stunned minute later she gasped out loud and ran to the kitchen.
Her blue diamond was gone too.
JEOPARD ARRIVED IN Los Angeles by 8:00 A.M., less than an hour after he handed the yacht’s key to a man who worked for Olaf.
He thought that his driving time from Long Beach was particularly good, considering his unplanned stop beside the freeway, where he’d hunched over a guard rail and regretted the four cups of strong coffee he’d poured into his stomach.
Coffee and misery didn’t mix well.
He was met in the lobby of a sleek L.A. hotel by a lanky, well-dressed wolfhound of a man with enormous gray eyes and long blond hair. The man had already registered Jeopard under a false name.
The wolfhound shooed the bellmen away and carried one of Jeopard’s suitcases himself. Jeopard carried the other two. He and the wolfhound didn’t speak at all as they rode a glass-paneled elevator and walked to the hotel room.
Once inside. Jeopard pulled the blue diamond from the pocket of his sports coat. He tossed it to the man, who exhaled visibly with relief. Jeopard received a check for ten thousand dollars in return. It was the second half of his and Kyle’s fee.
“I wish you’d taken another day,” the man said wistfully. “I’ve grown to like Los Angeles while I’ve been waiting for you. Tomorrow I was going to Burbank to see the Johnny Carson show.”
“Sorry.”
“She won’t contact the police?” the wolfhound asked in a heavy Swedish accent. Swedish was Kara’s official language.
Jeopard had always suspected that Olaf’s top aide was an idiot. That question confirmed it. “She isn’t going to report that someone stole her stolen diamond.”
“Ah. Yes.”
“And you won’t attempt to prosecute her.”
“Correct. We have nothing to gain. Plus it would be difficult to prove that she knew the diamond was stolen.”
“All right. Then we’re done.”
The wolfhound smiled slyly. “Tell me, did she live up to her reputation? I have many photographs besides those I gave you in the report. So many pictures of her in swimsuits. What remarkable legs! A man could easily imagine them wrapped around him.… Pardon me. I’ve offended you.”
Jeopard never said a word. He simply looked up at the man until all the color drained from the face beneath the fine, flowing hair. The wolfhound bowed slightly and backed toward the door as if he were afraid to turn his back.
“Your work is excellent, Mr. Surprise,” he said in a small, strained voice. “And I’m glad we’ll have no more need of you.”
He slipped out the door and slammed it behind him. Jeopard didn’t move until he heard the last faint footfall as the man hurried away.
Then he slumped on the side of the bed and put his head in his hands.
IT WAS JUST as well that she’d loaned the Jaguar to Brandt for the week. Driving would have been dangerous in her current emotional state. Running wasn’t much safer.
Tess covered the three miles to her grandparents’ duplex in record time. When she fell against the low wall of their terrace, gasping desperately for breath, her heels were blistered and her insteps ached from running in ordinary tennis shoes without benefit of socks.
Her faded UCLA t-shirt was soaked with sweat, and her cut-off jeans bore bloodstains where she’d wiped her scraped palms after she tripped on a curb.
Before she could stagger up the tiled steps to the front door, her grandparents saw her from the living-room window. Their faces contorted with anxiety, Viktoria and Karl met Tess halfway up the steps and practically carried her inside.
She slumped on their couch and stared numbly at the floor while Viktoria hovered over her, dabbing her face with a cool washcloth. Karl sat down and took her hand.
“What is it, raring?” he implored.
“He stole the blue diamond,” she answered wretchedly. “Jeopard Surprise.”
Their audible gasps made her wince with humiliation and sorrow. Tess knew that her pain would worsen as soon as she fully comprehended the words she’d just spoken. Just then nothing seemed real.
“I showed it to him last night. He … he took it while I was asleep. His yacht was gone this morning”.
Tess looked from Karl to Viktoria, watching their faces as they absorbed her news. Their expressions seemed frantic. “I love … loved him,” she said in a choked voice. “And I thought he loved me.”
“But you knew him only days!” Viktoria exclaimed, wringing her hands.
“Yes.” Tess hung her head. She couldn’t explain why there’d seemed nothing foolish about loving a man she’d known for such a short time.
“We were having him checked out,” Karl muttered. “But now, it’s too late.”
Tess froze. “Checked out?”
“I have friends at the American embassy in Stockholm. I asked for their help. They know people who can find out anything about American citizens. We haven’t heard from them yet.”
Tess clenched her fists. “What’s going on? Why did you suspect Jeopard from the start?”
Viktoria sank into a chair and covered her face. “Oh, Karl, Karl. We are lost.”
Tess rubbed her forehead. Shards of pain shot through her scalp. Nothing made sense. She almost strangled on the next words. “I have to call the police.”
Viktoria burst into tears. “No. Oh, Karl. Tell her.”
Tess stared at her grandmother in confusion. “What?”
“You can’t go to the police,” Karl murmured wearily.
Tess straightened, her pulse roaring in her
ears. “Why not?”
“The diamond is … not safe.”
Tess pinched the bridge of her nose and fought the urge to scream. “Why, Grandfather?” she asked patiently.
Viktoria and Karl traded a long, covert look. “Because we stole it from someone twenty years ago,” Karl said slowly, his eyes never leaving his wife’s. “And now perhaps that someone wants it back.”
JEOPARD LAY ON the hotel bed, his hands behind his head. Beyond the room’s picture window Los Angeles sweated under a smoggy sky. The late-afternoon sun sifted through the smog and made the room hot.
Jeopard hadn’t changed clothes, hadn’t unpacked, hadn’t even bothered to take off his sports coat. He was sweating, but not from the heat.
This time the Iceman had lost. He couldn’t just walk away; he could only admit defeat and surrender.
The following day he’d go back to Long Beach, tell Tess everything, beg, coax, and seduce her into telling him everything in return, then try his best to win her trust again. If she could accept his work he could accept her past.
And they’d both start new, together.
CHAPTER 7
“YO, TESS. WANT a doughnut while you stare at the sunrise?”
Tess roused herself from the chair on the Lady’s aft deck. She hadn’t slept at all, her body felt caved in, and she was certain her shapeless T-shirt and wrinkled shorts qualified her for a slob award.
Brandt stood on the dock, grinning and holding up a box from one of the local doughnut franchises. “I brought the Jag back last night, but you weren’t around,” he called. “I’ve got something to show you. You’re gonna love it.”
Moving like an old woman, Tess met him on the dock. She gazed at Brandt distractedly. Her throat felt rusty, and she was glad he couldn’t see her eyes behind the dark sunglasses she wore.
The love of her life was a con artist, and her grandparents were jewel thieves. Sure, she felt like being entertained at that moment.
“Another electronic toy?” she croaked, glancing at the device Brandt held in the hand not occupied by a doughnut box.
“Yeah. Just finished it this week. It’s bitchin’, Tess. Politicians in Third World countries use this kind of stuff to protect themselves from terrorists. Watch.”
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