Locked and Loaded

by Mandy Baxter

  She might as well have been invincible.

  “I can’t resist a woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind.”

  Kieran’s whispered words in her ear weren’t altogether unpleasant. She appreciated the praise and boost to her self-esteem. But it wasn’t Kieran’s admiration that she wanted. No, her blood quickened in her veins when she imagined those words spoken low from Mason’s lips. And it set her on fire.

  From the corner of her eye she caught his scowl. Where Kieran seemed only to want to smile, Mason never broke from his furrowed brow and downturned mouth. Was he pleased with her for coming through with Katarina? It made her feel weak and pathetic to need that sort of attention from him. Maybe his reluctance to give it made her want it that much more. Did it matter? This wasn’t the time or place to hash out her feelings for Mason. She needed to play her part, let Mason negotiate the deal, and get the hell out of here.

  Katarina’s gaze met Charlie’s. “The stones?” Mason dug the black velvet pouch out of his pocket and handed it to Charlie. Katarina let out an amused snort and gave a rueful shake of her head. “You come to me with a ten-million-dollar price tag and carry them around like pocket change?”

  “They’re flawed.” Mason shrugged with disinterest. “They’re not worth anything to anyone but you.”

  “Yes.” Katarina pursed her glossy red lips. “As you’ve made perfectly clear in your price.”

  “Ten million is a small price to pay for your pride and reputation,” Mason pointed out. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Katarina’s eyes narrowed. Charlie watched the power play with fascination. She’d never met a more ruthless or frightening woman than Katarina, yet Mason dealt with her as though he were on her level. Just as ruthless. Equally frightening. It shouldn’t have turned her on, but a rush of warmth suffused her and settled low in her abdomen.

  “Did he suffer?” she asked.

  Mason didn’t miss a beat. “Immeasurably.”

  Her lips curved into an indulgent smile. “Good.”

  Katarina snapped her fingers and one of her men took the small bag from Mason’s outstretched hand as though she didn’t dare sully herself by making contact. Once in her possession, she pulled open the drawstring and tipped the contents out into her hand.

  The diamonds glittered like winter ice under the bright lights. Katarina studied them for a quiet moment before she handed them over to Charlie. “Tell me about them.”

  Katarina didn’t ask anyone to do anything. She gave orders and expected them to be obeyed. Charlie set the diamonds on the table in front of her. Like when she’d examined the stone in Katarina’s ring, she had no idea what to look for. Mason had done a good job of coaching her though, and she was confident that as long as she didn’t try to pull one over on Katarina, she’d be fine. Kieran wouldn’t sink them by offering up counterfeit stones, would he? After all, he was in it for the money as well. Charlie couldn’t imagine that he’d put himself at risk in order to get some sort of twisted revenge on Mason for whatever it was they’d fallen out over.

  Better get to work …

  Charlie retrieved the first stone and examined it under the jeweler’s loupe. The cut and clarity were actually quite good. Almost no color whatsoever. She would have guessed the stone would score a one on the AGS grading scale. Close to perfect and extremely valuable, if not for its flaw: a miniscule garnet embedded in the stone’s center.

  “Tell me, Mason.” Katarina tapped her long nails on the tabletop. “How did you get the diamonds past customs?”

  “I work for CBP,” he said as though it were inconsequential.

  Katarina said something to her entourage in Russian and they all had a good laugh over it. Charlie imagined that even if she’d said something completely dull she’d have gotten a raucous response from her men.

  “You do surround yourself with the most interesting people, Kieran,” Katarina remarked. “I could use a man like you on the payroll, Mason.” She graced him with a seductive smile. “We should talk.”

  There was a little too much heat in those last words for Charlie’s peace of mind. She forced her attention back to one of the diamonds in question. “I’m curious. Why go to so much trouble for flawed stones that have no real value?”

  “It is our flaws that make us truly beautiful,” Katarina replied. “The warlords know this. They covet certain flawed stones for various reasons. Some personal, some spiritual. Superstition abounds in Africa. I wanted these particular stones for their flaws.”

  And the warlord had not only denied her, but insulted and threatened her. Not a good idea, obviously.

  “This stone has a garnet embedded in its center,” Charlie said. She looked up from studying the diamond to find Mason’s full attention on her. “An SI flaw. You can only see the inclusion when magnified, but it almost looks like a heart.”

  “A true blood diamond, no?”

  The comparison left Charlie feeling a little nauseous. “Definitely.” She set the stone aside and picked up the second diamond. Like its partner, the cut and clarity were nearly flawless. The stone was even more crystal clear than the first. It would have easily scored a zero on the AGS grading scale, save the garnet suspended near its center. This garnet, however, was slightly larger and split down the middle. A broken heart.

  Charlie brought her gaze up to Katarina’s. “One heart intact, the other broken. It’s sort of poetic, don’t you think?”

  Something fired in Katarina’s dark eyes. A depth of sadness that she kept hidden under her fierce exterior. “Exactly.” She spoke again in Russian. A rolling wave of words that Charlie found beautiful and lyrical. Of course for all she knew, Katarina had just ordered her men to kill all three of them and dump their bodies in the ocean.

  An eerie silence followed her words. She turned her attention to Mason, her jaw set. “Ten million is excessive. Charlie, what are the stones worth?”

  “Not much,” she admitted. “Like you said, they have no real value to anyone aside from collectors who would want them for the flaws. They’re definitely worth less than the two million you originally offered for them.”

  Katarina threw a superior smirk Mason’s way. “You can’t possibly think I’ll pay what you’re asking.”

  Mason wasn’t fazed. “You can’t possibly think I’d go so far as to put myself on Bello’s gang’s hit list if I wasn’t going to make sure it was worth my money.”

  Katarina gave a derisive snort. “You should have made your deals prior to making assumptions.”

  “You would have offered to give me the moon,” Mason said. “And we’d still be where we are right now.”

  Katarina shrugged. “Eh. Maybe so. Either way, you must think I’m made of money if I have ten million dollars in cash to simply hand over to you.”

  “No one deals in cash anymore,” Mason chided. “And I’m sure you have more than enough that you could wire me the funds and not even feel a pinch.”

  Again, Katarina couldn’t argue. She glanced Charlie’s way and smirked. “One of the downsides of being infamous. Everyone knows your business.”

  Charlie laughed. So far, her experience with the people who dealt in the seedy underworld of blood diamonds hadn’t been as unsavory as she’d anticipated. Katarina, despite her reputation, was someone that Charlie thought she might like under different circumstances. Of course, she wasn’t so foolish as to think that everyone she’d encounter would be so personable. She suspected that Kieran preferred to do business with people who had like personalities. Which made her even more curious about the esoteric leaders of Faction Five. Who were they and how in the hell had Kieran become mixed up with them?

  Kieran is one of them. In the short time they’d known each other, Charlie had begun to think of him almost as a friend. She toed a very dangerous line. One that she couldn’t allow herself to cross. She couldn’t afford to like Kieran. To feel anything for him. She couldn’t let herself like any of these people. They were criminals and she was an assistant
U.S. attorney. Black and white. There was no room for a moral gray area here. How had Mason done it? How had he walked away from this life—from Kieran—and those relationships so easily? Had he never been tempted to take the easy route instead of working way too hard for every dollar? He couldn’t have made more than fifty thousand a year with CBP. Kieran’s income had to be a hundred times that.

  “I want the ten million, or I’m taking the diamonds and walking.” Mason’s words broke Charlie from her thoughts. “It’s your choice, Katarina. Take it or leave it.”

  Charlie couldn’t help but wonder how long Mason could play this game before his own lines became blurred. Or had they already?

  *

  Katarina could talk until she was blue in the face. There was no way in hell Mason was backing down. She had more than enough to pay the price he was asking, and he knew that she’d rather die than let the diamonds go. This was about pride, after all. His and hers. Of course, there was the possibility she’d just kill them all and take the diamonds. But above all, she was a businesswoman. A damned good one. She was a practical killer rather than a ruthless one. Putting them down for no other reason than losing a game wasn’t her style.

  At least, Mason hoped not.

  Their saving grace was Charlie. Mason doubted they would have gained Katarina’s good graces without her. She continued to surprise him. To show him her strength. She was more than capable and a damned good actress to boot. Maybe too good. Mason was almost buying into the Charlie Sinclair persona. At the end of the day he had to remind himself that this was a J-O-B. She was behind the task force that held his career in their hands. Any interest he had in her needed to be put on the back burner, stat.

  Katarina disregarded Mason once again as she held out her hand. “Charlie, may I?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Charlie handed Katarina the stones as well as the jeweler’s loupe. Silence descended once again as she quietly examined the diamonds. She let out a gentle sigh and slowly looked up to meet Mason’s gaze.

  “I’ll pay your price,” she said without an ounce of humor. With gentle care Katarina placed the stones back in the velvet satchel and pulled the strings tight. She held the bag close to her heart as she said something under her breath about love and sacrifice in Russian. Whatever the stones reminded her of, Mason knew it was something deeply private. Kieran had known she’d pay any price for the diamonds—which made him wonder what sort of connections Kieran had to get that sort of intel.

  Kieran removed a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and slid it across the table to Katarina. She sneered. “You’ve always been too goddamned arrogant for your own good, Kieran.”

  He answered with a good-natured chuckle. Kieran never worried about consequences. Neither did he ever go into any situation less than 100 percent confident he’d come out ahead. He stacked the deck in his favor time and again. As soon as they were free and clear, Mason was going to make him fess up as to how he’d known that Katarina would pay their price.

  Had Kieran really wanted to test Mason and Charlie tonight? Or was this simply another one of his games?

  With business all but conducted, Kieran rose from his seat. Mason followed suit and gave Charlie a slight nod to let her know it was time to go. Her posture relaxed and she let out an almost imperceptible breath. She’d done well tonight. He was proud of her. And he couldn’t wait to say the words to her.

  “Not so fast.”

  Katarina hadn’t moved from her seat. A spasm of anxiety rippled through Mason as he exchanged a glance with Kieran.

  “Kieran gets his finder’s fee. Charlie, I’m sure, will collect her fee as well. They have nothing more to offer me,” Katarina said. “However, I’m not done with you, Mason.”

  Shit.

  What more could she want? The warlord who’d insulted her was presumably dead, and she held the prize he’d kept from her tight in her grip. Like Kieran and Charlie, there was nothing more Mason could offer her either.

  “What more do you think we have to discuss?” He might be pushing his luck with his demanding tone, but Mason had been through playing games about twenty-fucking-four hours ago. He wanted to get his ass outside and take as deep a breath as the shitty L.A. air would allow him.

  Katarina didn’t give anything away in her expression. “A car will take Charlie and Kieran back to the hotel.”

  Mason’s jaw clamped shut. The last thing he wanted was for Charlie to spend any amount of time alone with Kieran. And not simply because of the way he looked at her. “Whatever business you have to discuss with me, you can discuss with them.”

  Katarina’s gaze hardened. “Do you want your ten million … or perhaps not?”

  Mason’s attention shifted to Charlie. If she was nervous, she gave no outward sign. Kieran, however, wore his suspicion plainly in his expression. Obviously, he hadn’t anticipated Katarina wanting a private word with Mason. To be honest, neither had he.

  “I’ll meet you back at the hotel?” He turned to Kieran and gave a helpless shrug.

  “Yeah.” For the first time in a week, Kieran’s tone grew serious. And for the first time in a week, Mason felt like he might be fucked. “We’ll get settled in and meet you there.”

  He didn’t dare give Charlie any reassurance. She was supposed to be able to handle herself. Katarina snapped her fingers and one of her men headed for the door. It swung wide and he waited out in the hallway for Kieran and Charlie to walk out in front of him. If they all made it through the night alive, it would be a miracle.

  The door closed behind them and the sound punched through Mason’s chest. He turned to face Katarina, and a seductive smile spread across her crimson lips. “Now,” she purred in her smooth accent, “where were we?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I had my doubts about you, Charlie. But you proved yourself tonight,” Kieran said.

  She’d done well. Too bad she was too damned worried about Mason to pat herself on the back for it. If anything happened to him, she’d be set adrift in a world—and with a man—she knew nothing about. Thoughts of her own safety took a backseat to her concern for Mason, though. What had Katarina wanted? Was he okay? What if Katarina decided to go back on their deal and killed Mason just to prove a point? The lack of control she had over the situation caused Charlie’s stomach to churn. All she could do was play her part and wait. She climbed into the backseat of the car and settled in beside Kieran. She was antsy as hell and felt like throwing her guts up. And she had no choice but to play it cool like it was simply another day at the office.

  There was definitely an ulcer in her future.

  “Maybe now you’ll stop trying to test me and let me in on whatever big deal you’ve got going on?”

  “Just you?” A flirtatious smile tugged at Kieran’s mouth. “What about your partner?”

  He’d love it if Charlie turned on Mason, wouldn’t he? “Both of us.” She pinned him with a chiding look. “I thought that went without saying.”

  “What’s the deal with you two?” The car pulled out onto the street and Charlie forced herself not to look back at the club. Mason was capable. He could take care of himself. “You’re not fucking him, are you, Charlie?”

  She’d learned enough about Kieran to know when he was trying to get a rise out of her. She met his gaze, the epitome of calm. “No,” she said. “I’m not fucking him.”

  His eyes crinkled at the corners with amusement. “Good. I’d be jealous otherwise.”

  Charlie’s chest tightened. She couldn’t tell if Kieran was actually coming on to her or not. Again, he might be trying to get a rise out of her. More likely, he was deflecting. Making sure the conversation veered away from his current business dealings. Namely, Faction Five. Charlie infused her tone with skepticism, playing along with whatever game he played. “I’m sure you would.”

  Kieran reached out and smoothed her hair away from her face. “I’d be absolutely green.”

  “What do you think Katarina wa
nts with Mason?” If Kieran could deflect, so could she. She’d keep the conversation focused on business, no matter his efforts to steer her in the opposite direction.

  Kieran’s gaze darkened. Charlie wasn’t sure it was concern she saw in his eyes, but perhaps a little of that jealousy he’d mentioned. It wasn’t over a woman, either. Charlie suspected that Kieran’s rivalry with Mason spanned years and ran deep. They might not share the same blood, but they were brothers just the same. Sibling rivalries were often the worst kind.

  “If I had to guess?” he began. “She’s either offering him a job, or taking him to bed.”

  Embers of her own jealousy smoldered in the pit of Charlie’s stomach. It had been obvious from Katarina’s hungry gaze that her interest in Mason wasn’t strictly professional, but Charlie’d hoped that the mafia princess would be smarter than to mix business with pleasure. “If it’s a business relationship she’s offering, Mason isn’t interested.” If she was being honest, she hoped he wasn’t interested in any relationship with Katarina Evgeny, business or otherwise. “He won’t screw us over.”

  Kieran leveled his gaze on Charlie. “Don’t be so sure.”

  He still didn’t trust Mason. At this rate, they’d never infiltrate Faction Five. “What’s it going to take for you to trust us?”

  Kieran fixed her with a contemplative stare. “Why do you trust him?”

  Good question. Why did she trust him? Aside from him being recommended by Carlos Carrera, Charlie didn’t know much about him. His work performance had been exemplary. In fact, his supervisor with CBP had been sad to see him go. Being good at his job didn’t make him trustworthy, though.

  “He could have let me go to jail,” she said after a moment. Keeping to the details of her cover story wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. “And instead, he helped me out.”