The Devil's Bargain

by Kira Sinclair

  “No, he wouldn’t. He’ll recognize the value and appreciate the help. He’s been a one-man show for a long time.”

  His fingers tightened on her jaw, gently urging her up onto her toes as he brought his own mouth down to connect with hers. The kiss was quick, but full of heat, stoking at the embers and making need flare through her hot and hard.

  Murmuring against her lips, he said, “You really are naive. Luckily, it’s one of the things I appreciate most about you,” before stepping back and letting her go.

  Genevieve’s brain reeled, from both the kiss and Finn’s words. How could the man take something that was clearly not a compliment and twist it until it became one?

  God, he confused her.

  “Stone and Gray deal directly with you,” he reiterated in a tone that left no room for argument.

  She really didn’t have the time for that, but clearly Finn wasn’t budging. “Whatever. But I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  “Don’t worry. The disruption will be minimal.”

  Yeah, right. Something told her Finn’s definition of minimal and hers were probably two different things.

  Seven

  “I need your help.” Finn didn’t beat around the bush as he walked into Stone’s office.

  First, he knew his friend was going to agree. He, Stone and Gray had had each other’s backs long enough that there was no doubt he could count on his friend for anything.

  What was up in the air was whether Stone would provide the help for free, or if he was going to use this opportunity to extract a little payment.

  He was a businessman, after all. And a damn good one.

  Besides, that’s how their world worked. A favor for a favor, even among friends.

  Plopping into the chair across from the large mahogany desk his friend currently had his feet propped up on, Finn waited to find out.

  Stone watched him for several seconds, his standard, blank expression on his face. That poker face had been one of Stone’s biggest assets on the inside. No one knew what was going on inside that scarily brilliant mind of his. Not even his best friends.

  Finn was no slouch when it came to intelligence. He’d received the best education money could buy. The rest of his knowledge he’d gained from hands-on experience. He was an excellent judge of character and understood how to intuit a person’s desire to use it for his own advantage.

  He’d never once been able to manipulate Stone. And it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying. He did live for a challenge, after all.

  After several seconds, a brilliant smile bloomed across Stone’s face. “That’s handy, because I need your help, as well.”

  So that was how he was going to play it.

  “How did I know you were going to say that?”

  “Because you’re an intelligent man?”

  “Uh-huh. Stop blowing smoke up my ass and tell me what this is going to cost me.”

  “Everything.”

  At least his friend was honest. That was one of the things he valued most about his friendship with Stone. He trusted the man implicitly, and that wasn’t something he could say about many people.

  Exactly three, in fact. Stone, Gray and Genevieve.

  Finn let out a groan, already anticipating what Stone was going to say. “No.”

  “Yes.”

  “This is highway robbery.”

  “No, it’s negotiation, and you’re damn good at it. You walked in here fully aware of exactly what I was going to say.”

  That was true, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t protest. Loudly.

  “You’re being an idiot.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “You know I want nothing to do with the business. You’re going to extort—”

  “Haggle.”

  Finn ignored Stone’s interjection. “My participation. You realize that’s a terrible way to gain cooperation. I have no incentive to care about the business. You’re going to give me a chunk of your profits for nothing in return.”

  Stone laced his fingers behind his head and leaned farther back into his chair. A satisfied grin split his lips and Finn fought the very real urge to reach across the desk and deck him. The man could use a little crooked nose to make his pretty face less perfect.

  “You forget, I know you better than just about anyone.”

  Oh, Finn wasn’t forgetting anything.

  “You like to pretend you’re some debauched billionaire living the playboy lifestyle. However, we both know you work damn hard at something when you want to.”

  “Sure, but you fail to grasp that I don’t want to.”

  Stone shrugged. “Then it’s my job to bring you something that piques your interest. Luckily, I have just the thing.”

  Of course he did. Dammit.

  Shooting forward, Stone dropped his feet to the ground with a resounding thud. With quick, efficient movements, he snapped open a drawer, pulled out a folder and slid it across the desk toward Finn.

  “The document is pretty straightforward, but feel free to have your lawyer take a look before you sign it.”

  Yeah, right. Finn wouldn’t bother wasting the time. He had no doubt Stone had covered everything.

  “You had this just ready and waiting?”

  “Let’s say I’m optimistically prepared.”

  “Asshole.”

  Flipping open the folder, Finn’s gaze scanned the partnership agreement making him one-third owner in Stone Surveillance. No doubt the rest of it detailed the role each partner would play in the business, but it didn’t really matter.

  He’d do whatever his friends needed him to, which Stone had already been aware of. Finn didn’t need to be a partner in order to help. But Stone had a need for the world to be fair, which was why he’d been hounding Finn for months to join the company.

  It wasn’t like Finn needed the money, although he had no doubt Stone Surveillance would become highly successful.

  Without bothering to read the rest of it, Finn snatched up the heavy gold pen sitting on the desk and scrawled his name across the bottom of the last page. Flipping the folder closed, he shoved it back across to Stone.

  “Happy?”

  “Yep.”

  Well, that made one of them, but Finn wasn’t going to argue with him anymore.

  “I need you to get a team over to Genevieve’s studio and home. The technology on her security system leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. I also need Gray to see if he can scrub the footage from last night to get more information. I want to know who the asshole is so I can beat him into the ground.”

  Stone pressed a button on the phone sitting on his desk, and Finn heard a beeping noise from the outer office. A few moments later a woman in her late thirties slipped into the room. She was pretty. Dressed conservatively and with a pleasant, accommodating smile on her face.

  “Yes, Mr. Stone?”

  Holding out the folder, Stone said, “Please make a copy of the document and bring it back for Mr. DeLuca.”

  Losing patience, Finn said, “I don’t give a shit about the paperwork, Stone.”

  “I know, but I do.”

  The woman didn’t even acknowledge the conversation. With a nod, she took the folder and disappeared back out the door.

  Flipping his wrist over, Stone glanced at the heavy platinum watch. “A team’s been at Genevieve’s studio for about two hours now. They should have the equipment installed by late this afternoon. We’ll move to her personal residence tomorrow. Gray should have a preliminary report by the morning, although he’s already warned me there’s not a lot to work with.”

  Finn frowned. “That doesn’t sound like an amateur smash and grab.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” Stone agreed. But he didn’t add anything else. And he wouldn’t until he had definitive information to pass along.

>   In the meantime... “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I know she’s important to you.”

  Finn’s gaze narrowed. “My son is important to me, so yes, her safety and livelihood are important.”

  Stone didn’t say anything, just raised a single eyebrow.

  Finn wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. For the first time since he’d watched a shadowy figure appear on the screen last night, he finally let his body relax.

  “We’ve got you, Finn.”

  You’d think after several years he’d be used to that fact. But he wasn’t. It had been a very long time since there’d been anyone in his life who unconditionally had his back. Not since Sawyer...

  “Now, let me tell you how you can help us.”

  * * *

  Genevieve tried to concentrate on the stones spread in front of her. Frowning, she moved them around. Again.

  An itchy, restless sensation crawled beneath her skin. It was part frustration with the design she was supposed to be working on. Pushed up against a timeline that couldn’t budge, she’d forced herself to start the setting for several of the smaller stones. But she wasn’t happy. It just didn’t feel right.

  Unfortunately, she didn’t have a better plan so she was moving forward, anyway. But the tedious work of preparing the settings, molding the platinum and gold, polishing them, measuring, marking and scoring for the gems...it was all time-consuming and she couldn’t help but feel the time was wasted.

  Adding to her level of frustration was the extra layer of edginess Finn’s presence was causing her. If she’d known he would tag along with the team his friends had sent to upgrade her surveillance system, then she might have found a good reason to stay home.

  Not that she could afford to lose a day of work.

  Genevieve was at the microscope, using it to prepare a halo she was creating for one of the stones when a tremor bolted through her body. Her hands, usually rock steady when she was working, shook. The delicate instrument she was using jumped, scraping across the polished surface of platinum and leaving a mark.

  “Dammit,” she growled, pushing violently back from the expensive piece of equipment before she did something stupid and regretful. The casters on the bottom of her chair rattled as she rolled across the floor, but stopped suddenly when she crashed into something unexpected.

  Or someone.

  Finn’s hands settled over her shoulders. “Easy there. What’s wrong?”

  What was wrong? Everything. Looking down at her hands in her lap, she realized they were trembling. And she still held the instrument she’d been using in a too-tight grip. Twisting to the side, she gently set the thing on the surface of a worktable and then shook out her hand.

  Pushing up from the chair, she pivoted and moved out from beneath Finn’s grip. Right now, she didn’t want him to touch her.

  Or she wanted him to touch her too much. She was no longer certain which one.

  “What’s wrong?” she repeated his question, still uncertain exactly what to say.

  She wanted to yell at him. To tell him he was the problem. He and his friends who’d been in her space for the last couple days. Disrupting her work, sending Nick into a tizzy and making her life generally more complicated.

  But that wasn’t exactly fair. Sure, the mistake she’d just made—one that would set her back several hours of work—wasn’t his fault. Even if his presence had been the reason for the jolt through her body.

  Genevieve had known the moment he walked into the studio. Her body responded. Wanted.

  Damn him.

  Licking a tongue across suddenly dry lips, she answered in the only way that wouldn’t reveal too much. “Just a problem with the design.”

  Holding out a hand, he said, “Let me see.”

  “No.”

  A single dark eyebrow winged up and he waited, hand outstretched. Several tense seconds pulled between them. Finally, with a frustrated sigh, she reached behind her, snatched the piece up and slapped it against his palm.

  Squinting, he brought it close so he could inspect the setting. His lips pursed as he turned it. Finally, he closed a fist around it and dropped it to his side.

  “Aside from the scratch, it’s good work.”

  Genevieve nodded, expecting nothing less. But he didn’t stop there.

  “Your heart isn’t in this.”

  No, it wasn’t. “I know.”

  “Then why are you working on it?”

  “Because I don’t have a choice. I need to finish the piece and there isn’t enough time if I don’t get to work on it now.”

  Reaching for her, Finn wrapped his hands around her arms and gently pulled her close. The warmth of his body was so tempting, especially when he just held her for several seconds. Tucking her head against his chest, he rested his chin on the crown of her head. Together, they stood there and breathed.

  And for the first time in weeks a sense of calm washed over her.

  Pulling in a deep breath, Genevieve held it for several seconds before blowing it out on a long streaming sigh.

  Shifting, Finn pushed her out to arm’s length and guided her over to one of the high stools she kept in the studio. Edging her down onto it, he said, “Show me the design.”

  Genevieve shook her head. “I don’t have one.”

  “Why not?”

  It was a valid question. Normally, she started with a sketch, transferred the idea into a program on her computer that set the dimensions of the entire piece and allowed her to make adjustments down to millimeters.

  The problem was, none of the sketches she’d done had felt good enough to move to the program. But she’d been out of time so decided to use the old-school method and just wing it. Part of her had hoped inspiration would strike while she was working with the stones.

  Clearly, that wasn’t happening.

  * * *

  Finn watched Genevieve’s internal struggle. Disappointment, desperation and anxiety crossed her beautiful face. His first thought was how he could fix the problem for her.

  Finally, she shrugged her shoulders. “None of the designs felt right. But I don’t have time to wait for inspiration. I need to get started on the piece or it’ll never be ready in time.”

  “Show me.”

  Shaking her head, Genevieve said, “This isn’t your problem.”

  Maybe not, but he wasn’t about to leave her frustrated and unhappy when there was potentially something he could do about it. “Show me.”

  Wrinkling her nose, she finally turned to the large safe mounted on the far wall of her workroom. Finn didn’t bother to look away as she entered the combination on the keypad. Mostly because knowing the code wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference. If he’d wanted inside it would have taken him less than ninety seconds. Upgrading the thing was next on his list.

  The heavy door creaked, metal scraping against metal, as Genevieve swung it wide. Inside, there were several shelves and drawers. Reaching for one in the middle, she pulled it fully out of the safe. Cradling it in her arms, she turned to the worktable and set it down.

  Stepping closer, Finn peered down at the seven stones spread across the black velvet.

  He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but the deep purplish-red of the alexandrite wasn’t it. In artificial light some people mistook the gems for rubies, but Finn knew immediately what Genevieve had.

  Grabbing the biggest stone—at least three carats and worth probably around thirty thousand depending on the gem’s ability to shift color—he walked across the room. The stone was cool in his palm. He couldn’t help but move his hand up and down in an unconscious attempt to pinpoint the weight.

  Thrusting it into the natural light streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling window, the gem shifted to a deep turquoise color that had breath backing into his lungs. “Gorgeous,” he breathed.

>   Alexandrite might not be as expensive as diamonds, but it was rarer. Especially at this quality.

  Even engrossed in the stone, he knew Genevieve was standing right beside him. Her soft, floral scent washed over him, filling his head and making his blood whoosh. The need for her was always right there, churning beneath the surface.

  “Do all the other stones have this depth of color?”

  Reaching out, Genevieve ran a soft fingertip over the beveled surface. “Yes.”

  And he was immediately half-hard, needing her to touch him in the same reverent way.

  Nope, now was not the time.

  “The stones are gorgeous. Seductive. Why is it so hard to find the right design?”

  Finn didn’t think her distracted question was actually directed at him. It was clearly an internal one, and one she’d asked herself before with no real answer.

  Closing his fist around the stone, Finn registered the way it absorbed his body heat, soaking in warmth just as it did the light.

  Genevieve’s gaze skipped up to his. The way she looked at him... Finn’s chest tightened, trepidation and need twisting into a painful band.

  “We’ll figure this out,” he promised, reaching up and running a finger down the soft slope of her jaw.

  She blinked, unconsciously leaning into his touch. “I’ve had the stones for two months. I haven’t figured it out yet.”

  “I wasn’t here.” Finn flashed her a self-deprecating smile and started walking backward.

  Genevieve let out a groan and rolled her eyes. “Your ego is enormous.”

  Finn’s grin grew. He kept backing toward the worktable and after several seconds she followed. When his back bumped against the edge, he turned to set the gem onto the black velvet.

  Picking up each of the other stones, he studied them for several seconds before placing them next to the largest. Genevieve slid up beside him, her tiny, talented hands gripping tightly to the edge of the table.

  Once the gems were displayed, Finn tilted his head and looked at them as a whole.