“Finally.” Jewel dusted off her hands. “Meet Buck’s daughter and partner in crime.”
Colin radioed to the other officers, who quickly boarded the yacht and took Stella into custody. Jewel went back into the salon to find Meral curled in a ball, sobbing. It would take her time to accept all that had happened.
* * *
Back at the B and B, Meral and Jewel tried to come to grips with everything they’d been through during the past few days. Statements had been given, the Krizan Diamond referred to as a family heirloom. Meral explained it had never been reported missing or stolen, convincing Jewel that it belonged to her as much as anyone in the family. Jewel wasn’t sure what to do or how to feel about that.
With everyone questioned, finally the investigation was closed. Stella had been arrested and charged as an accomplice to murder, plus attempted murder and numerous other crimes involving jewel theft throughout the country.
But that didn’t mean it was over. Not for Meral, whose life as she knew it was ruined.
“I’m so sorry, honey.” Jewel ran her hand over Meral’s head, hoping to comfort her, but there could be no comfort for Meral. Only time would bring healing. Jewel was glad Meral would stay with her for the time being.
“How could he do this to me? I thought he loved me. I don’t understand.” Meral sobbed into another tissue and shook her head. The pain in her eyes broke Jewel’s heart. She couldn’t help but feel that in a way—a long, roundabout way—she’d done this to her sister.
“How can I ever trust again? How can I ever love again?” Meral asked.
Jewel had thought she would never trust or love again herself after losing Silas, so she understood Meral’s misgivings. “First you have to heal and you need to give yourself time. I once thought I could never love again. But now I realize I was just scared. Trusting is a risk, yes. Loving again is a risk. Then I found someone special, and now I’m willing to take that risk.”
Meral blinked up at her. “Chief Winters.”
“Colin. I’m in love with him. I tried to deny it, to hide it, to keep it from surfacing, but what is life without love?” Jewel regretted her words. This wasn’t the time. “I’m sorry, Meral. I shouldn’t have...”
“No, it’s okay. I think...deep down, I knew something was going on with Buck. That his business wasn’t on the up-and-up. I didn’t understand it anyway, so I just chose to look the other way. If anything, I should be the one who is sorry. If it wasn’t for me, he never would have come after you.”
“No. You have nothing to apologize for. Wait here. I have something to show you.” While they’d dined on the deck that first night, Jewel had left to quickly refresh herself in her cabin, and she’d taken that chance to transfer the diamond to Meral’s luggage, where no one would think to look. Jewel tugged open Meral’s luggage now and rummaged around until she found the inner lining. From there she pulled out the Krizan Diamond and held it out to Meral. “I want you to have this. I don’t want it. I don’t want to be wealthy. I don’t want or need anything except, well maybe...”
“Your police chief.”
“Right, except I’m not sure he’ll have me now that he knows I stole a diamond. That I’m kind of a jewel thief like the man who killed the woman he loved years ago. To have a chance with him, I think he needs to know I no longer have the diamond. I’m giving it up. He needs to know that I trust him. I didn’t trust Silas, not enough, but somehow I have to convince Colin that I trust him enough not to need a backup plan anymore. I have to convince him to forgive me for not telling him everything when it mattered the most. When it could have made a difference.”
Meral eyed the precious gem. “I don’t want it, Jewel. I can’t take it. It will only remind me of Buck’s duplicity. You keep it.” Meral curled back into a ball.
Jewel held on to it, wanting nothing more than to throw it into the ocean. She hung her head, wishing she could get back the past few days. If she could, she would do everything differently. She would tell Colin everything, maybe even that she loved him.
Someone cleared a throat.
Jewel looked up. Colin. He gestured that he wanted to speak with her. Meral was resting with her eyes closed. Jewel left her sister, who needed privacy, time alone anyway. Meral needed some space to process the pain. It would take years for it to go away completely, but now that she had fully faced the truth, she could start the healing process.
Heart beating unevenly, Jewel approached Colin and held out the diamond for him to see. “How long have you been standing there?”
Had he heard her confession of love?
* * *
He tipped her chin up. “Long enough.”
Her gaze widened slightly. He saw uncertainty there as he drank deeply from the pool of her hazel-green eyes. He touched the soft skin of her cheek, twisted his finger in a tendril of her ash-blond hair.
She held the diamond out, and it shimmered in the dim light. He’d been so busy with everything there hadn’t been time to see the “family heirloom” that had caused the trouble.
The yellow stone glistened and sparkled and took his breath away. Never had he seen anything like it up close and personal.
Jewel began explaining about cut, color and clarity. “It’s just over twenty carats, natural fancy intense and internally flawless.”
“If you say so,” he said. All the diamond-speak had his head spinning.
“Do you know they have to mine over two hundred and fifty tons of ore just to find a one-carat colored diamond? And the radiant cut means it has seventy-seven facets.”
Colin wouldn’t tell her he had no idea what she was talking about. How could he when she was clearly in her element? The diamond looked like she’d captured sunshine in the palm of her hand, and that sunshine reflected on her face as she talked about what was near and dear to her heart—her family and the family diamond business. She may have left it all behind twenty years earlier, but she clearly hadn’t forgotten a thing.
The fact she talked long and knowledgeable on a subject he knew absolutely nothing about reminded him all too well she was out of his league, really, as he’d always thought.
He pressed a finger on it—cold to the touch—and sucked in a breath.
And then he knew he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t step away from her. This diamond might be cold, but the jewel before him was anything but.
He wrapped her hand around the diamond and covered it with his own. “This isn’t the jewel I want. This belongs to you. Your confession, your past, has no bearing on how I feel about you, Jewel Caraway. How I’ve always felt but denied.”
His throat grew tight. “I thought that you and I would both be better off if I stepped back. Turned away from this force that pulls me to you at every turn, but I’m not strong enough to walk away from you anymore. You’re more precious to me than anything in this world. Even my own life. And I’ve wasted so much time already.”
He searched her eyes for understanding. For the love he wanted to see reflected in her gentle hazel gaze, unclouded by fear or uncertainty or doubt. And he was not disappointed.
How many years had he imagined, dreamed about this moment, then shoved aside his longing to do what he had thought was right for them both? But right now he was weak, so very weak. His will bowed to the current running between them, a quaking force that shook him to the bones. Or maybe he was finally strong enough to accept the path that God had wanted for him all along. To stop running in fear from the prospect of getting hurt again.
Colin slowly wrapped his arms around Jewel and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back, and he savored her response.
Accepting. Eager.
Ecstasy. He was enraptured at the slightest pressure of her soft lips. Any more and he would lose himself completely. He breathed in deeply the jewel he’d longed for, and realized that somehow his heart had carved the perfect place for
her within him.
He could have stayed forever with Jewel in his arms, letting her know how he felt about her, but he had to rein in his emotions. It was dangerous to linger. He inched back. Still, he was close to her, closer than he’d ever been physically and emotionally, even spiritually. There was something about loving a woman who loved God, and he could feel that in her, as well.
He let go of his resolve never to love. God didn’t want that for him, and he didn’t want it for himself—not when he had the treasure of Jewel’s love as recompense. Her heart in exchange for his own.
“I heard you tell Meral that you loved me. I love you, too, Jewel. I think I always have.”
Her eyes shimmered with what he hoped were tears of joy along with her beautiful smile. Despite the tragedy and pain around them, she was free of her stalker and her past, as was Colin.
“This experience has taught me something,” he said.
“What’s that?” Her voice was lyrical, and he loved that about it.
It felt wonderful to be free finally to enjoy everything about Jewel, instead of always pushing thoughts of her away.
“If I didn’t know before, I know now how precious life is and I don’t want to waste a single moment. I don’t want to waste time regretting the past or fearing the future. I don’t need days, weeks or months to get to know you. I’ve known you for years. I’ll court you, ask you on a real date first, if that’s what you want, but I feel like in my heart I’ve been secretly courting you for years. And there’s so much more I want to do with you.”
She laughed and nodded, wiped at a tear.
“Will you be my wife, Jewel? Will you marry me?”
She shuddered, hung her head back, but the look on her face was pure elation. Then she rolled her head forward and smiled. “How about next week? You can marry me first, and I’ll take the courting for a lifetime.”
* * *
Hidden Away
Sharon Dunn
Ever since she found the Nancy Drew books with the pink covers in her country school library, Sharon Dunn has loved mystery and suspense. Most of her books take place in Montana, where she lives with three nearly grown children and a hyper border collie. She lost her beloved husband of twenty-seven years to cancer in 2014. When she isn’t writing, she loves to hike surrounded by God’s beauty.
Books by Sharon Dunn
Love Inspired Suspense
Montana Standoff
Top Secret Identity
Wilderness Target
Cold Case Justice
Mistaken Target
Fatal Vendetta
Big Sky Showdown
Hidden Away
In Too Deep
Wilderness Secrets
Undercover Threat
True Blue K-9 Unit
Courage Under Fire
Texas Ranger Holidays
Thanksgiving Protector
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?
—Isaiah 43:18–19
To my Lord, savior, friend, counselor and king. Jesus, for more than thirty years, we have walked this journey together.
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
ONE
Despite the windows being shut against winter temperatures, a chill skittered across detective Jason Enger’s skin. Hidden in the trees that surrounded the property, he stared at the monitor in his surveillance van as a man made his way toward the door of the secluded mansion.
Ten miles from the house and nestled in the Montana mountains was the town of Silver Strike. The booming tourist spot was not only a place for world-class skiing and fly-fishing, but also ground zero for an international smuggling ring. Couriers used empty vacation homes as pickup points for valuable smuggled items that were often of cultural significance to the country they’d been taken from.
As a private detective, Jason had been working with the FBI for months to identify the couriers and the buyers in hopes that one of them would lead to the mastermind behind it all. The Bureau coordinated with US Customs to track when artifacts had been stolen from museums or personal collections.
As Jason watched the man type in security codes on the keypad by the door, look around nervously and step inside, he was pretty sure he’d hit pay dirt. Figuring out how the thief had gotten the security codes was a piece of the puzzle for the Bureau to discover. Jason’s job was to take photos that would lead to identifying all the players involved.
Three weeks ago, an eighteen-karat-gold bookmark that had belonged to Mussolini had been stolen from a museum in Italy. The Bureau had been watching several empty properties ever since.
Jason took a deep breath. His camera hadn’t recorded a clear picture of the man’s face, so he’d wait around until the perp came back out. That way he’d be sure of a positive ID. The thief had walked up to the mansion. He must have parked his car in some out-of-the-way place so it wouldn’t be spotted in the driveway of a house that was supposed to be unoccupied. The falling snow would cover the man’s tracks in a matter of minutes, leaving no trace.
Jason stared at the monitors. A car pulled up, and a woman stepped out. His heart beat a little faster as he leaned closer to the screen. She tilted her chin and squared her shoulders with none of the nervous body language the man had displayed. Everything about her, from her posture to the way she dressed, projected confidence and money, very Ivy League. Who was she?
The woman punched in the security codes and disappeared behind the ornate wooden door. Jason’s throat went dry. Was she an innocent homeowner unexpectedly walking into a dangerous situation or was she allied with the thief?
If she was not involved, he needed to get her out of there before she crossed the thief’s path. Most of the men in the crime ring who had been identified had a history of violence. The thought of harm coming to a woman made Jason’s chest tight. He wrestled with indecision. He couldn’t risk blowing this operation either; months of work would go down the tubes if the smuggling ring found out the Feds were onto them. Arresting the couriers would be an act of futility, since only finding the kingpin would end the syndicate.
He reached for a work shirt with the name Mel written on the pocket and a clipboard he kept in a tote, part of his go-to kit for his work as a PI. Walking around a neighborhood in a uniform meant most people didn’t notice you. He put his zip-front hoodie and coat back on.
His chest muscles squeezed tight. He was taking a huge risk in showing himself, but a woman might get hurt if he didn’t.
He pulled the van into the driveway, grabbed his gun from the glove compartment and placed it in his waistband so his winter coat covered it. He prayed he wouldn’t have to use the gun. Snow cascaded and twirled from the sky as he hurried toward the door.
Usually it was easy enough for him to get a read on people. If the woman was innocent, he’d find a way to convince her to leave. If guilty, he’d get a good look at her face, assuming she would even answer the door. Not answering would be a giveaway that she was involved. It would take an Oscar-worthy performance to not give away his real reason for being her
e if she was in on the operation, but he was confident of his abilities.
He touched the doorbell with a gloved finger, took in a breath and prepared to play Mel the concerned county worker.
* * *
From the moment she’d stepped into the Wilsons’ house, something felt off to Isabel Connor. The hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention as her heart thudded faster. She couldn’t let go of the feeling that she was being watched.
She shook her head, trying to free herself of her uneasiness. Maybe it was just because the Wilsons had chosen to show up three days earlier than expected. They’d texted her directly instead of getting in touch with her employer, Mary Helms at Sun and Ski Property Management. It was Isabel’s job to get the houses ready for the clients. Stock the refrigerator, make sure the property was in working order, place fresh flowers in the vases, whatever it took to make clients feel comfortable in their vacation home.
Grabbing some books that had been left on an entryway table, she headed toward the upstairs library, stopping to turn the thermostat up a few degrees. She put the books on the shelf and then ran back downstairs to inspect the kitchen, where some papers and boxes had been left on the counter, probably by a cleaning crew. Since she still needed to unload flowers and groceries from her car, she’d left the alarm off so she could run in and out of the house quickly. She’d reset it when she left.
The doorbell rang.
Her breath caught in her throat as that gut feeling that something was off rose to the surface. Who on earth could that be? The Wilsons’ house was miles from downtown Silver Strike and other homes. They hadn’t been back here in months. News of the Wilsons’ early arrival couldn’t have gotten out that fast. Not even her boss knew the Wilsons had had a change of plans. She hurried from the kitchen but walked a little slower as she approached the front door.
Through the window by the door, she could see a man with a clipboard. Her heart raced a little faster as she swung the door open.
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