Page 4 of Gold Mine (The Diamond Trilogy 2)
“On both counts.”
“On both counts. Though you should know that I’m not the only person she borrowed money from. Nor am I the most ruthless. Your sister has a slight drug problem.”
It’s my problem now. I won’t let her face this alone. She’s been doing well enough without the drugs—though in a sudden flash of insight, I realize she might be procuring them when she goes on walks. She needs a real rehab center, not a string of hostel beds.
That’s something to figure out later. The deal here is complete. Any other debts will have to wait for another day. I reach down to pull out the rest of the diamonds. I’m bent over, exposed, defenseless, when I hear the cock of a gun.
CHAPTER THREE
Holly
Adam faces the four of us with a pistol in his hand, no fear in his cold gray eyes. He looks taller than I remember him, stronger than I remember. “You’re under arrest.”
The two men on either side of Ian Taggart already have their weapons drawn. They point at Adam. Adam points at them. We have a standoff, and I’m right in the middle.
Ian Taggart speaks in rapid Italian. “Are you AISE?”
“Interpol.”
“He’s not really Interpol,” I say. “He’s corrupt.”
“You know him?” Ian’s eyes narrow on me. “You fucking brought him?”
“No! I swear! I had no idea he was even here.”
Ian stands, as calmly as if there were no fingers on triggers in the room. I wonder if I’ll ever have his casual self-possession in the face of imminent death. If I have any more dealings with Adam and Elijah, it just might happen. Either that or they’ll make me insane.
“I’ll take this as interest,” he says, holding up the small diamond to the low light. The light refracts in even the tiny surfaces, showering glitter across my gold dress. “And you can be assured I’ll be back to collect the full payment.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Adam asks.
“Back to the party. Unless you want her pretty dress splattered with blood.”
Then Ian strolls out of the room, the two men following, their guns trained on me until the last possible moment. I whip around to see Adam put his gun away, looking fierce, a warrior thwarted. “Hell,” he says. “How did you get mixed up with that thug?”
I glare at him. “And you’re so much better than him.”
He gives a short laugh. And then inclines his head as if conceding the point. “I agree that you haven’t seen me in exactly the best light.”
“Kidnapping can do that.”
“I came here tonight to help you.”
“Well, you didn’t. I was about to pay off a man who’s been threatening my sister.”
“Using stolen property.”
“You mean the diamonds? Of course you mean the diamonds.” I have to admit, if only to myself, that I’m disappointed it was Adam who found me. Adam, the man who entangled me in this terrible business. Not Elijah, the man who saved me. “You want them.”
“Yes. I want them. A lot of people want them.”
Frustration feels like boiling water beneath my skin. “You could have them, you know. I don’t care about them. No, it’s worse than that. I hate them. I despise them. Why someone is making such a fuss over rocks, I have no idea.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re not about to hand them over?”
“I need them. I need them for my sister.”
“Your sister.”
I stride across the room to the door, and the party blinds me anew with its color and light and sound. “She’s probably looking for me. Worried about me.”
“Or she’s dancing with a stranger.”
The words pierce my secret worry, that I’m not important after all, that I’m too insignificant, too strange to really care about. I’ve turned my life upside down to go on the run with her. Would she do the same for me? I shake my head. Of course she would. We’re sisters. This man is trying to divide us. For what purpose? To take the diamonds. Though I couldn’t say why he doesn’t kidnap me again. Instead he lets me walk into the ballroom, following a few feet behind. For a moment there’s only a wild kaleidoscope of color. Then it focuses, and I see my sister standing where I left her, her hands clenched together so tight her knuckles are white, her blue eyes frantic. She sees me a second later, and relief floods her. God, I’m such a fool for doubting her—even for a second. We’re sisters. A bond like that can never be broken.
I rush toward her, and she toward me. We meet along the back of the room, near the black and gold foliage. In unspoken agreement we wait until we’re neatly tucked behind a heavy fern before speaking. “What happened?” she demands.
“Were you in danger?” I have to know that first. “He said he had men watching you. He said—”
