Page 58 of Diamond in the Rough (The Diamond Trilogy 1)
“Because you asked me to.”
It’s not a matter of finding the right answer. It’s about finding the right question. I look down, and then I know. “Where are the diamonds, Elijah?”
“Fuck, Holly.”
“Where are they?”
“You, too? It’s not enough I had Adam hounding me.”
“Where are the freaking diamonds?”
“They’re with your sister. Is that what you wanted to know? She saw me in Paris and recognized me from Reims. I stashed them on her, the same way I once stashed diamonds on you. It’s becoming a habit with you Frank girls.”
“Where did you really go today? Were you even looking for her?”
“I reported to my commanding officer.”
Hurt burns like acid down my throat. He may not have owed me his time, but he sure as hell didn’t have to lie about it. And it sounds like she’s some kind of enemy of the US government right now. Is she in danger? That wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t given her diamonds. He’s using her the same way he used me all those years ago. We’re nothing but props to him. Mules to carry things he needs moved around. Pawns on a chessboard.
He leans forward, setting his elbows on his knees. “Where’s your sister?”
“I don’t know,” I cry, my voice rising, panic a fist around my neck. “Isn’t that what I’ve been telling you? Isn’t that why I came to Paris?”
“Or maybe you came to run away with her and a fortune’s worth of diamonds.”
“I don’t want diamonds; I don’t care about diamonds. They mean nothing to me.” I’m going supersonic again, but I can’t stop. “I only want my sister.”
“Find one, and we find both.” Those green eyes flash. “And we will find both.”
“This is crazy,” I whisper, feeling like a cornered animal. Feeling like the hair at the back of my neck is raised in warning. My sister isn’t the only one in danger. If she’s an enemy of the US government, so am I. I want to lash out, but I know I’d lose that fight.
“I promise you’ll be safe,” he says.
He’s lying. I feel like throwing up that baguette and gruyere from earlier. I stand and head down the stairs without saying a word. The whole world looks surreal, underwater.
“Holly,” he says, his voice too close for comfort.
“Leave me alone.”
“Holly, you can’t go out there.”
I whirl on him, incredulous. “What do you mean?”
“You understand. It’s not so different from the place where we were.”
“The place where we were had iron bars. And a lock. And rats, probably.” I make a sweeping motion to the opulence and comfort of the safe house. “It’s nothing like this.”
“Except in one way. You can’t leave.”
“Why not?”
He looks away, as if overcome with some emotion. But when he looks back at me, there’s no feeling whatsoever in his green eyes. He might as well be a machine. “Because I won’t let you.”
Walls close around me. Iron bars lock into place. They’ve been there all along, only I couldn’t see them. This is a prison the same as the church. In both places I was kept by a man who thought I was an object. Not a person. Bile rises in my throat.
I run toward the door, expecting to hear Elijah’s footsteps thundering after me, expecting his strong arms to catch me. But I reach the door with no problem, only to be confronted with a black screen. I don’t know the code. I don’t know freaking the code. The handle doesn’t even turn. The door doesn’t open. The alarm system that I thought kept me safe is keeping me captive.
“Let me out,” I say.
He approaches me with caution, like you would a wild animal. That’s how I feel. It’s probably how I look, my hair and eyes gone crazy. “It’s not safe for you out there.”
“Says you, but here’s the problem. I don’t believe a word you say.”
“I’m not lying to you.”
“That’s exactly what liars say.”
His lips twitch, the bastard. “Listen. I’m keeping you safe, and I’m going to find your sister. That’s exactly the situation we were in an hour ago, and you weren’t pissed at me then.”
“That was before I knew you were using my sister in some kind of dangerous mission.”
“She involved herself.”
“And she’s just going to hand over the diamonds? No one’s going to hurt her?”
“That’s up to her.”
Oh God, London. Where are you? “I don’t care. Let me go.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
I glance over Elijah’s shoulder to where Carson stands at attention. His gray eyes meet mine. “You,” I say, desperate now. “Please help me. He won’t let me leave.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am.”
Angry tears flood my eyes. “You knew. All along when we were talking about you and your nine siblings, you knew I was a prisoner here. Your mother would be ashamed of you.”
He does look sober. “Yes, ma’am, but I work for Liam North.”
