“Babe, you missed the dance. Claudette…” His words died.
Nathan recognized the carnage.
“Your own cousin!” she screamed.
Everything stopped.
This was piping hot tea and the good folks of Atlanta were not about to let this slide.The Diamond of Atlanta…I had been that once.Tarnished.
My gleam was had turned dull.
The need to faint came over me.
Ivy Knowles- Scarpetta.
I remembered who the fuck I was.
“Nathan, get your wife under control,” I gave a smile that was so tight it hurt my cheeks.
He held up a hand and tried to stop me from speaking. “Just shut the fuck up for once, Diamond.”
My eyes grew huge, and Thierry rolled his eyes. “Let’s go.”
“How can you stay with her?” Elana asked my husband.
“We know things about each other that no one else could possible understand, Elana. But Claudette is waiting for you both. Tonight, is her night and now it’s become a shit show. Go and salvage it….”
Thierry’s hands bit into my upper arm as he dragged me away. We were at the top of the stairs, the red carpet of the museum flowing all the way to the bottom when I stopped.
“My black knight to the rescue,” I tried to give him a smile.
Thierry’s face had turned dark. “What is it with you southern belles always making a goddamn scene.”
My eyes grew huge with indignation, “She fucking started it.”
Thierry rolled his eyes. “You are way too old. She started it? You fucked her husband for years. An entire family is destroyed.”
Before I could let out another sound something happened. An explosion ripped through the entire building.
Glass flew everywhere…
I lost my footing at the top of the stairs. My body began to meet the carpeted step but I couldn’t stop myself once in motion.
Darkness consumed me as I heard Thierry screaming my name.
Chapter 26
Thierry
Watching Diamond’s body tumble down the red carpeted stairs as I tried to reach out to catch her. The thought made my stomach lurch. When I had finally gotten to her, climbing over broken glass and exploded wood, I found blood coming from everywhere.
My hands were bloodied, I had realized.
It wasn’t Diamond’s blood.
My next thoughts were of Enzo and Treyanna. Were they safe? How much of the explosion had they felt? *There was so much black smoke filling the air that I feared I might never breath clean air again. Panic began to set in as this felt all too familiar.
Fire was everywhere.
