The end of hers.
Chapter 34: With God, All Things Are Possible
Briar Emrys Montverre was fashionably late.
Of course he was.Men with too much money and too little humility always were.
Desi sipped her iced latte and eyed Camila across the small iron table in front of her favorite coffee shop.Her assistant seemed uncharacteristically jumpy, fingers fidgeting with her straw, gaze darting up and down the street.Surely, she couldn’t be that smitten with the man?
The low, throaty purr of an engine answered her.A sleek black Aston Martin rolled to the curb, slipping into the spot beside Desi’s dented, sun-faded Camry, making it look like a forgotten relic from another world.
“There he is!”Camila’s voice leapt with a note of glee Desi had never heard from her before.
Desi rolled her eyes.Good grief.
Briar stepped out, the very picture of self-importance.Brioni suit tailored to perfection, hair artfully disheveled, the gleam of wealth in every strand.He removed his Louis Vuitton sunglasses, greeted Camila with a kiss to the cheek, then—heaven help her—pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the seat before sitting down.
“I’m a lucky man,” he said, flashing his shark’s grin.“Coffee with two of the most beautiful women in Miami.”
Camila giggled and practically melted beside him.“Can I order you a coffee?”
He waved her off.“They don’t carry my brand.”
Desi nearly gagged.
“Well,” she said, setting her cup down with deliberate calm, “shall we get to business?”
His smile tightened, eyes sharpening.“I hear you found the Ring.Do you have it?”
“I do.Do you have the money?”
He reached into his jacket, drew out his phone, and with a few precise taps, turned the screen toward her.
$5,000,000.
Seven digits that could save her sister.Seven digits that could destroy everything else.
He withdrew the phone.“Once I have your account information,” he said smoothly, “I’ll press this button, and the money is yours.”
Desi inhaled slowly.“First, I need to know what’s your purpose for the Ring?What do you intend to do with it?”
He frowned.“As I told you, Miss Starr, it’s a family heirloom.Sentimental value.”
“Come now, Mr.Montverre.Nobody pays that kind of money for sentiment.”
A flicker passed through his gaze.Annoyance, perhaps, or calculation.“If you must know,” he said, leaning back, “the Ring has been in my family for centuries.My ancestor was a Knight Templar who found it on a crusade in Jerusalem.”
Desi’s brow arched.“Then how did it end up at the bottom of the sea?”
He studied her, suspicion curling his lips.“It was stolen from one of my ancestors by a pirate.”
She bit back a bitter laugh.More like he tried to steal itfroma pirate, she wanted to say.Instead, she folded her arms.“I read up on the Ring, Briar.It’s rumored to hold power over the elements—wind, weather, even time itself.”
He gave a low chuckle.“Myths.Fantasies.The sort of tales bored scholars tell to feel important.”
“But it would explain the price you’re offering.”
Camila turned sharply, fury etching her features.“Desi, what are you doing?Just sell it!It’s a great deal.”
