He gestured at the briefcase. “I take it you found the diamonds that Dimitri Barkov stole.”
I pointed over at the filing cabinet, which was still out of line with all the others. “Right over there.”
He nodded. “But why did you send them to me? Why not keep them for yourself?”
“Because I didn’t earn them. You did. You were the one who pretended to work for Clyde O’Neal and took out the hit man he sent after me and then helped me kill him and his men last night. So if anyone deserves those diamonds, it’s you.”
A frown creased his face. “I didn’t do any of that for a briefcase full of diamonds. I didn’t even know about the diamonds until Clyde mentioned them at the resort last night. I just thought he wanted your shipping yard so he could expand his own business.”
Tucker’s words loosened an enormous knot of worry in my chest. He truly hadn’t known about the diamonds, which meant that everything we’d shared last night had been completely genuine. I hadn’t realized how important that distinction was to me until this very moment, but I still needed more answers.
“If you didn’t know about the diamonds, then why did you do all those things?”
“For you,” he replied. “I did them all for you, Lorelei.”
His soft words sent another heart sting shooting through my chest. Despite my best effort to play it cool, I couldn’t stop a pleased grin from spreading across my face. “That’s one of the loveliest things anyone has ever said to me.”
“You should have someone in your life who says lovely things to you every single day,” Tucker replied.
“Are you volunteering for the job?”
“Perhaps.” He straightened up to his full height. “If we can come to acceptable terms.”
Confusion filled me. “Terms about what?”
Tucker nudged the briefcase aside, then reached into his suit jacket, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to me. I opened the sheet and scanned the contents.
My gaze snapped up to his. “This is a résumé.”
He nodded, squared his shoulders, and smoothed his hand down his tie. “Yes, it is. One typically brings a résumé to a job interview.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You’re here to apply for a job? I thought that was just a line you used to get past Karlotta.”
“Yes, since Gin killed Mason, I find myself without lawful employment.” He paused. “Well, more like unlawful employment, given my previous work history.”
My eyes narrowed. “And you want to work for me? Why?”
“Well, you could obviously use my skills and expertise in your organization.” A sly grin spread across his face. “And I happen to like you far better than any of the other underworld bosses.”
I snorted, but his comment did make me grin in return. Still, my mood quickly turned serious again. “You don’t owe me anything. That’s why I sent you the diamonds. So that neither one of us would be beholden to the other.”
“On the contrary, I owe you everything,” he replied. “And I want to work for you much like Silvio Sanchez works for Gin.”
I frowned again. “What do you mean?”
Tucker held his hands out to his sides. “I don’t know how to do or be anything other than a bad guy, and I have no desire to start my own criminal empire. There’s far too much paperwork involved. So if I’m going to work for an underworld boss, then it should be someone I respect and admire, among other things.”
My heart squeezed tight. “What other things?”
Tucker’s black eyes gleamed in his face. “It’s quite a long list, much longer and far more detailed than we have time for in this interview, so let me sum it up. I care about you, Lorelei, and I want to do everything in my power to ensure your continued health and happiness.”
More warmth filled me at his words, but I forced myself to ask the obvious questions. “How would this work? Given that you know me far better than you do any other underworld boss?”
Tucker shrugged yet again. “Business is business. Here you’re the boss. I will offer advice when asked, but I will always defer to your decisions.”
“And after business hours?” I asked, a husky note creeping into my voice.
Heat sparked in his eyes. “Oh, I think we can mutually defer to each other after business hours.”
