“I don’t give a shit about your trust.” The lie nearly chokes me, and I swallow the bitter flavor left behind. “I care about information. About the diamonds. About the island.”
She flinches at the mention of the island, a reaction so small, most wouldn’t notice.
But I’m not most people. I’m trained to exploit weaknesses.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What diamonds?” She takes a beat. “What island?”
Hmm. So, she doesn’t know about the diamonds but does know about the island.
I crowd her, backing her against the kitchen counter. “We’re past that, Chloe. We’re past the lies. I know you were on Isla de Huesos fifteen years ago during the chaos.”
Her face pales, the freckles standing out in sharp relief against her skin. “How?—”
“Doesn’t matter how I know. What matters is what you saw. What you took.”
She shoves past me and stalks back into the living room. “I didn’t take anything. I was a child!”
I follow her. “Children can be used. They can carry things. Hide things.”
“You’re insane.” She paces the room, her movements jerky with pent-up energy. “I don’t have your precious diamonds. Or even know anything about them. I’m a kindergarten teacher, for goodness’ sake! You saw my house. If I were swimming in diamonds, would I be living in a one-bedroom bungalow?”
“A kindergarten teacher who just happens to have been on an island during a mafia bloodbath.” My voice remains even. Emotionless. “A kindergarten teacher who just happens to be the target of professional killers.”
“Because of you!” She spins to face me. “They’re after me because of you! My life was perfectly normal until you showed up with your…your…” She gestures wildly at my body, at my face, at my holster, at everything that makes me who I am. “With your lies and your violence and…your darn bedroom eyes!”
I almost laugh at that last part.
It’s a damn good thing none of the other guys were present to hear that. I’d never live it down.
Although, there’s nothing funny about this situation or about the danger we’re both in.
“My life,” her voice rises with each word, “was perfectly fine before you invaded it. I had my students and my friends and myroutine, and now I have bullets through my windows and men with guns hunting me down and you dragging me to some…some secret hideout like I’m your prisoner!”
I point to all the locked doors. “Until I get what I need, you are a prisoner. In an impenetrable cage that will keep you safe.”
Chloe slams her fists on her hips. “And what is that, exactly? What do you want from me? What could I possibly have that’s worth all this?”
Every molecule in my body attunes to her, scouring for any hint of omission or subterfuge. “Twenty million in diamonds, for starters.”
She throws her hands up in exasperation. “I don’t have any diamonds. Not even earrings! I don’t even have a savings account.”
Stable and angry eye contact. No hint of her trying to conceal anything. She’s not lying. Which means… “Maybe not anymore. But you must know something. You’re connected to this somehow.”
She strides to the window and glares out at the lake, her arms wrapped tightly around her middle as if she’s barely holding herself together. For a moment, I see her at the farmers market. Bright and unguarded, a splash of color in a grayscale world.
The memory irritates me into pushing harder. “Who were you carrying them for? Who planted them on you? Think.”
She whirls back around to face me. “No one. There were no diamonds! There was just—” She stops abruptly.
This is where I need to pry. “Just what?”
“Just fire.” Her fingers dig into her own flesh. “And guns. And people dying.”
Yeah, she was definitely there. Not just on the island, but close to where things went down. “What did you see, Chloe?”
Her eyes flash with defiance. “Nothing that would help you. Nothing about your precious stones. And you had betterhopethey found a substitute for me. The fire trucks are coming tomorrow.”
I blink, momentarily thrown off balance by the non sequitur. “What?”
