Will and Cole leaned closer. It took Cole a moment to find the inclusion, but once he did, he couldn’t unsee it. Sure enough, at around the five o’clock position between two of the prongs holding it in its setting, was a fleck of black.
Exhaling, he sat back. “He’d definitely remember that.”
“Exactly.” Lilith put down the bird. “So I think this would blow up in your faces, unfortunately.”
Will sat back too, but he was frowning. “Isn’t that a fake stone, though? I thought the black inclusions only showed up in natural diamonds?”
Cole eyed him curiously. “Since when do you know so much about diamonds?”
Will shrugged. “I watch documentaries and shit.”
It annoyed Cole that he didn’t have a snarky response at the ready for that, and instead found it somewhat endearing. Jesus. Had Will fucked him hard enough to concuss him? Because that would explain his scrambled brain.
Or maybe I’m just really into this guy.
“Well,” Lilith said. “Though some jewelers try to insist that lab-created stones are flawless, the truth is, theycanbe included just like one mined from the ground.”
“But… that’s not a realdiamond, is it? Lab-created or otherwise? Because even a lab-created diamond—especially a flamingo diamond—would be crazy expensive at that size.”
“No, no.” She laughed softly. “This is moissanite. Not something you’ll get out of a children’s vending machine, but it’s certainly not expensive as a diamond.” She paused. “And moissanite is prone to inclusions, same as diamonds. Typically smaller and less visible than in diamonds, but more conspicuous inclusions like this one are possible.”
“Huh,” Will said. “Learn something new every day.”
“So where can we find a counterfeit like this one?” Cole asked. “Just… without the incriminating inclusion?”
Lilith reached into her desk and pulled out a leatherbound book. “I’ll put you in touch with the person who made this one. She was working on creating the perfect fake of it, so she’ll likely have others.” She glanced up at them as she started writing down the counterfeiter’s contact information. “It will cost you, gentlemen.”
“Eh.” Will grinned and elbowed Cole. “Good thing I bagged myself a sugar daddy.”
Cole’s jaw went slack. Will’s grin got even bigger.
And Lilith just laughed.
CHAPTER 17
“Goddamn, you think you know a person…”
Cole chuckled under his breath as they entered the elevator, leaning the ladder against the wall before hitting the button for the ground floor. “Says the man who maintains a different history for everyone he meets.”
“That’s different,” Will insisted, adjusting his baseball cap so the brim sat a little lower on his forehead. “That’s not for my sake, it’s for Baby Boy’s. Everything else about me is a hundred percent genuine.”
“If you were smarter, no one would even know you had a brother to cover up for.”
Will chose to take that as a compliment. “You think I’m smart, honeybee?”
Cole turned to glare at him. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”
“At least one more.” Will looked over his partner—in crime, just in crime—and adjusted the strap of his painter’s overalls. “Christ, you need to learn to slouch. Maybe if we took that stick out of your ass…”
Cole smacked his hand away. “Professional painters understand body dynamics and the need to keep a straight spine, and for what it’s worth, I think this is overkill.”
“Spoken like a man used to working from behind a monitor.” Cole scoffed. “No, seriously, you’d do everything in a suit if you could, wouldn’t you? Classic James Bond wannabe, right here.”
“And you’d do everything in ratty jeans and a T-shirt.”
Will leered. “I’d definitely doyouin ratty jeans and a T-shirt.” The elevator stopped and they took hold of the ladder, one on each end, and headed for the parking garage. The man at the lobby desk didn’t look twice. “But really,” Will continued once they were alone again, “I had no damn clue Cheyenne moonlighted as a forger, and I’ve known her for almost ten years.”
Cole shrugged as they made their way over to the plain, white-walled van they’d rented under a fake identity that morning. “We should be grateful she’s so close by.”
