Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“I’m ready for more time with you,” I said, and I walked over and gave her a quick kiss—a promise for more later.
Andrew’s taxi must have been zippy, because ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. I opened it with a smile that vanished instantly.
Monica stood just outside.
63
THE CIRCUS CAME TO MY ROOM
Jake
I slammed the door shut.
Blood pounded in my ears. Monica was fucking relentless.
“Who is it?” Ruby asked as she joined me in the entryway.
What the hell? What the fucking hell? We’d come this far, were this close to done. I absolutely, unequivocally, could not even with another complication.
I dragged a hand through my hair and blew out a long stream of air. “Monica.”
“Sex-toy Monica?” Ruby rushed to peer through the peephole. “Do you think she’s still after the diamonds?”
A loud rapping boomed through the room, followed by a don’t-fuck-with-me voice.
“This is Monica Potkin. I’m an investigator with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Please open the door.”
Oh.
Oh shit.
Did she think I was the thief?
Okay, I had stolen the diamonds from Eli.
“Is she going to arrest us?” Ruby whispered, eyes wide.
The absurdity of the situation was starting to creep up on me. “The SEC can’t make arrests, can they?” I whispered back.
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to arrest you,” Monica said.
Ruby and I exchanged a wordless glance at the agent’s superhero hearing.
“Please open the door so we can talk.”
“What do we do?” Ruby asked.
“She knows we’re here,” I said. “We’re on the fourth floor, so it’s not like we can escape over the balcony.”
But I was damn tempted.
“I know you’re not going to climb out the balcony, so just save us some time and open the door. Please.” The last word was tacked on at the end but was as no-nonsense as the rest. Bowing to the inevitable, I reached for the knob and opened the door to the woman. She strode into the room with purpose. Her hair was slicked back and her gaze was cool behind those cat-eye glasses.
“You’ve been following me,” I said, taking the offensive. It made me feel just slightly more in control.
“We received a tip that Eli Thompson had stolen money from his hedge fund, turned it into gems with the help of a notorious luxury goods merchant, and skipped town with diamonds lining his pockets. I’ve been here for a few weeks now, working undercover to investigate this case. When you came into the diamond store with the gem, I knew we were getting closer. But it hasn’t been an easy path. Eli Thompson set traps for everyone, and I want to know if he set a trap for you too.”
I looked at Ruby, and Ruby looked at me, and we both kept quiet by silent agreement. Monica might not have been the thief, but she possessed powers we didn’t have. We were outside the law. She was the law.
“Oh, c’mon,” she said, exasperated. “I’m not going to arrest you. I just want to know if you were hired by the Eli Fund to recover the jewels, and if so, whether you succeeded.”
She knew the Eli Fund had hired its own team? Before I could think how to answer, there was another knock on the door.
My room was officially a clown car, and this was a circus.
“This better be Andrew,” I muttered, and marched to the door, yanked it open, and let Andrew into the room. I’d never been more grateful to see a client in my life. Now it would be his circus.
“Andrew, meet Monica Potkin with the SEC,” I said through tight lips. “She’s here for you.”
“Ah! So glad you’re here too,” Andrew said, striding over to Monica and pumping her hand.
“Wait!” Ruby interjected. “You know her?”
“We talked on the phone yesterday,” Andrew said, then turned to me. He almost smiled at my wary, bewildered expression. “I’ll back up. Jake, when you told me about the theft of the fake rocks, I contacted the SEC. They informed me they had an investigator already working here. So much for my efforts to do this quietly.” Andrew’s focus shifted to Monica. “If there’s any way we can keep this on the down-low, I’d be most grateful.”
“That’s not really a promise I can make, but I’ll consider it,” she said.
I looked from one of them to the other, sensing a sliver of an escape route. “You know,” I said casually, “I’m kind of feeling like my work here is done. What do you say we hand the gems over to you, and the two of us”—I waved between Ruby and myself—“can get on out of town?”
Monica shook her head. “Not so fast. I need a few details. You’re not in trouble—I meant what I said. I’m not here to arrest you. You may find this hard to believe, Mr. Hawkins, but we’re on the same side of the law in this case. Now, tell me more about the diamonds.”