Cut (13 page)

“No, we wouldn't have. I would have felt the same as I do now, that I don't want to go to Singapore.”

The fury rising in her chest blinded her. Tears started to form, but she blinked them back. She wouldn't cry for him. Each word from Carl became a log to be tossed on the fire stirring within her. “We're not getting married. That's what you've been trying to say. I want to hear you say it.”

“I don't want to marry you.”

Jessie ended the call. The image of Carl with his skinny face and slick smile faded and the screen changed back to her contact list.

She tossed her phone on the bed and brought her knees to her chest. They'd said good-bye. A burst of air escaped her mouth. She felt the way she had earlier about this, when she'd picked up her ring from Brent's house. She felt nothing.

Her phone rang and she saw Clara's picture on the screen. Jessie put the diamond on the nightstand and answered the call.

“I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to call you back,” Clara said in one breath. “How are you?”

“Awful.”

“I can only imagine what you're going through. How's Melanie?”

“There's been no change.”

“I'm sorry.” She coughed. “Aside from the obvious, are you okay? Everyone's worried about you.”

“Tell them thank you.” She swung her legs over the bed. It felt good to hear the voice of her friend. “I'd actually like to talk about something else.”

“Sure.”

“I found a present in my bag, wrapped in a pink box.”

“The present! I'm so sorry. With everything going on, I forgot to tell you. I owe you a huge apology.”

“I opened the box and I know it's from Melanie. How did you get the present?”

“Please don't hate me.”

“I won't. Just tell me how you got it.”

“I know you told me you didn't want Melanie invited to the bachelorette party and I didn't listen. A few days before we left for San Francisco, I ran into your mom at the grocery store. She asked if you'd changed your mind about including Melanie. I told her no. She suggested I forward Melanie the itinerary, in case she had a change of heart. Your mother gave me Melanie's email address.”

Jessie's shoulders tensed. “What?”

“Melanie didn't contact me until the morning of the bachelorette party.”

Jessie's heart leapt out of her chest. “You spoke to Melanie? Did you see her?”

“No, I'm sorry, but I didn't speak with her or see her. She sent me an email and asked for the name of the hotel for our weekend. I didn't hear from her again, until later, when she emailed and told me about the package she left at the front desk for you.”

Jessie did the math. Melanie would have had to have been at the hotel Friday morning. The bachelorette party arrived in the afternoon. Mere hours between them. “Did Melanie write anything else in her email?”

“She asked me to not let the box out of my sight until I gave it to you. I put the package with the other presents because I didn't want your weekend to start off on a bad note. Since we didn't get around to opening gifts, I tossed it in your suitcase before you left with Brent. What did she give you anyway?”

Jessie's gaze flashed a look to the diamond on the nightstand. “Nothing important.”

“Well that's good I guess.”

She repositioned the phone on her ear. “Has a detective contacted you?”

“A detective? No. Why? Is everything okay?”

“With Melanie's attack, I'm sure the police will want to know where she was earlier in the day. Never mind all that. I have to go.”

“Louise and I are still planning to drive up Wednesday after work.”

“Fine, fine,” Jessie said, hurried. There wasn't time to linger on the phone. She heard a commotion outside the door to her room. “I'll see you then.”

Jessie got up and walked over to the door. She recognized one of the voices as her mother's. “Mom?” she said, stepping into the hallway.

Her mother stood outside her own room talking to an employee. A man wearing the gray hotel uniform greeted Jessie. The gold-plated nametag inscribed with
John Rowe, Manager
clipped on his breast pocket.

“This is my daughter,” Leslie said and looked to Jessie. “Mr. Rowe is moving me to a suite on the top floor.”

“Why?”

“Someone went through my belongings.”

Jessie's hands froze mid-air. “When?”

“While I was with your sister.”

“I can assure you this kind of thing does not happen at the Crowne,” Mr. Rowe reiterated. “Our head of security is reviewing the tapes. I've called the police too.”

“Nothing was taken,” Leslie reassured Jessie. “My bag has been gone through and drawers were opened. I can't be comfortable in this room anymore.”

“Are you okay?” Jessie said.

“I'm a bit unsettled, but I'll be fine. What about you, do you want to move rooms?”

“I'll stay put.”

Mr. Rowe gave a stern nod. “I'll show you to your room, Ms. Cahill.”

“I'm in room seven-zero-five,” Leslie said to Jessie. She patted her daughter's arm. “Let me get settled.”

Jessie returned to her room. Later on she could confront her mother about giving Clara the email address to get in touch with Melanie. Now wasn't the time.

The items in her room looked untouched and she wondered if maybe the person who'd rummaged through her mother's suitcases had taken a look in the wrong room. She walked straight to the nightstand and picked up the diamond. She tucked it back in the front pocket of her jeans. She took a seat on the bed and faced the window.

The landline on the nightstand gave off a blaring ring and Jessie answered, “Hello?”

“It's your mother again,” Leslie said. “I forgot to tell you that I heard from Luke.”

Jessie's hand curled tightly around the phone. “About Melanie?”

“No, for another reason. He wants to meet me for dinner.”

“Oh, where are we going?”

“He asked that only I accompany him. I think…” her voice trailed, “I think we need to discuss the next steps.”

“Next steps?”

“I don't want to alarm you, the doctors are doing everything they can. It's too soon to cross certain bridges…Luke and I need to be on the same page about what to do if her condition doesn't improve or becomes worse. Although, I think Melanie is going to be fine. Do you understand?”

“It's only been two days. A little early for this conversation, don't you think?”

“I have to agree with Luke, however, he didn't say what we're going to discuss, so this is my best guess. I could be wrong. He might want to talk about my granddaughters or give me an update on the investigation. The point is I need to meet with him. He and I need to communicate as much as possible.”

Jessie thought about Brent's offer. “Do you think Luke will let us see the girls?”

“Not any time soon. That's one thing he's been adamant about since before I arrived. He told me not to ask.”

Jessie felt hit twice by the same sword. She wanted to hear he'd at least consider it. The other part of her mother's sentence set-off another topic she'd ignored for the most part. “Is there any word on the police investigation?”

“There're two investigations going on.”

“Two?”

“Turns out the same night Melanie was attacked, Luke was robbed. Seven rare diamonds had been taken from his home. He didn't realize they'd gone until he went to do some work the next morning. I hope Luke can tell me more. We haven't had a chance to talk outside of the hospital.”

Not one but
seven
diamonds. Jessie tried to process what this meant. She was certain she had one of them. Where were the others?

“Are you there?”

“I am.” Jessie heard the exhaustion in her mother's voice. “I'll let you get ready for dinner.”

“I'll stop by if I don't get back too late.”

Jessie got up from the bed. Would the person who attacked Melanie come for her? Did someone else know about the diamond? Her stomach churned. Fear ran down her back like claws sinking into her muscles. It grabbed hold of her. She couldn't breathe. She started to sweat.

The sun slipped away outside and changed the outliers of the room to shadows. She thought about her options. She could go to the police, but didn't want to. Melanie hadn't asked that of her.

The easy choice meant giving in and going straight to Luke. That didn't feel right on any level. Melanie didn't want her to go to Luke either. Jessie took a rubber band and tied her hair up in a ponytail.

What next?

What next?

What next?

The answer to that litany led back down a difficult road. A place she didn't want to go. Fresh sadness washed over her at the thought that she and Melanie had in fact, missed each other by a few hours that day at the Ritz. Jessie drew power from this.

The time had come to open her eyes. To stop playing games. There was a house on the other side of the city with a man capable of helping her. Forget earning his trust. Brent was one way she could bypass going to Luke or the police. He wanted the diamond. Now she needed to find out why.

The bellhop flagged down a cab for Jessie. She got in and gave the driver the address of her destination. Almost immediately, the car got caught up in a stream of traffic. Tonight marked the second time she would show up at Brent's house uninvited.

The more she anticipated seeing him, the slower the car seemed to move. They hit almost every red light possible, and, as if by some fluke, got stuck behind a city bus. She started second-guessing her surprise visit. He might not be home. Or worse, he might have a woman over. Did he have a girlfriend? She bit her lip. Envy surged through her. He'd kissed her and talked about making her his, so no, she assumed he didn't have a girlfriend, but she also didn't know much about his personal life.

Brent's house came into view. A light was on in the front window. He might be home.

The driver pulled up to the curb. Instead of paying, she asked him to run the meter and wait.

“Meter's running,” the driver answered, and leaned back in his seat.

Jessie stepped out into the fog-covered night. The smell of rain and asphalt and of a season changing hung in the air. She hurried up the steps and reached the front door. Her heart beat like a wild wind whipping against the windows.

She knocked and heard footsteps. The door flung open.

Shoot.

He looked incredible. He wore a hooded sweatshirt and jeans that fit his long legs with perfection.

“Twice in one day,” he said, glancing over her shoulder and back at her. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“You.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Sounds open to interpretation.”

“Why didn't you tell me about the missing diamonds? There are seven—”

“Wait here.” Brent walked past her and moved down the steps. He spoke to the driver and came back to Jessie.

“I have cash,” she said, when he came back.

“I took care of it.”

She'd been about to continue telling him she knew about the diamonds, when a noise from the hallway startled her. Brent wasn't alone. Her first thought was that he had another woman there. All those certainties about his being single got put on hold. “You've got company.”

Heavy footsteps rounded the corner and Daniel appeared. He grinned with ease. “Ah. Miss Cahill. We meet again,” he said.

She didn't let on how relieved she was to see Daniel. “Hello,” she said, thinking about the last time they met. That night hadn't been her finest hour. She took in the sight of him with new clarity. The light he stood under showed off a face traced with pencil-thin scars on his cheeks, like someone had scratched him deep. Slight stubble hugged his sharp jaw. A face full of angles and blue eyes with mystery embedded in his expression. The muscles on his arms rivaled Brent's. Except they were bulkier. She stopped her gaze there.

“Not drinking this evening?” Daniel said.

“Not tonight.” She caught the faint accent from his voice this time. She'd been too inebriated to remember that detail from the other night. She was about to ask where he was from when he spoke before she could get out the words.

“You're Melanie's younger sister.”

“I am.” Something about the grin he wore made her uneasy. It looked forced or practiced and she felt as though he and Brent had been talking about her.

“I had the pleasure of meeting your sister on several occasions. She tried more than once to set me up with one of her friends.”

“I didn't realize my sister took such an interest in match-making. Did any of the dates work out?”

“One.”

“Did she get away?”

He leaned in close to Jessie. “More like
I
got away.”

Jessie breathed in his cigarette-laced breath. “Good for you, I guess.”

Daniel walked past her. “I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, Brent.”

Brent looked Daniel in the eye. “You have everything you need.”

“I do.” Daniel held up his hand. “Catch you later, Cahill.”

“Your sister did try to find someone for Daniel,” Brent said, closing the door.

“He's clearly got his looks going for him.”

Brent laughed. “You think he's hot?”

She laughed, despite the seriousness of her visit. “You don't think so?”

“Melanie said he was pretty, but I don't see it. It's the accent. Women are suckers for it every time.”

She smiled. He did too. They stood in the entryway, mere feet apart, just a man and a woman, each with their heart reacting to the other. She held his gaze, not knowing what to say. She got caught up in appreciating Brent's handsome face.
There's no way Daniel had anything over him
.