Cut (17 page)

“No.” Brent shrugged his shoulders. He was tired of answering questions with no real direction.

Detective Brennan took out a business card from his jacket pocket and handed it to Brent. “If you think of anything else, call this number. If you'll excuse me, I have to go.”

Brent and Luke watched Detective Brennan stop and talk to the nurse on his way out. Someone voiced a code over the intercom and three nurses rushed into the room next to Melanie's. For one unnerving moment, Brent thought the code was for Melanie.

“Detective Brennan spoke to Jessie earlier,” Luke said casually.

Brent didn't think twice. If Detective Brennan knew about the diamond, he would have asked, at least Brent assumed so. To his knowledge, Jessie hadn't told a soul. “What did she say to him?”

Luke shrugged. “Who knows? She wouldn't say.”

Across the hall Brent stared at Melanie, lying motionless in her bed, covered from neck to foot in a white blanket. The machines surrounded her, pumping lactated ringers and medication into her arm. Her skin looked paler than before. He wanted to shake some sense into Jessie. She needed to be with her sister.

Jessie showed up at the exact moment he'd been thinking of her, a cup of coffee in her hands. Her hair flowed over her breasts. Coldness resonated over every feature on her face. Brent held back the urge to go to her and bring warmth to her skin and to her eyes. She held her head high. She didn't make eye contact with him, rather, she walked over to an open couch and sat with her back to him.

Luke clapped Brent on the shoulder. “I'm going home. I need a break.”

“You need anything else?”

“Other than my wife to wake up? No.”

“I'll see you later then.”

“Are you staying?”

“Yes; I'll sit with Melanie. I don't want her to be alone.”

“Try telling that to her sister,” he said loud enough for Jessie to overhear.

Regardless of what Luke thought, Brent wasn't going to tell Jessica anything. The situation got in his way enough as it was. He looked over at her and caught her glancing at him.

Brent turned his back to her and went to be with Melanie. He stayed there for some time. He talked to her about the company and the jewelry store. He didn't mention the investigation or the diamonds. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her or send her heart rate spiraling out of control, on the off-chance she really could hear him. When he ran out of things to say, he said, “I've been hanging around with your sister.”

One of the machines beeped.

“I want to ignore her, but I can't. She has a knack for doing the exact thing I don't want her to do.” He gave a small smile. “She's interesting though.”

The machine beeped again.

The sadness of the room got to him and he decided to take a break. He left the ICU completely. He turned the corner for the elevators at the same moment the doors began to close. Jessie stood on the other side. Brent put his hand between the doors to prevent them from closing. He stepped inside and took his place next to her.

“Get out,” she said, taking a step back.

“I won't touch you,” he said, which went against every instinct of his around her.

“I'll call the police.”

Brent punched the already-lit lobby button. The elevator descended slowly. “You can call the police, after I apologize to you. Last night did not go as I planned. I'm sorry for the way I acted.”

She didn't hold back. “I came to you for answers and I found out you aren't on my side or my sister's.”

“I can help you.”

“You certainly didn't help last night. I had to walk a long way—never mind. You're too late. I don't want your help.” She nodded at the row of buttons. “Get out on the next floor or I will.”

“Don't do this, Jessica. We have to talk.”

“There's nothing else to discuss.”

“I think there is.”

“Like what? How you kiss me every chance you get? That's not exactly the kind of thing I needed from you yesterday.”

“It's the diamond I want.” Brent held her gaze. “Not you.”

Something vulnerable flashed in her gaze, and she blinked it away quickly. “Yeah, I got that part.”

He bit back a smile at the revelation. She cared for him. He saw it. “The diamond is important to me. More than you'll ever understand. I'll pay you whatever price you ask.”

“You can't afford my cooperation, not after what you did.”

“My finances are beside the point. You may have any of the diamonds I showed you the other day. The ones in my attic. Anyone of those, are yours. We'll make a trade. I will also uphold my end of the bargain to let you see your nieces. You did, after all, tell me about the diamond.”

“I won't do business with you.”

God she's pretty.
Brent cursed himself for being distracted. “Have you told Luke?”

“Not yet. But I will.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

“You don't know what you are doing.”

“I'm protecting my sister.”

Brent backed her against the wall. He put his lips close to hers. The breath from her mouth brushed his. The inexperience in her eyes tugged at his heart. She wasn't used to dealing with men like him, the kind that pushed until they got what they wanted. Brent could negotiate any deal. He could back himself out of the worst of situations, usually with people matched at taking him on. She wasn't. She didn't understand that he would get her to come to him and hand him the diamond. One look at her face. Her lush, gorgeous skin and dynamite in her eyes. Brent traced her jaw. “I am sorry,” he said, with all the honesty he felt in his heart.

She looked away. “I don't accept your apology.”

“Look at me.”

“No.”

The slightest tilt of her chin and their gazes met. The warmth of his voice surprised even him. “I didn't mean to hurt you.”

The elevator came to a halt. Brent moved back from her. The doors opened and he turned to walk away. Space is what she needed, but he didn't have that kind of time. She would come back to him, he believed. At least he hoped so.

Jessica forgot to move. A family of seven crammed their way through the doors and blocked her from exiting. Like an idiot she stood there replaying Brent's apology. “Wait!” she said, and made her way off the elevator.

She stood there in the lobby looking for him. The first etchings of regret began to take shape. She'd thrown away the diamond, without knowing the full story. The biggest bargaining tool she had now belonged to the ocean. She gave her thoughts a mental shake. The point was to disassociate from the diamond, from Brent, and from Luke. Not to flip the outcome around to their benefit. What's done was done.

She put the questions behind her and continued on with her day. The main level of the hospital felt ten times better. At least people walked and talked. Nobody pushed a bed with a patient or sat in the waiting area looking up expectantly every time a doctor rounded the corner.

The visit to the hospital proved pointless. She wasn't ready to talk to Melanie. She couldn't even sit next to her. They hadn't spoken in so long she didn't know where to begin. She admitted to the pain she caused her sister, but Jessie had suffered too. She'd lost her sister. Nobody in her immediate circle of her mother or Brent or Luke understood. They all held Jessie responsible. She could see it in their eyes; in the way they judged her for this. They all expected her to go in there and say something. Well
something
she couldn't get past the lump in her throat every time she tried.

This might have been easier if Melanie had accepted her wedding invitation. Jessie wasn't ready to forgive Melanie for that. Her sister's actions showed Jessie that Melanie wouldn't have been open to hearing an apology a few weeks ago, let alone today. Her sister stuck in a bed with her eyes closed certainly wasn't a good way to start the conversation. She chose to sit in the waiting room because she could be near Melanie, without having to say a word.

Jessie left the hospital at a good time. The rain was holding back for the first time all day. She walked away from the entrance and onto the sidewalk. Brent must have left altogether, which was all for the better. Jessie took out her phone to check her messages. Someone walked up next to her and she looked up, ready to chew out the person for personal space infringement. A clean-cut man wearing a suit bumped his elbow into hers.

“Excuse me,” she said bluntly.

“Hello, Jessie,” he said.

“Do I know you?”

The man grabbed her elbow. The gaze from his sunken blue eyes locked on hers as he shoved a business card in her hand. “You have something I want. A diamond.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

His fierce grip held her hand in place. “Call this number when you're ready to talk. In exchange for the diamond. I'll make sure no one accidentally interferes with your sister's recovery.”

Jessie's heart raced. “What do you mean?”

His grip loosened. He stepped back and grinned. “Check back with this number in twenty-four hours.”

“Don't touch my sister!” She lunged forward and tried to grab him.

The stranger bolted into the street, causing several cars to swerve. A storm of honking horns erupted as the man continued to run to the opposite side of the street and into an alley between two buildings.

“What an idiot,” a lady said, walking fast past Jessie.

Jessie stood there too stunned to move. No one else occupied the sidewalk.

The police.
Go talk to Detective Brennan.

Panic beat down on her cheeks and her hands shook. The encounter happened in a heartbeat and she hadn't been able to respond. She felt the card in her hand and brought it up to her face. Printed in bold black letters on a pristine white background: D & F.

She flipped over the card. No phone number. No email address either. “D and F,” she said, noticing a small inscription of J.A. in the bottom right corner.

She recognized the name of the diamond company as the one Brent had worked for. Immediately she took out her phone and pulled up the browser. The letters she entered exactly as on the business card. Several advertisement and links populated her screen. She clicked on the official site and waited as the page loaded.

Images of diamonds flashed across the screen against a pale blue background.

Forever. Infinity. Radiance. Flawless. Rare. Yours.

She scrolled further down the page. The website showed different cuts of diamonds, both white and colored. The images looked so good she wanted to reach into the page and pull one out to put on her finger.

Jessie clicked on the “About” tab and read aloud:

“
We are the world's premier buyer and seller of diamonds, diamond mining, distributing, and selling. A family-owned company since 1895, we are located in Kimberley, South Africa. D & F is responsible for the worldwide logo of ‘Forever yours,' and we are credited with bringing the concept
of the 4 C's: cut, color, clarity, and carat, to every household across the globe.”

Jessie lowered the phone and looked out across the street, to the alley where the man had disappeared. Goosebumps broke out on her skin. Who was he? How did he know about the diamond or about Melanie? Someone else aside from Brent wanted her diamond. That much she could see. This made Jessie's head spin. A company like D & F could have any diamond on the planet. Why did they want hers?

Jessie began to wander down the sidewalk, past a row of restaurants, salons, and boutiques. She didn't have a clue what to do. The ball in her stomach swelled with anxiety.

If she called Detective Brennan, then she made herself responsible for withholding information. She would have to explain why she didn't mention the diamond during their initial conversation this morning.

The one person with an understanding of D & F she couldn't approach. Going to Brent was out of the question.

She decided to return to the hospital. Someone there might be able to help her.

Jessica made her way up to the ICU. She stepped out of the elevator and rounded the corner. She froze. Brent stood mere feet from her.

Concern filled his eyes. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You look terrified.”

“I am. Of you.”

“I told you, I won't hurt you.”

She looked away from his intense gaze.

“Something happened. I can tell.”

“Don't follow me.” She turned to walk away, and stopped. This might be her only chance. Over her shoulder she said, “Tell me one thing.”

“Anything.”

“Why does the diamond mean so much to you?”

“All diamonds mean something to me.”

She turned around to face him. Her gaze was uncompromising as she said, “No; this one is different.”

“I don't know what you expect me to say.”

“I expect you to tell me the truth. You know everyone sees me as the bad sister. The one who lied to Melanie. Yet, when I look at you I see a liar too. You could have told me right from the start about your connection to the diamond.”

“I have never lied to you,” he said flat-out.

“You withheld information. It's the same thing.” She took a step towards him and softened her voice. “Tell me.”

He also took a step closer and met her in the middle. “Hand over the diamond and I'll tell you everything you want to know.”

“I won't do that. I won't make any deals with you.”

“Then there's nothing more to say.”

Jessie put her hand in her pocket and retrieved the business card. She held it out for Brent to see. “Does this mean anything to you?”

Brent glanced at the card. His lips pressed together. “How did you get this?”

“It doesn't matter.”

Brent wrapped his hands around her upper arms and pulled her to him. He removed the card from her hand. “The initials on this card, J.A., belong to Jefferies Abbott. The owner of D & F. This card has his personal number.”