Deception (16 page)

SEVENTEEN

J
ewel boarded
The Alabaster Sky
with Colin, her heart torn over what she was about to do. She had successfully negotiated that she would be the one to tell Meral. But Colin wanted the staff there to hear the news at the same time and went to find them all. Jewel didn't like this.

There had to be a better way to find Buck's partner in crime.

She found Meral in the salon, curled up with a blanket around her. Worry lines made her look much older. Jewel rushed to her. Meral immediately jumped up and hugged her sister.

“You're back. I thought you weren't coming.” Meral held Jewel at arm's length and then, seeming to remember their earlier argument, dropped her arms. “What's happened? Why are you back?”

Meral's gaze reflected her fear of the worst. She moved away from Jewel and continued. “Tell me what's going on.”

Jewel opened her mouth, but she couldn't find the words. Where did she start? But Meral started jabbering instead.

“After everything that happened, I had a headache and took a nap. Buck's so good to me. He found my pills to help me rest. When I woke up, he was gone. Stella told me he would be back soon, but she didn't say where he'd gone. He isn't answering his phone. For all the good cells do around here. But that doesn't explain why you're here, Jewel.” Meral's eyes softened. “Unless you've come to apologize. That's it, isn't it? I hope you know how wrong you were about Buck and you're going to stay now.”

The way Meral rambled on, Jewel could see how someone else might suspect her of being guilty of knowing something, but from Jewel's perspective, it was clear she'd been sleeping. Her speech was even slightly slurred. Buck had told the truth on that point. He had drugged her.

“Meral.” Colin stepped in.

Behind him stood the other crew members he'd gathered together.

Jewel had intended to break the harsh news, but she lost her nerve. She stepped back, standing next to him, giving him permission, though he needed none. Even though he had taken a bullet and had almost drowned, strength and confidence emanated from him. Jewel tried to soak it in. She was going to need strength to help Meral.

“I'm sorry to have to tell you that your husband is gone.”

Meral gasped. “Gone? What do you mean?”

“I'm sorry, but he was found dead.”

They had made a mistake by being the ones to do this. Now Meral would want to know how it had happened. How would she react when she learned both Jewel and Colin were involved? She might blame them. Accuse them.

Glass shattered behind them.

Glancing back, Stella's face contorted. She covered her mouth. She looked at Colin. Must have seen something in his eyes. Recognition? She turned and ran up the steps to the deck.

Colin gave Jewel a glance and took off after her. Jewel should stay with her sister, but she feared for Colin, too. If Stella was Buck's partner, then she must be the one who had forced Jewel's Durango off the road. That meant she was as dangerous as Buck was.

Jewel ran up the steps and onto the deck, but didn't see Colin or Stella.

Where had they gone? Had Stella jumped overboard and Colin followed her? Jewel rushed to the rail and looked over into the water.

Nothing.

Eerie tingles ran over her arm. “Colin,” she whispered. “Where are you?”

This wasn't how any of this was supposed to happen. What about Colin's backup near the dock, waiting to corral anyone who tried to escape?

Jewel realized her foolishness. She would go back down with Meral and wait this out. But she felt cold plastic against her head. A Glock? How many times would she go through this?

“You're coming with me,” Stella said.

“Why are you doing this?”

“You killed my father.”

“Buck is your
father
?”

“Yes. Dad and I worked together. This should have been an easy job, but you just wouldn't give up.”

“You mean I just wouldn't die.”

“Your words. Not mine. Now tell me where you hid the diamond. I can't leave here without something to show for it. I need something from you to make up for my loss. It's either that or your life.”

All this time, Stella must have been searching, even while Buck had kidnapped Jewel, and she still hadn't found the diamond on the yacht. Jewel had to keep her talking until Colin could find them.

“How did you get a job on this yacht? Or is the whole crew involved?”

Stella scoffed, digging the gun deeper. “Because that's how it all played out. I got the job when the other steward conveniently became ill. Dad convinced the other guests who'd already booked the boat to take a later cruise. He paid them for their time. Who could say no to that? Dad's brilliant. He knows how to work things. Or at least he did.”

“Where's Colin? What did you do to him?”

“Shh.” Stella tugged her back into the shadows. “Say one word and I'll kill him.”

Colin jogged around the deck, clearly looking for Stella.

Stella tugged her deeper into the shadows. Pulling Jewel closer, Stella shifted the gun and pressed it into Jewel's side, sending her message loud and clear. Like father like daughter.

Enough of this.

Even with the gun pressed in her side, Jewel knew she could take Stella. She was beyond tired of this, and it would never end until Jewel ended it.

She used the same moved she'd used in the attic on Buck, slamming her head back. It worked beautifully and left Stella splayed on the deck, gun sliding away.

And then Colin was there, standing slack mouthed and staring at Stella. He looked from her up to Jewel and grinned.

“Finally.” Jewel dusted off her hands. “Meet Buck's daughter and partner in crime.”

Colin radioed to the other officers, who quickly boarded the yacht and took Stella into custody. Jewel went back into the salon to find Meral curled in a ball, sobbing. It would take her time to accept all that had happened.

* * *

Back at the B and B, Meral and Jewel tried to come to grips with everything they'd been through during the past few days. Statements had been given, the Krizan Diamond referred to as a family heirloom. Meral explained it had never been reported missing or stolen, convincing Jewel that it belonged to her as much as anyone in the family. Jewel wasn't sure what to do or how to feel about that.

With everyone questioned, finally the investigation was closed. Stella had been arrested and charged as an accomplice to murder, plus attempted murder and numerous other crimes involving jewel theft throughout the country.

But that didn't mean it was over. Not for Meral, whose life as she knew it was ruined.

“I'm so sorry, honey.” Jewel ran her hand over Meral's head, hoping to comfort her, but there could be no comfort for Meral. Only time would bring healing. Jewel was glad Meral would stay with her for the time being.

“How could he do this to me? I thought he loved me. I don't understand.” Meral sobbed into another tissue and shook her head. The pain in her eyes broke Jewel's heart. She couldn't help but feel that in a way—a long, roundabout way—she'd done this to her sister.

“How can I ever trust again? How can I ever love again?” Meral asked.

Jewel had thought she would never trust or love again herself after losing Silas, so she understood Meral's misgivings. “First you have to heal and you need to give yourself time. I once thought I could never love again. But now I realize I was just scared. Trusting is a risk, yes. Loving again is a risk. Then I found someone special, and now I'm willing to take that risk.”

Meral blinked up at her. “Chief Winters.”

“Colin. I'm in love with him. I tried to deny it, to hide it, to keep it from surfacing, but what is life without love?” Jewel regretted her words. This wasn't the time. “I'm sorry, Meral. I shouldn't have...”

“No, it's okay. I think...deep down, I knew something was going on with Buck. That his business wasn't on the up-and-up. I didn't understand it anyway, so I just chose to look the other way. If anything, I should be the one who is sorry. If it wasn't for me, he never would have come after you.”

“No. You have nothing to apologize for. Wait here. I have something to show you.” While they'd dined on the deck that first night, Jewel had left to quickly refresh herself in her cabin, and she'd taken that chance to transfer the diamond to Meral's luggage, where no one would think to look. Jewel tugged open Meral's luggage now and rummaged around until she found the inner lining. From there she pulled out the Krizan Diamond and held it out to Meral. “I want you to have this. I don't want it. I don't want to be wealthy. I don't want or need anything except, well maybe...”

“Your police chief.”

“Right, except I'm not sure he'll have me now that he knows I stole a diamond. That I'm kind of a jewel thief like the man who killed the woman he loved years ago. To have a chance with him, I think he needs to know I no longer have the diamond. I'm giving it up. He needs to know that I trust him. I didn't trust Silas, not enough, but somehow I have to convince Colin that I trust him enough not to need a backup plan anymore. I have to convince him to forgive me for not telling him everything when it mattered the most. When it could have made a difference.”

Meral eyed the precious gem. “I don't want it, Jewel. I can't take it. It will only remind me of Buck's duplicity. You keep it.” Meral curled back into a ball.

Jewel held on to it, wanting nothing more than to throw it into the ocean. She hung her head, wishing she could get back the past few days. If she could, she would do everything differently. She would tell Colin everything, maybe even that she loved him.

Someone cleared a throat.

Jewel looked up. Colin. He gestured that he wanted to speak with her. Meral was resting with her eyes closed. Jewel left her sister, who needed privacy, time alone anyway. Meral needed some space to process the pain. It would take years for it to go away completely, but now that she had fully faced the truth, she could start the healing process.

Heart beating unevenly, Jewel approached Colin and held out the diamond for him to see. “How long have you been standing there?”

Had he heard her confession of love?

* * *

He tipped her chin up. “Long enough.”

Her gaze widened slightly. He saw uncertainty there as he drank deeply from the pool of her hazel-green eyes. He touched the soft skin of her cheek, twisted his finger in a tendril of her ash-blond hair.

She held the diamond out, and it shimmered in the dim light. He'd been so busy with everything there hadn't been time to see the “family heirloom” that had caused the trouble.

The yellow stone glistened and sparkled and took his breath away. Never had he seen anything like it up close and personal.

Jewel began explaining about cut, color and clarity. “It's just over twenty carats, natural fancy intense and internally flawless.”

“If you say so,” he said. All the diamond-speak had his head spinning.

“Do you know they have to mine over two hundred and fifty tons of ore just to find a one-carat colored diamond? And the radiant cut means it has seventy-seven facets.”

Colin wouldn't tell her he had no idea what she was talking about. How could he when she was clearly in her element? The diamond looked like she'd captured sunshine in the palm of her hand, and that sunshine reflected on her face as she talked about what was near and dear to her heart—her family and the family diamond business. She may have left it all behind twenty years earlier, but she clearly hadn't forgotten a thing.

The fact she talked long and knowledgeable on a subject he knew absolutely nothing about reminded him all too well she was out of his league, really, as he'd always thought.

He pressed a finger on it—cold to the touch—and sucked in a breath.

And then he knew he couldn't do it. He couldn't step away from her. This diamond might be cold, but the jewel before him was anything but.

He wrapped her hand around the diamond and covered it with his own. “This isn't the jewel I want. This belongs to you. Your confession, your past, has no bearing on how I feel about you, Jewel Caraway. How I've always felt but denied.”

His throat grew tight. “I thought that you and I would both be better off if I stepped back. Turned away from this force that pulls me to you at every turn, but I'm not strong enough to walk away from you anymore. You're more precious to me than anything in this world. Even my own life. And I've wasted so much time already.”

He searched her eyes for understanding. For the love he wanted to see reflected in her gentle hazel gaze, unclouded by fear or uncertainty or doubt. And he was not disappointed.

How many years had he imagined, dreamed about this moment, then shoved aside his longing to do what he had thought was right for them both? But right now he was weak, so very weak. His will bowed to the current running between them, a quaking force that shook him to the bones. Or maybe he was finally strong enough to accept the path that God had wanted for him all along. To stop running in fear from the prospect of getting hurt again.

Colin slowly wrapped his arms around Jewel and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back, and he savored her response.

Accepting. Eager.

Ecstasy. He was enraptured at the slightest pressure of her soft lips. Any more and he would lose himself completely. He breathed in deeply the jewel he'd longed for, and realized that somehow his heart had carved the perfect place for her within him.

He could have stayed forever with Jewel in his arms, letting her know how he felt about her, but he had to rein in his emotions. It was dangerous to linger. He inched back. Still, he was close to her, closer than he'd ever been physically and emotionally, even spiritually. There was something about loving a woman who loved God, and he could feel that in her, as well.