The Diamond Affair (18 page)

She took a deep
breath and accepted the call. "Aaron, is that you?"

"Hey, Rube,
was I glad to get your message." He did sound genuinely pleased, but was
that part of his elaborate lie? "I've been so worried about you. You said
in your message that it's all over."

"It is,"
she said. She glanced at Jake. His face was impassive as he watched her.

It sounded like
Aaron heaved a big sigh. "Thank God for that. So I can go home now?"

"Ah, yes, I
suppose so. Aaron, can we meet and talk? I want to discuss some security
changes with you."

"Sure."
He sounded chirpy. He wouldn't be chirpy if he were guilty. Would he? "At
the office tomorrow?"

"Not the
office. How about..." She chewed her lip, thinking of somewhere out of the
way, yet public. "O'Brian's Bar in Ascot Vale," she said into the
phone. "Do you know it?"

"No but I'll
find it. That gorgeous man still with you?" The mischief in Aaron's voice tinkled
down the line.

"Not for
long." She glanced again at Jake. He must have realized they were
discussing him because he colored slightly and turned away to look out his side
window. "See you about midday, okay?"

"Take care,
Hon."

She hung up and
handed the phone back to Jake. "He's going to meet me tomorrow. That means
he's innocent."

"Or he's
buying time. We'll know tomorrow. If he turns up and doesn't try to hurt you,
we'll know he's innocent."

"No!" She'd
had enough. All this distrust over someone who'd been a good friend to her—it
was wrong, and she didn't want to hear it anymore. "Stop it, Jake. Why can't
you just admit he's innocent? Why can't you believe me when I say I trust him? Aren't
my own instincts enough or are yours the only ones you believe? Well?" she
prompted when he said nothing.

He sat rigid as a
statue, still staring out the window. With a huff, she crossed her arms and sat
back in her seat.

"Now where?"
she said.

"Ruby..."
He blew out a breath but said nothing more.

"Yes?"

"I do trust
you. You're right. Aaron's innocent. Probably."

"Probably?"

He shook his head
and finally turned to look at her. His eyes were deep, dark pools, filled with
emotions she couldn't even begin to identify. "Just like I can't guarantee
I won't lie again to keep you safe, I also can't discount a suspect unless I
have absolute proof of his innocence. This is about you, Ruby, and keeping you
safe."

"You're
right," she said. "It is about me. It's about trusting me. I know I'm
right about Aaron."

"And I know
I'm doing the right thing to protect you. It looks like we'll have to differ on
this one."

"Yeah,"
she said through a tight jaw, "looks like." Damned SAS men. Always
thinking they have the last word when it comes to safety.
Her
safety. She
may need Jake's help in this situation but having her word doubted made her
question her sanity in employing him.

If he couldn't
trust her, how much could she trust him not to turn vigilante on her and go
after Aaron? The thought drove a spike of horror through her.

"Care for a
trip to Beauvoir's?" he said, driving the car back into traffic.

"Why?"

"If I get
Sonya alone, she might tell me what's going on between her and Sinestri."

"Oh. Actually,
I was asking why are you asking me to come along? I thought the Beauvoir
residence would be strictly off-limits."

"You can sit
in the car and listen in. We've still got the bugs." He was placating her,
she realized. It was his kind of peace offering. It was about as good as she
would get out of him.

They drove the
short distance to Toorak in awkward silence. Ruby hated every minute of it. She
ached to have their easy banter back again. It had been harmless and fun and
something to take her mind off her predicament.

Well, perhaps not
harmless in the end considering where they'd ended up, but it had been fun.

Jake climbed into
the back of the car and pulled out the case containing the listening equipment.

"I thought
that was in your car," she said.

"I rescued
it after I got out of hospital. Still works fine."

He tweaked some
knobs and it crackled to life. A female voice came through the speakers. "He's
everything to me!" she shouted. "Everything. But you wouldn't
understand that, would you? You've never loved anyone in your life. The only
thing you love is your money."

"That's not
Sonya," Ruby said, leaning through the gap between the front seats to get
closer.

"No,"
Jake said, "it's her step-daughter Penny."

"Darling,"
came Beauvoir's unmistakable voice, "what's happened to you? You've
changed since you began seeing him. But I still love you. You're everything to
me."

"Well I hate
you!" Penny spat.

"Darling, if
this is all because I limited your phone calls then you can have your phone
back," Beauvoir soothed. "I was worried that you were spending too
much time on it and the computer talking to your boyfriend and not enough time
studying. This is a very important year for you after all. Darling—"

"Oh,
puh-lease. Like it matters what grades I get in school. You dropped out but
that didn't stop you from lying and thieving your way to where you are now."

Silence whined
across the airwaves. Ruby looked at Jake. He looked back and shrugged. "She
has a point."

Ruby laughed and
felt a weight lift from her shoulders. It felt good to laugh with Jake again.

"I know you're
upset," Beauvoir said, voice tight, "so I'll let that slide. Now, I've
got a business meeting to attend. When I get back, there just might be
something sparkly for you." The smile in his voice came through loud and
clear. If Penny had been younger, Ruby would have imagined he'd ruffle her hair
and kiss her forehead, but she couldn't picture the angry teenager they'd just
heard allowing her father to get close enough for a kiss.

One set of
receding footsteps indicated someone had left the room. "Idiot,"
Penny said.

"Keep your
head down," Jake said to Ruby, "in case he drives this way."

She pulled her
hat down low and sank into the front seat. "That's one angry daughter."

"Beauvoir
doesn't sound like he knows how to handle her," he said. "I don't
think diamonds are going to soothe her temper."

"I almost
feel sorry for him."

He merely
grunted.

"Daddy
dearest finally gone?" came another female voice through the transmitter. Sonya's.

Jake and Ruby
exchanged glances then both leaned in closer.

"What do you
want?" Penny said.

"Nothing. Just
on my way out."

"Good. Then
get out. You're in my space."

Someone, probably
Sonya, made a clicking sound with her tongue. "You need to learn how to
speak to your betters, young lady, or you might find your father's attitude
changing."

"What are
you getting at?"

"He might
not be so generous with his gifts, or his patience, if he finds out what you've
been up to."

"What I've
been up to?" Penny snorted. "That's rich coming from you. I know who
you've been seeing behind his back."

"And I know
who you've been seeing." Sonya sounded like the cat who'd got the cream,
the mouse, and Tweety bird all in one gulp.

"So what? Who
do you think he'll be madder at, you or me? And what do I care what he thinks
anyway? I'm old enough to leave if I want."

"Dear Penny,
haven't you learned anything? No one ever leaves your father. That's why you
and I are both still here, isn't it?"

"Get out!"

A loud thud made
Ruby jump. Then there was silence. "Will you go in now?" she asked
Jake.

He nodded and put
the case away. "I'll check Beauvoir's car is gone first."

A strange
sensation struck Ruby in her chest and lodged there. She recognized it
instantly. Jealousy. "How are you going to question Sonya?"

"By asking
questions." He gave her a 'well-duh' look.

"What I mean
is, will you just outright ask her about Sinestri or will you use more...undercover
methods?"

"You mean
will I strip her naked, get her into bed, and hump her senseless so she tells
me everything?" His shoulders shook and a grin fought to escape from his lips.
He was laughing at her!

She looked round
for something to throw but there was nothing loose so she reached down and
removed her running shoe.

He caught it
easily and handed it back to her. "Your weapon, my lady."

"You're a
jerk."

"And you're
being unreasonable. I'll be using plain and simple stand-over tactics to
intimidate Sonya into giving me answers. Is that all right with you? Because it
doesn't sound like the alternative was much in your favor."

She refused to be
drawn into his ridiculous teasing. He was being juvenile. She refused to take
her shoe and instead looked out the window, her arms crossed over her chest. A
silver convertible sped past and her determination not to speak to Jake was
forgotten.

"I don't
think you'll be employing either tactic," she said. "That was Sonya's
car. She just left."

He swore and
returned to the front seat. He placed the shoe on the center console between
them and started up the car.

"Are we
going after her?" Ruby asked. "Because if we are, you're letting her
get away."

"I'm not
letting her do anything," he said. "Damien's car is no match for
Sonya's so we're going home."

"Home? Oh."
Another dead-end. More set-backs. If something didn't start going their way
soon, Ruby would explode from the sheer frustration of it all.

CHAPTER 15

The good thing
about the Brighton house was that it had a pool. The bad thing was that Jake
wanted to swim in it, which meant he'd be half-naked again
and
all wet. How
was Ruby supposed to ignore the attraction she felt to him when he wore nothing
but a damp pair of shorts?

It wasn't fair. In
fact, it was downright torture now that he seemed to have decided their relationship
was non-existent. He hadn't come near her all day and he'd not brought up their
love-making once. He was definitely avoiding her.

Maybe he'd change
his mind if she offered to lick him dry...

He surfaced and
flicked his wet hair off his forehead with a shake of his head. "I think
we can assume Beauvoir knows about Sinestri and Sonya," he said. It seemed
he wanted to talk about business.

Fine by her. She
had to do
something
to get her mind off his wet muscles. "What
makes you think that?"

"I told
Frankie, and Frankie would have told him."

"So if he
knows, why hasn't he done something about it?"

"Good
question." He dove again, right to the bottom, and surfaced at the far end
of the pool. He swam smoothly back to her, his efficient strokes propelling him
through the water with ease. He crossed his arms on the edge of the pool and
rested his chin on them. "Any ideas?"

She stared at a
drop of water clinging precariously to the end of his hair. It lost its grip
and dripped onto his forehead then slid past his eye to his cheek. "Perhaps
he loves her," she said, unable to take her eyes off the drop. It rested
in the little curve where his mouth met his cheek. If only she could capture
that drop...

"Perhaps she
loves him."

"Pardon?"
Jake tilted his head in her direction. The drop slid off and blended with the
water splashed on the side of the pool.

"I, er, I
said perhaps he loves her. Maybe he doesn't want to confront her because that
might mean losing her."

He frowned, considering
that. "No, not Beauvoir. He's a man who likes to own things, and people. He
has Frankie work for him exclusively, he seems annoyed that his daughter is
spending too much time with her boyfriend, and he wants his Florentine back so
much he's prepared to ruin your life over it. That is not a man with love on
his mind."

She stood. "And
you'd recognize one who does?" She couldn't help the sneer in her voice. It
just came out.

Jake stared at
her from beneath damp lashes. "Meaning?" The word sounded hard, cold.
A pulse jumped high in his cheek.

Ruby stood her
ground. "Meaning you've never loved anything in your life. Your father is
lying in a nursing home, suffering from his stroke, and you're running away to
Sydney when you should be here looking after him. Is that the actions of a
loving son?" She swallowed. His face had grown darker, if that were
possible, his eyes narrower. Maybe she'd gone too far…