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Tristan

I f looks could kill, Lena’s would have fulminated him on the spot.

Tristan kept his eyes on the road, hands light on the wheel, but he felt the weight of her glare — the don’t you dare message radiating off her even without words.

He was sorry she didn’t like his method, but he was doing his best to keep her alive.

He also wasn’t planning on dying—not here, not today, not if he could help it. As soon as Lena was safe, he’d find a way to disarm the reporter.

He wasn’t sure how. But he’d find a way.

What he couldn’t do—what he wouldn’t do—was take Lena anywhere near that mountain again.

“Where is it?” André barked from the backseat, jabbing the gun harder against Lena’s shoulder. “I swear, if you’ve lied to me?—“

“We’re close,” Tristan said calmly, glancing at the rear view mirror just long enough to catch André’s wild eyes. “Just a couple more minutes.”

André let out a sharp breath, his knee bouncing restlessly. “You think you’re smarter than me, Lieutenant? You think you can talk me down?”

Tristan’s jaw tightened. “I don’t need to talk you down. I’ll get you to the cave so you can look for whatever it is you’re looking for.”

“You’re not even curious?” André taunted.

Not in the least . But Tristan decided to humor him. “Sure I am. What is it?”

“You were the ones who found my grandfather’s body.”

Lena flinched, her voice shaky. “Your grandfather? Maxim Jubert was your grandfather?” she asked tremulously.

“On my mother’s side.” André let out a strangled laugh. “Do you know what it’s like, to grow up hearing that your family should have been something ? And that it was all stolen from you?”

“I don’t understand, André.”

“My grandfather …” André’s voice shifted, softer, almost reverent. “He was a lawyer. A fixer. He worked for very powerful men. In those days, things were different. After the war, not all Nazis stood trial. Of those who escaped, many came through Switzerland, on their way to South America. My grandfather helped them vanish—helped them create new identities, clean their stolen wealth. You can imagine what they paid him in return.”

He let out a breathless laugh, the gun trembling slightly against Lena’s neck. “Keep both hands on the steering wheel, Lieutenant, if you want to hear the rest of the story. One of my grandfather’s clients paid him in gems. But in the man’s safe, my grandfather saw something. A pink diamond. Not just any diamond—the Eye of the Last Emir. It was taken from the treasuries of the Emir of Bukhara before the Russian Empire swallowed his lands.”

“So he took it?”

André made a happy sound. “He took it. He was going to bring it home. It was going to be a new start for our family.”

“And what happened, André?” Tristan asked, his voice controlled, calm.

“My grandfather never came back from that last trip.” His laugh was harsh now. “We never knew what happened. My grandmother … she always feared he’d abandoned her. It made her bitter. My mother …” His voice grew stronger. “It doesn’t matter. Now, it’s my turn to do what my grandfather couldn’t do. It’s my turn to make things right for my family.”

“André,” Lena said gently. “We don’t know what happened to your grandfather. If somebody killed him, it’s very likely that person also took the stone you’re talking about.”

Tristan threw her a warning glance. He didn’t want her antagonizing the man. He wanted André to forget she was in the car with them. The road curved sharply ahead, sloping toward a narrow turnout. He drove towards the large hangar building, stopping in front of the large utilitarian gate.

“This is it.”

“Are you sure everyone’s gone?”

Tristan made a show of looking at the clock on the dashboard. He needed André to stay calm. “It’s seven p.m. Everyone’s gone home for the day. But it’s okay, I have the code to get in. If you like, Lena can step out and?—“

“No,” André ordered. “You do it. Lena stays right here with me. And remember—I won’t hesitate to shoot her.”

“I understand,” Tristan said, not letting his disappointment show. He would have liked a minute alone in the car with André, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen. The man might be bat-shit crazy, but he wasn’t careless. “I’m getting out now,” he said, pocketing the car key surreptitiously. Just in case.

He’d told the truth when he said he had the code. He keyed in his personal code, knowing it would open the door, but also trigger an alert in the gendarmerie . He tried to remember who was on duty at the gendarmerie tonight. Probably Alex and Lorenz. Someone would— hopefully —notice that Tristan wasn’t meant to be here tonight, and tell them. They would know something was going on.

Or so he hoped.

Because he knew he was going to need a distraction, if he was to get Lena safely away from here.

He walked quickly back to the car—he didn’t want Lena alone with André any longer than necessary—and made his way inside, flicking a quick glance at her. Her face was pale, but her eyes were locked on his.

Hold on , he willed silently. I’m going to get you out of here .