Page 21 of The Diamond Thief

“Only three or four,” he says. “There is a particular item in this collection that interests me greatly. So I will be leading this expedition from New York to intercept the exhibit outside of Cleveland.”

The girl raises her eyebrows as the rumbling in the room rises a notch. No one had taken this job seriously until Elliott claimed it as his own.

“That’s enough for now,” he says, quieting them. Elliott often takes names from the floor, but he knows today is not the time to do that. He wants to control who volunteers for our expedition. We need to speak to this girl, judge her interest, and determine if she knows Jade. If she is truly a friend, she may be fully aware of Jade’s predicament as well as my involvement. She can’t know I have any interest in this job. Or Jade.

Elliott shuts down the displays, reminding everyone to speak with the leads of the other two heists if they are interested.

The room begins to shuffle. A couple people walk in Elliott’s direction, but I hurry to head them off. Elliott moves straight for the girl who spoke up.

I watched him from the corner of my eye as I make small talk to the others as a diversion. Elliott will signal when he has determined whether or not this girl can help us get to Jade.

He smiles and begins his trademark witty banter. I can spot when it begins to work. Despite the girl’s annoyance with him earlier, she warms up and flutters her eyelids. So typical. He gives her a nod and then turns to me with another. I excuse myself from the pair and allow them to make their way to Elliott.

He will report to me later. Hopefully I am one step closer to luring in that woman. She hasn’t tried to sell the swords, so they must still be in her possession.

I’ll take them from her, and then my way with her will be far more savage than the night we met.

My body tingles with the thought of her naked in my arms again. I remind myself that it is punishment, nothing more, and head out into the New York night.