Page 38 of The Diamond Thief

Elena finally speaks up. “Is anyone going to fill me in on what this is all about? I thought we had a grab-and-go with an armored truck, and now we have the head of the Den tailing us and a rogue driver moving like a bat out of hell. And what the fuck is going on between you two?” She turns to Elliott. “And why did you get me naked in the trees just to take off?”

No one answers any of that. Elliott’s face is grim. Jacob maintains his neutral expression.

She’s my friend. I should explain at least my part of it.

“I stole something of Jacob’s a week ago,” I say. “He’s trying to get it back.”

“What the hell did you take?” Elena asks.

“Swords,” I say. “Actually, the hilts of some swords. They’re really old.”

Jacob snorts. “They’re really old,” he mimics. “Enough of the buying public believes that they are swords from King Arthur’s Round Table that it has to be taken seriously.”

“Do you really believe that?” I ask.

“I will believe that aliens control the White House if it gets me one hundred forty million,” he says.

“Are you going to call Antony or just let him drive alongside us like a college road trip?” I ask.

“Yes, I’ll call,” Jacob says.

The driver looks back. “You want me to catch back up to the armored truck?”

“Yes,” Jacob instructs him. “Might as well.”

His eyes hold mine as he dials Antony’s number. He waits, listening, then abruptly kills the call.

“Not answering?” Elliott asked.

“Apparently not.”

“What does that mean?” Elena asks. “I came on this job to get some crappy Egyptian gold and hang out with this hottie here. I do not want to be on the bad side of Antony.”

Elliott grins at her. “So now you think I’m a hottie?”

She glares at him. “I’m not talking to you right now.”

Elliott leans forward, still grinning, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Should we call off the job?” he asks. “I can just take Elena here on a date instead.”

“As if!” she cries.

“This is my first crack at that tiara!” I say. If I am already stuck with this boorish man, I at least want the Fife tiara out of it.

Elena bangs her fist on her armrest. “Stop it with your dang tiaras! They are what got us into this whole mess.”

I want to shout out my real goal, but that isn’t going to get me anywhere. So I shut my mouth.

“We will go along as if nothing has changed for now,” Jacob says. “I don’t see what dropping out of the chase will do for us. We don’t have to engage, ultimately.”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Even if you all drop out of the job, I’m staying in.”

Jacob’s eyebrows lift. “You can’t pull it off alone.”

“Watch me,” I say.

Elliot waves to get my attention. “You know, all this was before we knew Antony was involved. And pissing off Jacob’s calls.”

“I don’t care,” I say. “I don’t even have dealings with that man. He can’t be here because of me.” But even as I say it, my eyes dart to Jacob, as if to confirm that this might be the case.