“No, Miss Sarcastic. But I’m pretty sure I’d have noticed someone slipping into the room and opening a safe even if I was deep in the Land of Nod. Besides, if it were me taking something, I’d do it when no one was around.”
She arched an eyebrow. “See?”
“See what? You still think I did it? Because I have an opinion on how it was pulled off?”
She sliced a hand through the air. “Forget I said that. I just want to move on. Because . . . Jake,” she said softly, her voice wobbly, etched with frustration. “This is not what I wanted when I came to the Caymans. I just wanted to do my tour, and help my mom, and talk to Eli. And now someone is breaking into my room to steal diamonds, and maybe it’s the same person who took Isla’s, too.”
“No way are these just two coincidental burglaries of the same watermarked stones on the same night. This is a case of someone in hot pursuit of all the diamonds, too. Who the hell is this Mr. Smith? That’s what I want to know,” he said, then a memory of a car blasted front and center in his mind. He stopped in his tracks. “Shit. The green Honda.” He resumed his pace around the room, quickly explaining the car he’d seen earlier in the week that he thought was following Eli. He’d seen it again today when conducting recon at the church window. “Tall guy. Gray hair. Know anyone who fits that description?”
She arched an eyebrow. “That’s kind of broad. I mean, if we’re looking for a tall guy with gray hair, we might as well be looking for anyone. Can we narrow that down at all?”
“I don’t have gray hair,” he said with a mischievous glint. “But the way we narrow it down is to figure out who else knows that Eli has a stash of diamonds.” He paused. “Penny knew.”
“It wasn’t Penny. She’s a little—”
“Flighty?”
“Yeah.”
“So who knows Eli has one thousand diamonds? Well, minus two,” he said, stopping to meet her eyes. “You know he has them now? We’re not going back to that whole what-if-he-didn’t-take-the-diamonds line, are we?”
Her jaw seemed to tighten, but she managed a crisp nod. “I will acknowledge he has diamonds. I’m not Cleopatra, Queen of Denial.”
“Good. Because it looks like we might have competition in finding them. To figure out who is after the diamonds, we need to figure out who knows about them and why this person would steal from Eli. And unfortunately, Mr. Smith seems to be after not only the diamonds, but also onto you. This person knew you had a diamond, a very expensive diamond. I’ll say it again—you’re not safe here. So I don’t give a crap if you trust me or not. You’re going to stay with me.”
She eyed him quizzically, staring at him on the other side of her hotel bed, the same bed they’d broken in last night and again this morning, the same one where she’d been ready to frisk him. “With you? In your room? Like we’re lovers on a vacation?”
He laughed, and the sound turned into a scoff. “You can have your own separate bed, Ma,” he said, affecting an old man’s voice. “Would that make you feel better?”
She answered by rolling her eyes. Despite the tension that ran thick between them, he got a kick out of ribbing her still. “Thanks, Pa. Hope you enjoy your twin bed, too, for your old aches and pains.”
“I will. And I won’t let some hot, young, whippersnapper foxy lady stay someplace that got robbed.” He dropped the teasing tone and locked eyes with her. “No matter how you slice it, someone was in your room last night and took a ten-thousand-dollar jewel. I want you by my side. I will keep you safe. I’m good at it. It’s what I do.”
The rough edges around her melted away, and she smiled sweetly. “Thank you for saying that. Especially since I know you’re still mad at me over my terrible blindfolding skills.”
“They were pretty bad,” he said, then walked around the bed and dropped a hand to her shoulder. “Say you’ll stay with me.”
“I’m leaving for a tour in three days.”
“Then that gives us seventy-two hours to figure this out.”
Her lips quirked up. “What if Mr. Smith is onto us? Is it bad if we’re seen together?”
“My gut tells me Mr. Smith is angling for Eli, and that’s why diamonds that Eli gave his fiancée and his stepdaughter were stolen. Someone is after the diamonds, and that someone knows you had one and Isla had one. We just need to keep being stealthy, but we’ve always had to be stealthy. Now, we need to work together to stay ahead of Mr. Smith.”
She stepped closer. “It really wasn’t you who did it?”
He moved in closer, his chest to hers, breathing in her sexy scent. Minutes ago, he’d been ready for her to run her hands all over him. He’d wanted it. He still did. That was the rub. “It wasn’t me. Because if it were me, I wouldn’t be back. If I were stealing your diamond, I wouldn’t be here with you now. I wouldn’t invite you to my room. I wouldn’t need you to solve this case. I’d leave. I’d walk away from you and I’d get the hell out of town with a bird in the hand. But I like you, even though I’m mad at you, and that’s why I want you to stay with me. This isn’t just about us finding diamonds. It’s about us making sure those fingers don’t get pointed at us. So let’s solve this bitch of a case together.”
He held out a hand to seal the deal.