Page 41 of Donovan Blake: Adrenalin

“Wow, that’s amazing. What about the one you’re working on now? Does it have anything to do with what happened that night I found you in the storm?”

“Yes, Phoebe, it does, but I can’t give you all the details. I can tell you tomorrow night a man named Manny Trubello is throwing a Masquerade Ball at his estate here in Southhampton. We believe he’s in possession of a priceless piece of jewelry stolen a while ago. It’s called, The Alexandrite Empress.”

“Alexandrite? That’s more valuable than a diamond.”

“Yes, Phoebe, it is. Sam—the man I work with—has a plan, but I believe I have a better one. I’m going to sleep on it and contact him in the morning. To be honest I think you’d be a great help, but I don’t know if you can control your impetuous nature. What I have to do is risky. If anything goes wrong the outcome won’t be pretty, and I’m extremely hesitant about involving you.”

“You don’t need to be,” she said earnestly. “You’ve seen how well I perform under pressure. I’ll keep my cool, and I promise I won’t do anything without your okay.”

“We’ll talk in the morning,” he said, letting out a heavy sigh. “Right now I need to sleep.”

“Please may I join you?”

“You’d better,” he mumbled with a smile. “But you go ahead. I need to make a call first, and it’s private.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Walking up to Donovan’s chair, Phoebe moved her arms around his neck and hugged him.

“Thank you, Donovan. If you do decide I can join you I won’t let you down.”

“I’m sure you’ll be on your best behavior,” he replied, trying to ignore the subtle, sensual scent of her perfume. “Now go.”

As she disappeared into the bedroom he picked up his phone and walked outside. The cool air helped to clear his head, and gathering his thoughts he placed the call.

“Okay, Donovan, what’s your idea,” Sam asked the moment he answered.

“Forget David Chapman. I’m going to arrive at Manny’s estate as me.”

“Are you crazy? And what makes you think he’ll let you in?”

“If a predator senses an opportunity does he walk away?”

“I wish you hadn’t put it like that.”

“Okay, then I’ll say this. His curiosity won’t let him say no. He’ll be intrigued.”

“That’s better, but I’m still not liking this idea. For argument’s sake, let’s say you’re in the door, then what?”

As Donovan outlined his plan Sam listened without interrupting, then made a strange humph sound.

“Sam…was that a grunt of approval or something else?”

“That was—I wish I’d thought of it, but if it doesn’t work we’re totally screwed, and you’ll be—”

“Let’s not go there. Every job we tackle is a crapshoot.”

“Probably true. So what’s the deadline? When should I be worried?”

“Honestly, Sam, that’s a tough question to answer. Taking on Manny Trubello won’t be a walk in the park. If you haven’t heard from me by 2 a.m. come in with all barrels blazing. There’s bound to be drugs there. You can use that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“But, Sam, you can’t tell anyone. Manny has so many people on his payroll—”

“I know that too. I just hope I don’t have to come in after you. Are you sure about Phoebe?”

“As sure as I can be, and the odds of me pulling this off and walking away are greater if she’s there. Do I like the idea of involving a civilian? No. Especially not her, but sometimes needs must.”

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