Page 48 of Relinquish

“You look extraordinary. Those jewels.” She tsks. “They’re to die for.”

Lord, keep me from that. I drop her hand and kiss her on both cheeks as she returns the greeting.

From the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Chad Atkinson, who’s several feet away, talking to a woman in killer heels and diamonds around her neck. In the corner is Leanne Bell, who’s chatting with Ava Barton and a young man. That must be Ava’s son. What’s the likelihood they’d all be in the same room? “You look fantastic as well. Have you vacationed recently?”

She frowns. “How did you know? I just got back from the Cayman Islands.”

“Well, you’re glowing. It’s so great to see you. We need to get together for a girl’s day. I could use a spa trip. Sorry for the late arrival. I got held up on the way over.” A tinge of heat covers my chest. “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“No, not at all. Randall was keeping us all entertained with tales from the high seas. He’s just acquired a custom-built yacht, which I can’t wait to see.” Patricia stares up at Randall like he hangs the moon and stars.

I turn to the man in question. “This must be the man with the Midas touch.”

“Yes, it is. Lola, this is Randall Maitland. Randall, this is Lola Sutherland.”

Randall raises my hand to his lips and places a moist kiss on the back of my skin while staring into my eyes. Is that his tongue? I cringe. He slid the tip of his tongue across my hand. Disgusting. I inhale, and the scent of wood and citrus tickles my nose as Chad moves over to Leanne’s side. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“No, it’s my pleasure. You look stunning this evening.”

I pull back, releasing his grasp. The man is creepy with a capital ‘C.’ “My horoscope said money is coming my way, so I decided to enhance my chances by wearing emerald.” I glance at the other guests. David’s gaze is stuck to the jewel between my breasts. Or he likes gawking at women’s tits. “I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something important?”

“Not at all.” Randall tips his head toward the group surrounding him. “Ladies. Gentleman. I must bid you farewell for now. Maybe we can reconvene later this evening.”

One of the guests, an overweight man with a receding hairline, frowns at my interruption. “Mr. Maitland, I would love the opportunity to speak with you later tonight. I was enthralled with your sailing anecdotes, but there was no time to ask you about your investment opportunities. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”

“Absolutely.” Randall beams as the remaining individuals drift away.

David ambles over to Leanne and Chad’s group and strikes up a conversation with them. Are they all working together? That would change everything. “Why don’t we move to my father’s study? That way, we can have some privacy.”

I move forward without looking to see if they follow me–pampered princesses get their way. Once inside, I turn to watch Patricia and Randall file into the room and wait for Cade to join us.

The second the door snaps into place, Randall motions with his thumb toward Cade. “Who’s that?”

I caress the large ruby resting between my breasts. “I hope you don’t mind my bodyguard, Mr. Hughes. He works for Truman Security and was hired by my insurance agent to guard the jewels.” I lean forward and lower my voice. “I don’t know if you remember or not, but years ago, someone tried to steal these jewels.”

“Is it safe to speak in front of him?”

I wave my hand dismissively. “He’s only here to keep someone from making another attempt on the necklace.” I nod toward him. “He’s signed a non-disclosure agreement.”

Patricia gasps. “Was anyone hurt?”

“No, everyone was fine, and it was years ago. The alarm was tripped, signaling a problem to the security company. They managed to get there in time. He did time in prison years ago.” I shrug. “But we don’t want to take a chance on anything happening again. These are worth a fortune.”

Cade stands in front of the door with his arms crossed. He appears as interested as a man attending a baby shower.

“Fine.” I can tell Randall doesn’t like it, but he’s familiar with security. He pulls at the thigh of his pants and lowers into an oversized leather sofa.

When Patricia prepares to sit next to him, I clutch my chest. “Do you mind sitting over there?” I point toward one of the high-backed accent chairs. She stares at me like I’m crazy but does what I ask. “Thank you so much. It’s more Feng Shui that way. You know, positive energy and all.”

***

Cade

I raise my hand and cough to clear my throat. I’ve spent hours without making a sound while waiting for orders, and I’m about to lose my shit over Lola’s charade. Thankfully, no one looks in my direction.

Ripley and Sloane are on the other side of the door in discussion with the other group of suspects. The second I’d seen them; a weight had lifted off my shoulders. While I don’t know Ripley’s wife, I know he’d go down swinging before he’d let anything happen to her. And since we can’t be in two places at once, their presence will help me keep an eye on everyone if anything happens to go down while we’re in the study.

Patricia nods. “How interesting. Someday, you’ll have to tell me more of how that works.”

---