Page 53 of Lone Star Hostage

That’s because the woman was now in the doorway behind them. Even Joe wasn’t able to hold her back this time.

“What?” Ari said, his voice taunting now. “You didn’t realize just how much I fucking hated you. Well, you sure as hell know now.”

Victoria groaned, and her breath began to come out in short bursts. “Did you have me kidnapped?”

Ari looked her straight in the eyes and smiled. The sick SOB actually smiled. “I’m not going to confess to something like that.” His expression went back to a glare though, when he glanced in Olivia’s direction. “Now, tell your bastard love brat to give me the diamonds, and you’ll never have to see or hear from me again.”

“I don’t have the diamonds,” Olivia sobbed out.

“Neither do I,” Victoria insisted. “But I’ll give you the money, the value of the diamonds. Just leave, and I’ll transfer the six million to your account.”

A burst of air left his mouth. A laugh but not from humor. “Money won’t fix this,Mommy Dearest. Those diamonds can’t be replaced. Without them, Wessington Diamonds goes under. No one will trust us again. We’ll be ruined, and I’ll lose my legacy. Olivia knows that, too, and it’s why she took them.”

“I don’t want the family business ruined,” Olivia insisted. “I don’t want you ruined.” She made another of those loud sobs. “I just want you to believe me. I didn’t take the diamonds.”

That clearly wasn’t diffusing any of Ari’s rage, and he seemed to be on the verge of shooting. If he did that, Presley would have to kill him. While that wouldn’t be a huge loss as far as Billie was concerned, she didn’t want Presley to have to add that to his list of nightmares.

“I have the diamonds,” Joe called out. “Put down your gun, and I’ll give them to you.”

Billie wasn’t sure whose profanity was the loudest, but she thought Presley won that particular prize. Joe stepped out onto the porch with them, and he held up the small bag that he must have snatched up from the coffee table. The bag with the fake stones.

Well, maybe they were fake.

At this point, Billie didn’t know what the heck was going on.

“You took them?” Ari asked. What he didn’t do was ask who Joe was. Was that because he already knew? Or had he known that Joe was one of the owners of the real stones?

“I found them,” Joe said, and the man just wasn’t a very good liar.

Ari’s sneer conveyed he felt the same way. “Enough of this bullshit,” he snapped. “I get the real diamonds now, or someone dies.”

The last words had barely left his mouth when Billie heard the sound of a car. A rapidly approaching one, and from inside the house, she heard the now familiar sounds of the security system alerting them.

Ari turned in the direction of the vehicle, and he did something that surprised Billie. He lowered his gun.

“That’s Jesep’s car,” Victoria let them know when the black Jaguar came into view.

Presley cursed and glanced back at Victoria. “Will it do any good for me to ask you to go back inside?”

She shook her head. “I’m not going to let you face him alone.”

Spoken like a true mother, but Billie knew that Presley wouldn’t appreciate the gesture. Nope. He would want her out of the line of fire, maybe literally. But both Joe and she stayed put.

Jesep parked about ten yards behind Ari’s Porche, and the man took his time getting out. When he finally did, Jesep stayed right by his vehicle, glancing around as if trying to figure out what was happening.

“Ari thinks I stole the diamonds,” Olivia said on a wail, and she bolted out from her car toward Jesep.

It took her a couple of seconds to reach Jesep, and she threw herself into his arms. However, he didn’t exactly return the embrace. He kept his attention on Ari.

“You believe Olivia took them?” Jesep asked his son.

“Yes,” Ari confirmed without hesitation. Then, he tipped his head toward Joe. “But this clown says he has them.”

Jesep looked at Joe then. And also at Victoria. Jesep didn’t have to convey his disgust at seeing them side by side because that particular emotion was all over his face.

“That clown is your father,” Jesep said, glancing at Olivia.

Olivia was already shaking her head when she turned in Joe’s direction. “No,” she insisted.

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