Page 75 of Diamond in the Rough

Billy laughed. “Take my advice and don’t get one. They do your fucking head in.”

“Is that a yes?” Antonia asked.

“It’s a yes, as long as I never have to hear about it again.”

Antonia made a sound of glee and looked up at the ceiling. “Yes.”

“Tonight.” Liam said, “Let’s get it done tonight.”

“Fine, tonight,” Billy said. “Now both of you get out of my sight.”

Antonia and Liam hurried away, and Billy dropped his head into his hands. “Just when you think it’s all over…”

Jake picked at the mattress sheet. “Why do you keep coming to see me?”

Billy licked his lips, then tapped his temple. “It’s like there’s something about you…I don’t know…I can’t place it.”

“I’m just an idiot who apparently stole your keys.”

“I think you’re more than that. That look on your face when you took them…the confidence, the challenge…and now, in this bed, I know you’re lying, but why do you have reason to lie? Unless—”

“You ran me down in your car. There’s a big fucking reason.”

Billy snorted. “So you do remember…and you remember Carl?”

Jake turned away. “He was my friend, and you…you—”

“I what?”

Jake faced Billy. His glare was intense, but Jake didn’t shy from it.

“You turned up at his funeral and laughed.”

Billy blinked, then sighed wearily. “Right.”

“It was disrespectful and cruel, and I wanted you to pay. What kind of person goes to a funeral to laugh, to make jokes about how someone died?”

Billy pointed to himself. “I’m that kind of person, and your friend Carl was involved in a game he shouldn’t have been. It wasn’t personal, or not towards him, anyway.”

“What game?”

Billy got to his feet, then brushed his hands down his jacket. “Antonia’s right, this is pointless. I’ve got everything I could possibly want. I should be celebrating, not sat here with you.”

“Then why do you keep coming?”

“I thought I might have made a mistake…but I was wrong. You’re no one. You’re nothing. I’ve won.”

Jake watched Billy walk away, then turned back to the window. Even without Maddox, he wasn’t a no one. He wasn’t a nothing. He was an adrenaline junkie, a pick-pocketer, a small-time thief, and he was going to steal the diamond before Billy did. He was thankful he wasn’t still hooked to the heart monitor—the tempo in his chest was so fast it was almost a hum.

“You haven’t won yet,” he whispered.

Chapter 13

Gavin came over with a book clutched to his chest. He sat down with a straight back and turned his head like a helpless animal checking for threats.

“Could you look any more suspicious?” Maddox mumbled.

“Sorry…”

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