Page 85 of Diamond in the Rough

“Look, I’m almost done…one more number, and I’ll be down.”

She pressed on the phone, then slipped it back into her jeans.

Jake knew it was now or never. He grabbed the gun, crept out of the bedroom, and aimed it at the back of Antonia’s head.

“Gotcha,” Antonia said.

The shot sounded out, not from Jake’s quivering gun, but from the oven. Antonia was flung backward. A stream of blood left her head, and red sprayed across the flat. She hit the ground with a sickening thud, then didn’t move.

Jake shook uncontrollably. His eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open. He backed away into the bedroom, shut the door, and pressed his forehead against it.

“Breathe, Jake…”

Maddox’s words, he had to listen to him, not sink into the depths of a panic attack. He was in Maddox’s bedroom, surrounded by his possessions. He remembered the smell of Lewis’s blood, remembered the explosion of flesh and bone.

“Shit…”

Jake spun away from the door and rushed into the en suite. He saw Maddox’s aftershave on the shelf and stumbled towards it. Jake doused himself in Maddox’s scent, closed his eyes, and savoured the smell. It wasn’t as good as the real Maddox, but it soothed him enough to fend off the rising panic. He nodded to himself in the mirror, then went back to confront the situation.

Antonia lay on the floor in a puddle of blood. Jake approached, and even though he tried to tread carefully, it was inevitable his steps smudged the spray of red. He got closer to the oven, winced as he hesitantly glanced inside. He saw the gun, propped up and pointing straight at him. There was a wire hanging from the back of the safe door, the mechanism that triggered the shot. He finally understood Maddox’s intense warning not to try to steal from him.

“Fuck…”

Jake saw the silver case at the bottom of the safe and reached for it. He hooked his fingers around the handle, tugged hard, and winced, anticipating another shot to ring out. It didn’t. He gasped and backed into the wall.

Jake glanced down at the floor and saw his bloody footprints. The distinctive patterns of his trainers. He thought about scrubbing them out, pouring water over the floor to remove them, but Antonia’s phone started buzzing, and he startled and threw himself back.

Jake looked at Antonia and the gaping wound in her head. Ian, Lewis, and now Antonia—he’d seen how quickly and how brutally their lives had been extinguished. He knew the sight of brain, the intense metallic smell of blood, and the unnerving stillness of a corpse.

Antonia’s earlobes sparkled, and Jake zeroed in on the dazzling blue. Before he could think too much about it, he stepped closer and kneeled down. He took back Maddox’s diamonds, shoved them into his pocket, then fled the apartment.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened on the ground floor. Jake hugged the metal case to his chest, took a deep breath, then stepped into the lobby.

“All good?” Sienna asked.

She came out of nowhere and moved in front of him.

Jake hummed an agreement. “Yep, sorted.”

“Did you speak to the police officer?”

Jake frowned. “Nope.”

“Oh, she went up there…”

Jake glanced to his right, saw Liam leaning up against the wall. His phone was pressed to his ear, and he was getting more and more agitated by the lack of response.

“She must’ve gone to a different apartment.”

Sienna frowned. “But—”

Jake marched away before Liam could look his way and used his good shoulder to barge open the door. He froze at the cars behind his taxi. One a police car, and the other a red Porsche. He strolled as casually as he could towards the taxi and opened the door.

“What the hell is that?” the driver asked, eyeing the case.

“A farewell gift…airport, please.”

There was a man leaning against the wall looking their way.

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