Chapter 20
Lena's body lurched toward the burning boat.
Nash wrapped his arms around her waist and held her firm against him. In her near-delirious grief, she kicked and flailed her arms.
Her screams for Cassidy gutted him. She continued to fight him, but he didn't take it personally. She wasn't thinking. She was reeling. Her feet kept trying to run, so he picked her up off the ground and held her against his chest.
Soon, her screams turned to sobs. Her fighting limbs stilled, and she collapsed against him. She cried into his shoulder, fisting his shirt.
Knox emerged from the shadows a few feet away. His expression alone asked if Nash needed help. He'd obviously witnessed the explosion.
But there was nothing to do but comfort Lena.
Nash waved him off, and he disappeared into the shadows again.
Tension drained from Lena's muscles, so he eased her down his body and returned her feet to the pavement.
He cradled her head against his chest and let her cry. He felt—rather than heard—"Why? Why?" against his damp-with-tears shirt.
He didn't have an answer for that.
He held her tight against him, partly to comfort her and partly because he was afraid she'd slump to the pavement if he didn't hold her upright. He needed to get her out of here. He needed to figure out what was going on. He needed—
Hurried movement to his left snapped his attention across the parking lot. In one fluid motion, he pushed Lena behind him and reached for his weapon.
Two ghosts ran at him. No. Not ghosts. Emil and Cassidy, soaking wet and wide-eyed, rushed straight for them.
"Stone!" The tremor in Emil's voice belied the fury stamped on his face. "Get me to the house! Now! As fast as you can!"
Nash's brain hurtled over the confusion, trying to make sense of what was happening. Emil and Cassidy were alive. Emil was barking orders at him. And bleeding from the head.
He scanned Cassidy's face and trembling body. Saltwater dripped from her elegant dress. Wet hair stuck to her head. No blood, no apparent injuries.
Lena, paralyzed with shock, mouth gaping, hadn't uttered a word.
Emil hopped into the back passenger seat where he normally rode and slammed the door.
Cassidy grabbed Lena's forearms. "Don't say anything," she begged. "Let's just go."
Lena still hadn't found her voice. He watched her suck in a staggering breath when Cassidy ran to the other side of the vehicle and jumped in beside Emil.
Nash opened the passenger-side door. Lena didn't move, so he gripped her waist and brought his lips to her ear. "Get in. It's going to be okay. I promise."
She didn't respond, but she climbed into the passenger seat. He slammed her door, then jogged to the driver's side. Seconds later, he was driving them out of the parking lot. What in the world just happened?
He eyed Emil in the rearview mirror. He had a dozen questions. But for now, he felt it best to stick to their roles.
"Sir, do you need a hospital?"
"What?"
"You're bleeding, sir. Do you want me to take you to a hospital?"
"No. No. Just straight to the house."
"Yes, sir."
"I . . ." Emil turned to Cassidy. "Am I bleeding?"
"Yes, on your head! Oh, baby, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?"
Cassidy was still the doting girlfriend. Or pretending to be. Or something. Nash still wasn't sure what was going on.
He noticed Jason and Knox tailing them when they pulled onto the main road. They'd reposition near Emil's house. Which was good. Because he had no idea what they were about to face.
He glanced at Lena as much as he dared all the way to Emil's house.
At first, she twisted in her seat and stared at Cassidy, silent tears streaming down her face.
Then she turned her body forward and rode the rest of the way with a hand over her mouth—either to hold in her sobs or to keep herself from screaming at Cassidy. Or Emil. Or both.
The situation demanded that he devise a plan for how to proceed when they arrived. And to be prepared for anything. But the urge to reach for Lena's hand interrupted his thoughts. Repeatedly.
He nearly surrendered to the impulse three times during the short drive to Emil's house.
By the time they reached the estate, thankfully, Lena appeared notably stronger.
"Pull up to the front door," Emil commanded.
Nash bypassed the detached garage and parked as close to the front door as possible. Without a word to anyone, Emil flew out of the car and up the front steps. He punched in the security code, threw the door open, and disappeared into the house.
Cassidy followed close behind him, practically carrying Lena with her. Or maybe Lena was clinging to her. He couldn't tell which. The women had fused together, and he didn't want to take the time to point out the logic in having Lena go lock herself in her room. So they all three followed Emil.
He burst into his office, stomped straight to the safe, dialed in the code, and swung open the door.
Emil stared into the safe. The empty safe stared back.
He uttered several expletives and kicked his desk.
"Sir," said Nash.
"I've been robbed!" Emil bellowed. He pointed a finger at Nash. "Don't call the police. I'll handle it."
He dropped his hand, closed his eyes, and groaned. "I need to think." He leaned on his desk with both palms.
"Emil, what is going on?" Cassidy asked.
His eyes popped open. He looked at her with so much surprise Nash was sure he'd forgotten she and Lena were in the room. His expression softened with a mask of compassion.
"Oh, sweetheart," Emil said. "I'm sorry about all of this. Mr. Stone here can take you back up to the yacht. I'm sure everything is safe now."
Something skittered across his face and disappeared.
Actually, he turned to Nash. "Take Cassidy and Miss .
. . Miss . . ." He tossed his hand toward Lena, unable to conjure up her name.
"Take them both back to the yacht. It'll be safer there.
They can get cleaned up. I'm sure the guests have left, so there's plenty of food and champagne.
I have some things to attend to here. I'll call you later. "
He tossed the comment at Cassidy.
Nash was sure Cassidy was about to say something else, probably demand more information. But that wasn't a good idea.
"Yes, sir," Nash said. "Ladies." He gestured toward the door, walking toward them with eye contact he hoped they both understood. Don't say anything more. Just walk out the door.
Lena looked concerned but cooperative. He was sure Cassidy was about to offer her two cents on the plan until he saw Lena dig her fingers into Cassidy's arm.
"Ow," Cassidy whined.
He ushered them both into the hallway before Cassidy could say anything more to Emil.
"Close the door behind you," Emil called out.
Nash obeyed.
In the foyer, he shot Cassidy an unpleasant, uncompromising glare. "Outside. Now." He hurried them out the front door as quickly as possible and pulled out his phone to call Jason.
"Why are you giving orders?" Cassidy asked.
Nash held up a finger. When his call was answered, he said, "Hey. I have Cassidy and Lena with me. I'm sending them to you. They'll be in Emil's SUV."
"Wait a minute," Cassidy said. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm—"
He held up his finger again.
"Yeah, at the entrance to the private drive. Yes, both of them."
"I don't take orders from you," Cassidy said. "I know where the jewels are. Well, half of them. The ones that weren't in the safe."
Nash spoke into the phone again. "Yes, that's Cassidy, and they're both coming to you. I'll call back in a few minutes."
He ended the call and shoved the phone into his pocket.
"Okay, Cassidy, I'll hear you out. But I'm not forgetting that you were wrong about the jewels being in that life jacket.
" He almost asked if she'd lied on purpose, but she was already staring daggers at him, and he still needed her cooperation.
She crossed her arms. "This isn't any of your business. I'm going to get the jewels back, return them to their rightful owner, and clear my name."
"Keep your voice down. We don't have much time. What do you want to tell me about the jewels? Emil split them up?"
Her arms uncrossed and snapped to her sides, her hands flexing—possibly wishing to strangle him.
"You don't seem to understand, so I'll use small words. I don't—"
"Cass." Lena's sharp-as-glass reprimand in that one syllable halted her cousin's protest.
Cassidy turned to Lena. "I don't know where you found this guy, but he's not in charge." She spun around to face him, finger pointed at his chest. "Make Lena go. She can get out of here, away from all this. But I need to get the jewels, and I need you to stay out of my way."
Cassidy's persistence was more than an irritation—it could get her killed. He wasn't going to allow that.
Lena watched Nash's face harden with a confidence that told her she and Cassidy would be in the SUV in a few seconds, even if Nash had to pick Cassidy up and put her in himself. She didn't want it to come to that.
She pleaded with Cassidy. "Cass, please. He knows what he's doing. Please trust him."
One perfectly shaped eyebrow raised. "You trust him?"
"I trust him with every fiber of my being." The effortless declaration felt heady.
Cassidy's stark surprise shifted to an assessing squint.
"Cass, I don't want you to get hurt. He has a team. They can help. They know what they're doing. Let's get out of here."
Lena couldn't tell if she was winning the debate or not. She threw all the firmness and emotion into her whisper-yell that she knew Cassidy needed to hear.
"No time. Trust me. I trust him, and that's all you need to know. Answer his question so we can go."
She glanced at Nash. The surprise and approval on his face made her breath hitch. She gave a tight nod. He kept his eyes fused with hers for a second longer than necessary, then turned to Cassidy. "You said you know where the jewels are."
Cassidy didn't look happy. She glanced from Nash to Lena, finally back to Nash.
"Cassidy," he said with more gentleness than Lena expected. "Someone tried to kill you tonight on that boat. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you and Lena safe, but I need information."
The venom drained from her glare. Genuine fear flitted across her face, then disappeared behind Cassidy's standard "I've got it all together" mask.
"He has the jewels with him." Her shoulders sagged.
"Half of them, anyway. He put half in the safe at the house and brought the other half to the yacht.
I wasn't lying to you about the life jacket.
But I realized, after you walked back to the parking lot, that he'd taken them from the life jacket and put them in a small pouch that he's wearing under his shirt. "
Nash didn't look surprised. "On his lower back?"
"How did you know?" Cassidy asked.
"I noticed a bulge when we were walking into the house. Any idea who blew up the boat? Why didn't you meet us in the parking lot? Where were you and Emil going?"
Cassidy pinched the bridge of her nose. "I was about to leave the party and come meet you in the parking lot.
And this guy—I don't know who he is. I've never seen him before.
He came up and said something to Emil that got him all upset.
Really spooked him. Emil told me we were leaving, and I was trying to figure out what excuse I could make up to get to the parking lot.
But he pulled me away from the guy. He made me feel like the man was dangerous, so I followed Emil onto the boat.
It felt like we were trying to escape the guy. "
Fear contorted her face. "We were in the boat for maybe a minute before Emil noticed something on the floor.
I guess it was a small bomb or something.
He yelled, 'Jump now!' He was completely freaked out.
He jumped out of the boat. And he looked so panicked, so I followed.
He yelled at me to get away from the boat.
I swam as fast as I could. A few seconds later, we'd made it to the other side of the swim platform, just before the boat exploded.
We swam to the bulkhead on the edge of the parking lot.
I'm not sure if the guy saw us or not. I never saw him again.
We ran to the parking lot, and he found you. " She shrugged. "You know the rest."
Again, Nash didn't look surprised. Lena wanted to hear all of his thoughts, but she knew there wasn't time.
"Thank you," he said. "Now get out of here." He nodded toward the SUV. "My team will meet you on the road. They can escort you back to The Mandeville. They'll be in a white SUV. Knox will blink the headlights three times. You'll know it's them. You can trust them."
"I'll drive," Cassidy said. She snatched the key out of Lena's hand and ran around to the driver's side.
Nash's jaw tightened. Something raw in his gaze echoed the emotion she saw on the yacht.
An instinct she didn't know she had led her hand into his and trailed her thumb across his wrist. "Nash, we'll be okay. We'll meet up with your team."
He pursed his lips. "My head tells me this is the best plan. You two need to get out of here. But I don't like leaving you. Too much could happen. There are too many variables. I could—"
She pressed her thumb against his wrist. "Hey. Stop. You're great at what you do, Nash, but you can't control everything." She stroked his wrist again. "A little faith?"
The corner of his mouth quirked up. "Yeah, I know. You're right. You need to go. Be careful." He gripped the handle of the passenger-side door.
Lena clamped her hand over his. "You be careful, okay? Promise me you'll . . . Just be careful."
She told her hand to release, but it refused. The look in his gaze paralyzed her in the most wonderful way. Her fingers squeezed his hand, but she still couldn't move, couldn't let go.
Finally, he eliminated the space between them, crashing his lips against hers.
Her hand let go, and she slid it around his neck.
She'd never been kissed with such a mix of confidence and tenderness.
Sparks shot through her whole body. It lasted less than five seconds, but she felt his kiss all the way to her toes.
He eased back and whispered, his voice husky, "You've got to go. Be safe. I'll check on you as soon as I can."
Her brain puddled. She couldn't form words. But somehow, her head knew to nod her assent.
He opened the car door, and she hopped in. He shut the door, tapped the window, and made eye contact with Cassidy. "Go," he mouthed.
His glance fell back on Lena as the SUV pulled away from the house. In her last glimpse of him, she saw the worry—and so much more—in his eyes.