Chapter 21
Twenty-One
Damien stared at the footage of Kiernan Smith dragging Harmony to the SUV until his eyes blurred and he didn’t see anything anymore.
They had to find her. Time was not on their side. Grant Pickens, or Stuart Smith, was not going to leave Harmony alive to tell everyone what he did. Neither was his brother from the look of it.
“Pickens’ assistant says she doesn’t know anything about his brother or about the two of them kidnapping Harmony,” Rhett said, relaying information they were getting from Marcus and his team, plus whatever Rose Protection Agency members were available to help with the search.
“Does Marcus believe her?” Jude asked.
Rhett shrugged. “He’s keeping her there in case they try to contact her, but he doesn’t seem to think she’s involved.”
Damien shook his head, barely able to hear the conversation. He wanted to punch himself for not trusting his instincts about Grant Pickens. The man was good. Too fucking good. Damien knew something about him was off. The way Harmony reacted to the man wasn’t an accident.
But he ignored his gut. He trusted the information they found. He believed what he read about the man who was praised for helping the city.
The man who fucking lied about everything. Who pretended to be someone great, but was a…
“What was Pickens hiding?” Damien asked.
“Hiding? What do you mean?” Jude asked.
Damien turned back to his computer. “He staged a break-in. He had his brother lead two men into his building. What was the plan? What were they doing?”
“Diamonds,” Eve breathed.
“What?” the men all asked.
Eve turned her screen around. “A few months ago, Kiernan Smith’s passport was stamped. The area he went to for a supposed vacation is known for diamond mines. Stuart Smith’s passport showed him in the same area.”
“Going to an area with diamond mines doesn’t mean that’s what they were doing there,” Rhett snapped.
“Maybe not, but there was a major heist around the same time. It wasn’t big news, but it was local news. It was quickly quieted, which made me think they were taking matters into their own hands, but maybe it’s because they didn’t want anyone to know someone pulled one over on them,” Eve explained.
“They stole diamonds?” Rhett asked.
“Not just diamonds. Loose stones worth a few hundred million dollars. They’re uncut, they’re straight from the mine, and they’re not registered yet.
They’re essentially write-offs for the mine because they won’t be able to prove they are the exact diamonds that were taken, but it all fits together,” Eve said.
She clicked through to another article, one with a grainy picture of two people who could be anyone.
“With that kind of money, they can vanish,” Jude said.
“Which is probably what they planned to do. Stage the break-in, let the other two guys take the fall for anything that was stolen, and disappear,” Eve said.
“A break-in means there’s attention there. It means people will show up. Why would they want to do that if they were trying to quietly move the diamonds?” Rhett asked.
“Maybe there was more to it,” Jude suggested. “Who lost the most when they stole those diamonds?”
“The investors of the mine.”
“Who were the investors?” Jude’s question drew the attention of all of them.
Damien watched Eve find the information. “It looks like there was a team of five people.” She exhaled a laugh. “One of them was Stuart Smith.”
“He stole from himself?” Damien asked.
Eve shook her head. “I don’t get it, but maybe he was cutting out his partners. Wanted all the profits for himself.”
“And then he brings everything back here and—”
“Guess who the biggest clients for Pickens Systems Inc. are?” Jude asked.
“Who?” Damien asked.
“The other four investors,” Jude said.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rhett laughed. “Have any of them reported being blackmailed lately?”
“Do people report that?” Damien asked.
“Not if what you’re being blackmailed with isn’t exactly legal,” Eve said. “Are we really saying Grant Pickens invested in a diamond mine, stole a fuck-ton of diamonds from his partners, then blackmailed them to fuck them again?”
“There has to be a reason.” Rhett stared at his screen, trying to piece it all together.
“Isn’t being a murderous fucking asshole enough?” Jude asked.
“Sure, but what set him off? Why did he go from investing to stealing? There’s something else there,” Eve said.
“Whatever it is, Harmony stepped in the middle of all of this,” Rhett said.
“Harmony seeing the break-in meant the cops were there too fast. They didn’t have time to do everything they planned,” Eve said.
“And now they have her.” Damien’s phone trilled with a new message. Before he could pull it out of his pocket, his computer showed the new message.
From an unknown number.
Damien clicked on it before he could stop himself. It was a picture of Harmony. Tied to a chair. Blood soaked her clothes. There was an obvious bullet wound in her left leg and right upper chest.
Damien pushed away from his computer, unable to look at it for another second.
“What?” Jude asked, turning the screen to see what Damien saw. “Jesus Christ.”
“Is she alive?” Rhett asked.
“Shut up,” Eve hissed.
“She’s alive,” Jude declared. “The message says time’s ticking. He wants you to find her.”
“Where is she?” Damien demanded.
Jude clicked a few buttons, then pulled up a location for the phone that sent the message. “There. Looks like an old farm? There’s a barn. That has to be where she is. They didn’t do anything to hide where they are.”
“We found Pickens,” Walker said, pushing away from his desk. “He was with another man at lunch when Harmony saw him. We think that’s his buyer. The guy is at the casino.”
“Damien just got a text with a picture of Harmony,” Jude said.
Walker and Jude stared at each other.
“He wants us to choose,” Jude said. “You can’t get both.”
“I’m not going to get both. I’m getting Harmony. You get Pickens,” Damien growled, nodding to Walker.
“Done,” Walker said, heading toward the door.
“Let’s go get your woman,” Jude said, signaling to Austin and Teddy.
Eve snorted, but she and Rhett followed Walker. They were going to get this fucker.
Harmony fought to slow her breathing. She had no idea what dying was like, or what would stop the slow and painful release of all the blood from her body, but she figured the more she could slow her bodily functions, the better.
Everything hurt. More than she expected, which seemed like a weird thing. Why wouldn’t dying hurt? Then again, she’d been shot twice, had her nose broken, and was knocked out. Of course, it fucking hurt.
Tears flowed down her cheeks, regret mixing with all the other emotions she felt. She worked so hard throughout her entire life. She spent all her time at work, in school, neglecting an actual life. If she could go back…
She wouldn’t have changed anything. Because if she’d made any changes, she might have missed out on falling in love.
She might have missed out on Damien.
Regret and sadness blended with the love she felt for the man she’d only known a month. Damien saved her in so many ways. She didn’t get to marry him or have kids or love him until he died, but she got to love him until she died.
She wished she could see him one more time.
Kiss him and tell him she loved him. She didn’t know how long she’d been there, but she knew it was a long time.
The barn was dark, the sounds of nature getting louder as the world outside woke up.
She didn’t hear any vehicles passing or sounds of human life.
Wherever she was, it was remote. So remote she didn’t bother screaming for help.
No one would have heard her.
If Grant Pickens had the fucking balls to shoot her twice, he knew no one would hear her scream either.
She saved her energy.
Maybe Damien would find her. Maybe he would bury her body somewhere peaceful. They never talked about things like that, but she hoped he found her somewhere nice to rest in peace. Somewhere surrounded by others and not so fucking alone.
She wished she’d told Damien about Grant Pickens from the start. That she’d trusted her gut about the man. She would die with that regret. Maybe Damien would find Grant Pickens. Maybe the asshole would screw up and get caught. Maybe there was some proof he was responsible for all the things he did.
A shrill sound rang out somewhere behind Harmony. She didn’t know what it was, but it startled her. She jumped, moaning with the pain.
Everything hurt. It hurt so fucking much.
She passed out again, the pain dragging her under. She didn’t know how long she had been passed out, but when she came to, she was hallucinating.
“Damien. You came for me.”
“Hey, beautiful.” His hand almost felt real on her cheek.
“You’re such a flatterer. I know I look hideous.”
“You could never look hideous.”
“I’ve never been dying before.”
“You’re not going to die.” His eyebrows pinched together, like he was angry.
She coughed. “I wish I could see you once more. I love you so much, Damien. I wish we’d gotten to grow old together.”
“We will, Harmony. We will.”
“This is a good dream. I know why my dad felt better before he died. When he talked to my mom, he felt better. I feel better talking to you.”
“Then keep talking to me, Harmony.”
“I’m sleepy.”
“Don’t go to sleep yet. Just a few more minutes.”
“Will you stay with me?”
“Always, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ouch. My arms hurt.”
“They were tied tight for a long time. Let me have your hands.”
Harmony smiled when her hands were free. “I like good dreams. I always had good dreams when you were around. You always made me feel safe.”
“I’m always going to protect you.”
“I wish you could have. But don’t blame yourself. I shouldn’t have walked out. I never thought Grant Pickens would take me from Rose.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”