The Sapphire Affair (Jewel #1)(36)

“Why thank you,” he said, though he was well aware she was mocking his best sales effort.

“So you want me to be the front woman, sniffing out information, and you can be Captain Adventure?”

“Sure.” He managed a smile. “I actually think that’s a perfect partnership. One that maximizes what we both bring to the table. Or think of it like this. You’re the sniper; I’m the gun.”

“But what if I just don’t need a gun, Jake? What if all I need are my eyes?” She pointed to her blue eyes. Her gorgeous, pretty-as-a-picture blue eyes that were so damn innocent and sweet-looking, just like the tone she was using now. This woman, she could work him over. He had to stay on his guard.

“Tell you what, Steph. Go to Eli’s on Thursday night. If he does have the diamonds in a bowl on his desk, or on the dining room table, or wherever, then all you have to do is stuff those beauties in your pocket and run back to Miami with them. I am happy to call Andrew and say I failed abysmally at my mission.”

She didn’t answer right away. She simply watched him, like she was studying him. “Hypothetically, if we’re partners and I went to his house to scope out the scene, would you wait quietly in a bush or trellis for me? You know, in case there are dangerous guard dogs you need to rescue me from?”

“I doubt you’d need rescuing from anything. But yes, I could do that. And by the way, I know there aren’t trellises on your stepfather’s property,” he said, his voice cool and casual, as he picked up the fork.

“How do you know that?”

“It’s my job to know that. His house is on the water. He has palm trees, an orchid tree, a rose bush, an infinity pool, and a boat in a private dock. He lives in a two-story stone house, with a stucco roof, purchased a year ago in a condo development called Corey’s Landing.”

She raised her eyebrows. The look in her eyes said she was impressed. “You do your homework.”

“Maybe I’m not just muscle. Maybe I have the brains, too,” he said, tapping his temple. “So what do you say? Are we in? If we find the diamonds, we return them to their rightful owners, the Eli Fund, and presumably that helps your mom, since she helped start the company,” he said, then he zeroed in on her soft spot, since it was his, too—looking out for others. “Look, let’s say he didn’t do it. But someone else did. Let’s pretend someone else took something from the fund. What happens if you dig into this and run into this person,” he said, and though he was convinced of Eli’s guilt, he also knew you could never be too careful, and he couldn’t rule out Eli having accomplices he didn’t know of yet. “What if you find someone else is involved? I’ll be your backup.”

“Like a bodyguard?” she asked, a bit playful.

“I give good backup, Steph,” he said, and she managed a small smile. “And good protection.”

“You know that sounds dirty.”

“I know. But I mean it, too. What do you say? You won’t rat me out and I won’t rat you out, and we help each other get to the bottom of the diamonds.” Stolen diamonds, he added in his head. He picked up the other fork and handed it to her, wanting her yes. This job would be finished a hell of a lot faster with an inside woman. He held a breath as he waited.

She took the fork but didn’t dig into the cake. The fork hovered in midair in her hand. “The diamonds might be in his nightclub.”

“They might.”

“Eli invited me to go tonight. He won’t be there. But they might be in a bank, too. If they’re in a bank vault, I doubt your hammer or lock-picking tricks would work.”

He nodded. “You’re right. And I certainly don’t intend to break into a bank. Even I have lines.”

“What if they are in a bank?”

“Then I give Andrew that information. He hired me to conduct some recon and drum up intel. If I can nab the diamonds, I certainly will. But if they’re guarded in a bank, my job will be of the information-recovery rather than item-recovery nature.” He quickly added, “Our job.”

“Our?” She quirked up the corner of her lips. “So you’ve already decided we’re partners? What if I don’t trust you?”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t be partners. But I also think you probably trust me more than you think. Because you like me,” he said with a lopsided grin as he waited patiently for her answer.

She laughed as she shook her head, bemused. Then she roamed her eyes over his face, his chest, his arms. Her gaze wasn’t sexual. She seemed to be considering his offer. His plan might be grade-A insane, and Lord only knew that the last time he’d worked with a woman, he’d been burned. But he had no plans of letting her into his heart. Nope. This was only work. Nothing more.

“It seems you have talents that might come in handy,” she admitted.

“See? I knew you could be convinced of my talents,” he said, wiggling an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes. “In this case, I was actually thinking of the other talent you mentioned. The one where you could wander around town, ask questions here and there, act like a tourist, and no one thinks anything of it. There are a few things I have in mind. But they require both of us.”

He held out his arms wide. “That’s what I’m talking about. So does this mean we’re working together, Ariel?”