Thieves Like Us (2 page)

Warm relief coursed through her, spreading heat to her cold limbs. “I understand completely, Mr. Portman, and I trust whatever you think is fair. Oh, and I wonder if you could include this in the purchase.” Before he could object, she pulled a crinkled wad of tissue from her purse and set it on the counter. Inside the thin wrapping, metal rattled against glass. “It was a gift from Mr. Westfield, and I would rather not keep it.”

Portman frowned at the tiny bundle as if she’d placed a toad on his immaculate display case. “I really don’t think—”

Sensing rejection, Janet rushed to remove the tissue. A double-strand pearl necklace slithered out, followed by a clunk from the attached pendant. Portman stopped talking.

Janet angled the pendant toward Portman. Inside an ornate, filigreed circle of gold, a large red stone glowed beneath the store’s strong lights. “If you don’t want it, I’ll take it somewhere else. I just want to get rid of it.” No sense blowing the whole deal because he didn’t want her ugly necklace.

Portman leaned closer. So did Ellie, showing the first glimmer of interest in the proceedings. “When did you get that?” Ellie asked. “It’s kind of gaudy, isn’t it?”

Janet nodded. “Banner bought it for my birthday. I didn’t want to offend him by not wearing it, but it’s awfully heavy and definitely not my style.”

Portman touched the pearl chain and spread it across the glass, giving him a better view of the pendant. Janet said nothing, watching his expression grow thoughtful. He lifted the necklace and let the pendant dangle. Areas of solid gold were decorated with curlicues and raised gold beads. In Janet’s opinion, it missed being pretty and went straight to tacky.

“Where did your husband buy this?” he asked without looking away from the necklace.

She was tempted to correct her marital status, but decided not to distract Portman from his obvious fascination with the necklace. If she’d known it would get this sort of reaction, she would have shown it to him first.

“I don’t know where he bought it. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I have,” Portman murmured, lost in his examination. “Somewhere. The style is quite old; it might be a copy of a museum piece. Quality workmanship . . .” His voice faded out as he fumbled beneath his collar and then pulled out a chain with a gold hexagon on the end. He opened it like a jackknife, revealing a jeweler’s loupe. Portman held it to his eye and peered closely at the stone. Seconds passed. He tilted the pendant at different angles, still saying nothing. Janet wondered if he’d forgotten about her.

Portman finally looked up, dropping the loupe to let it hang over his tie. “Fifteen thousand.”

Her mouth opened, but it took a couple more seconds for words to come out. “Sorry, what?”

“Five for the ring, and ten for the necklace. You understand, I’m taking a big chance on the ring. It’s possible no one will want it—with its shady history.” He didn’t even look embarrassed when he said it.

Janet stared. The ring was worth ten times what he offered, but she hadn’t expected more. It was the offer for the necklace that threw her. It had been an afterthought to bring it along, and she would have been thrilled if he’d offered even a few hundred dollars for it.

“Ten thousand dollars for the necklace?”

“Again, a risk on my part.”

He didn’t strike her as the type to take risks with money. “Then the stone is real?”

“Real? Yes, it’s a gemstone.”

“A ruby?”

The corner of his mouth gave an arrogant twitch upward. “No. Quality rubies don’t come that large. I’m sure it’s a spinel.”

His expression was unreadable. She had a feeling he wasn’t lying to her, but he also wasn’t offering information. “Is that good?”

“Depends. Historically, they were often mistaken for rubies and used in fine pieces of jewelry, most notably in England’s Imperial State Crown. Today, they are less common but smaller ones are quite affordable.”

She tried to sort out the pertinent facts. “Are you saying this could be a historic piece?”

He shifted from one foot to the other, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “Possibly. It could also be a modern knockoff and relatively worthless.” He pursed his lips as he took her measure, probably weighing how far he could push her. “My father is the expert on antique jewelry. If you’d like to wait a couple days for him to look at it—”

And risk having him reduce the price to two hundred dollars?
“No need. I accept your offer.”

Portman gave a brisk nod and moved quickly to the back of the store.

Ellie grabbed her arm. “Are you crazy? What’s the hurry? You should have Rocky look at the necklace. No one knows more about precious gems than he does, and he wouldn’t lie to you.”

“I don’t think Mr. Portman is lying.”

“And he’s not telling you the whole truth, either. That necklace could be worth a fortune. Rocky would know. Why don’t you let me call him?”

Rocky again.
Just the thought of him made her insides jumpy.

Trying to keep her voice level, she said, “I’ll take the opinion of a professional over an ex-con jewel thief.” She almost winced at her own words; they sounded so harsh and unfair, but she really didn’t want to discuss Rocky.

“Jack’s an ex-con,” Ellie said, unoffended.

“That’s different. Banner framed him; he was innocent.” Janet could never think of Jack as an ex-con, and she knew Ellie couldn’t, either.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t helping her argument against Rocky. “Rocky was framed, too,” Ellie pointed out.

She knew. She’d never asked for the details, but she believed Ellie, and deep down she knew Rocky was a good person. He also stirred other feelings inside her— feelings that she wasn’t ready to have yet.

“It’s not fair to think of him as a jewel thief,” Ellie said, still stuck on defending the man who’d become her business partner and her husband’s best friend.

“I don’t want to think of him at all.”

Ellie narrowed her eyes at Janet’s stubborn expression, which made Janet nervous. No one knew her better than Ellie and eventually, she’d figure it out. Thankfully, Portman reappeared with a check, giving her an excuse to change the subject. She thanked him, tucked it into her purse, and motioned Ellie toward the door.

But Ellie wasn’t ready to drop the subject. Once back in the June sunlight, she said, “
Everyone
likes Rocky. I can’t believe you don’t.”

Probably because she
did
like him, far more than she wanted to.

Janet sighed dramatically. “Okay, let’s skip the setup. I can see you’re determined to make me like Rocky. What does he have to do with this favor you want? Because I’m sure I can continue to dislike the man while doing whatever it is you want me to do.” Or at least pretend to dislike him.

Ellie frowned. “Probably. But you can’t let it show, because you’ll be in public. I need you to cover for me and help Rocky with a demonstration we scheduled for tomorrow night.”

“For Red Rose Security? But I don’t know anything about your business.”

“You don’t have to. You just have to be Rocky’s assistant. He’ll show you everything you need to know.”

“Uh-huh.” She bet he would. “You know, you look so innocent with those big blue eyes and your hair in a cute little ponytail. Almost like you
aren’t
trying to set me up.”

“I’m not.” At Janet’s skeptical look, she threw up her hands. “Honest. Jack and I just finally want to take our delayed honeymoon. But I had the brilliant idea to have Rocky speak to some women’s groups about home security. He’s so charming they fall all over themselves making appointments for personal consultations. We get a ton of business that way.”

It was true. Women ate up that big, lopsided grin, especially when it was combined with his former bad boy life of crime, which Rocky always admitted to. His burglary skills were his credentials. Between his expertise at advising clients on the best security systems and Ellie’s skills at planning and organization, their fledgling security business was booming.

Janet pointed toward her car, parked a couple spaces away, to keep Ellie talking as they walked. “It’s not hard; you just need to be an extra set of hands, then set up any appointments. I’d ask Lisa, but she can’t get a sitter at night. I canceled everything else for the next two weeks, but I can’t get out of this one. I know you’re busy trying to reestablish Aims Air Freight, but—”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Janet relented with a groan. She started the car. “I’m not going to keep my best friend from her honeymoon.”

Her racing heart sounded louder than the engine.

Five minutes later, Janet could feel Ellie studying her as she drove. “You know, he doesn’t feel the same way about you. He thinks you’re great,” Ellie said.

Oh, she knew. Better than she’d ever let on. He hadn’t made it a secret, and resisting a devilishly cute, smooth-talking hunk of man went against some basic instinct that she had to stomp down every time she saw him.

“If you didn’t already know him, I’d introduce you, because I think you two would be great together. Did you know he’s nearly at the top of his class in law school? Smart guy. Plus he’s cute, and funny, and he loves kids. Like you.”

Another perfect man. Although Rocky was possibly the real thing—unlike her ex-husband, who had hidden a psychopath’s personality behind the guise of perfection. She’d paid a big price for her little lapse in judgment, so big that she didn’t know if she could ever trust her gut again. If only Banner had come with the warning, “Willing to screw you over to get what I want,” she could have saved herself a lot of time and heartache.

Ellie was still watching her with a bemused expression.

“Stop matchmaking, El. You found the only perfect guy out there, and I’m willing to settle for watching from the sidelines.”

“Jack
is
perfect,” she agreed. “And no, you aren’t.”

Trust a best friend to point out when you’re lying. “Stop being a pain in the butt and tell me about this honeymoon of yours. Where are you going to go?”

Ellie took the hint and started talking about her trip. It kept them occupied until they got to Ellie’s house.

Janet pulled in the driveway behind Jack, who was standing beside his car with a well-built, tanned man in a Hawaiian shirt and cutoff shorts. Rocky.

“Crap.”

Ellie laughed.

Not saying hello would be rude. Janet was willing to tarnish her reputation and bolt, but Ellie took her sweet time getting out of the car, long enough for Rocky to stroll over to the driver’s side. Not opening the window would be beyond rude, and it would make Ellie mad.
Crap again.

She hit the power switch and ordered herself to relax. Rocky waited for the glass to lower all the way, then folded his arms on the open window and leaned down. His dark eyes were level with hers, and he was close enough for her to appreciate the thick lashes that any woman would have envied.

“Hey, Janet.” His mouth curved into the lopsided smile she’d prepared for, but something still tripped in her chest.

“Hi.”

“Still avoiding me?”

Heat threatened to creep up her neck to her face. “Still deluding yourself that everything I do revolves around you?”

“Interesting fantasy.” His gaze wandered over her for several seconds while she tried not to squirm. “Nice haircut. It looks good on you.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, unable to stop the automatic response good manners demanded. Damn her proper upbringing. “I thought you liked long hair.” It was the only defiant thought that came to mind.

His smile grew. “Is that why you cut it?”

“No!” This time she felt the blush reach her cheeks and was furious at her own reaction. The idea that cutting her hair had anything to do with him was absurd, but he always seemed to keep her off balance. She needed to take the lead instead of letting him manipulate the conversation. “I just learned I’m filling in for Ellie at some demonstration you’re doing tomorrow night. Can you give me the time and place?”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“I’ll meet you there,” she protested. But when Rocky moved his hand and she felt his fingers brush her cheek, her words faltered.

“A mosquito,” he explained. “If we use one car we’ll save gas. It’s ecologically responsible.”

He knew her well enough to throw out the one reason she wouldn’t argue with. No doubt Ellie had been talking about her. “Fine.” She looked pointedly at his shirt. “Are you dressing like that?”

He feigned surprise. Glancing at the shirt, one of several that made up what Ellie called his “surfer dude” look, he asked, “Is there something wrong with pineapples and palm fronds?”

She considered the loud yellow-and-green pattern. “I’m gonna go with yes.”

He looked amused. “Don’t worry, tomorrow night I will wear what proper Bloomfield Hills ladies expect me to wear.”

That meant something conservative and expensive. She had a wardrobe full of that. “Okay, I’ll be ready.”

“I can come early if you’d like. We can practice.”

She recognized the unspoken meaning, but was annoyed that she didn’t flush at the thought. “No, thanks. I don’t need practice.”

He winked. “Good to know. See you tomorrow.”

Arrogant jerk. He stepped back as she jammed the car into reverse. She barely remembered to wave at Ellie and Jack before speeding off.

Rocky strolled back up the driveway. Jack watched his wife’s rear end appreciatively as she walked to the house before turning his attention back to the matter at hand. Digging into his pocket, he handed the house keys to Rocky. “Ellie said you only have to water the plants once.”

Uh-huh.
That wasn’t the thought behind that carefully neutral expression. “And what did she say about Janet?”

Jack’s mouth quirked upward, obviously unperturbed at relaying his wife’s message. “That you shouldn’t rush her.”

“Who’s rushing? I’ve known her a year.”

Jack leaned against the car and folded his arms. “Yeah, I was there when you met. You decided you wanted her after knowing her two whole hours. You don’t call that rushing?”

“This from the man who got engaged after knowing a woman—what? Two minutes?”