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The man was pockmarked, a scar running through the left side of his upper lip and bisecting a weak chin. Thinning dark brown hair and muscular shoulders combined with mean, cold hazel eyes and a gun leveled at Jed’s chest.
“You’re a stupid man. ” Jed seemed to sigh, but she could feel the dangerous fury building in his body.
“How do you figure that?” Thin lips curled into a sneer as bulky shoulders shifted beneath a light jacket that strained across them. “I slipped in on you, didn’t I?”
“Did you?” Was that amusement in Jed’s voice?
The other man chuckled. “Why don’t you just move away from the little girlie there,” he suggested. “She can run over to the next room and collect all those jewels she got in New York and bring them back to me. I might let you live if she hurries. And if she brings them all. ”
Jed was slowly shaking his head. Piper gripped his waist with one hand as the other balled into a fist and pressed against his back. Fear rose inside her and threatened to steal her breath. An ugly flash of life without Jed slammed through her imagination and left her fighting back tears.
“How do I know you don’t have someone waiting in her room?” Jed asked, as though he hadn’t just been watching the complete emptiness of her suite.
“Doesn’t matter; we’ll both want the same thing,” the man stated, his voice harsh as he advanced another step. “Now, does she go after those jewels or do I kill you? Then her. ” A smile twisted his lips as the mocking question passed them. “Or I could just hurt you a little bit to show her I mean business. ” He aimed the gun at Jed’s kneecap.
“No need to go that far,” Jed drawled, as though it were all a game. “She can just do as you ask. ”
She knew Jed’s voice. She knew the passion-rich sound of hunger in it as well as the icy slide of a warning. And the warning in his tone was unmistakable.
“I thought that might be the case. ” The intruder’s smile was a terrifying grimace as he glanced to Jed’s side to peek around at her.
He chuckled with a grating rasp. “It’s nice to see you’ve healed from our last meeting. I’ve always thought it a rather wasted effort to add more damage before the old bruises have healed. ”
And he appeared to enjoy the thought of adding those bruises.
He had every intention of killing them. Piper could see it in the pure anticipation in his gaze. Cruelty was inherent in the man’s face, and in her memory of his heavy blows landing against her undefended body.
“Go on, Ms. Mackay,” he ordered her softly, waving the gun toward the door between Jed’s room and her own. “Collect all the jewels now. Miss any and he’ll die. ”
“How would I know?” Licking her dry lips, she didn’t have to pretend pure terror; it was there, slapping her in the face. “They’re mixed in with the rest of the stones. ”
Evil hazel eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? Mixed in with the other stones?”
“The stones I bought at the craft store. ” Forcing the words past her lips, she tried to hold back the quaver in her voice. “I thought they were the fake stones I’d bought. ”
For the briefest second surprised disbelief filled the man’s gaze before a cackle of laughter left his lips.
“Son of a bitch. ” The laughter was almost a wheeze. “Why am I even surprised? You look about that stupid, bitch. ”
Stupid?
The gun still aimed at Jed’s knee was all that kept her mouth shut as she stared back at him.
He might think she was stupid, but she knew he was fucking ugly. She could fake smart if that were true, but there was no way in hell he could fake pretty, she thought mockingly, fighting to hold back her fear.
She wasn’t stupid, though. What she was, was doing everything she could to buy enough time for Jed to figure their way out of this one.
“Well, I suggest you learn how to identify the real stuff and separate it from the fakes really fast,” he suggested, his voice lowering and echoing with cruelty. “You have about four minutes to get that cute little ass back in here before I start putting holes in your man. ” He waved the gun at Jed’s knee before lifting it to Jed’s heart and smiling back at her.
Everything inside her was shaking, trembling in fear now, while Jed’s complete stillness had wariness growing inside her.
He was up to something; she could feel it.
She knew Jed. He wasn’t moving; nor was he taunting.
“I’ll just get them all. ”
“Make sure you turn the lights out,” Jed suddenly advised her.
