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Carmina was paying close attention to this part of the exchange.
“That’s one way to do it.” Graham nodded.
He was baiting Carmina. Lyrica watched the jealousy and anger filling the other woman’s eyes and felt a frisson of alarm as Carmina looked up at Dorne.
“One way to do what?” Carmina snapped, the South American accent missing now.
“To bring back the dead,” Graham stated softly as Lyrica glimpsed the pitying look he gave the other woman as she watched his profile. “He was in love with Betts. Losing her had to hurt. You’re nothing more than second best, Carmina. You don’t look like a woman who accepts second place to me.”
“Shut the fuck up, Graham,” Dorne snapped before Carmina could speak, though the fury brewing in her eyes assured him he’d struck the right nerve. “Don’t make me pull that little bitch of yours free of you right now. I don’t have the time to hurt her properly. Yet.”
A soft bit of static announced the link becoming active once again.
“Keep them distracted.” Tracker’s voice came across the line softly. “We’re deactivating the basement security. Two of my men are at the door now.”
God, they had to hurry. She couldn’t let any of them take a bullet to save her. It would kill her as surely as being shot herself would.
She could feel the tension rising slowly, though, and she knew a critical point was arriving far faster than she was prepared for.
“Shut up?” Graham asked him as though surprised. “She doesn’t know you were in love with Betts?”
“It doesn’t matter what he felt for her,” Carmina said angrily. “What he feels for me is much more. He’s here with me, isn’t he? For no other reason than to help me kill you for getting her killed.”
Graham laughed. “Is that what he told you?” Crossing his arms over his chest to stop the two from watching him too closely, he directed an amusement-filled look Dorne’s way. “Dorne doesn’t want vengeance. He may have loved Betts, who the hell knows. What he needs you for is a convenient backup plan. He’s here for what he thinks I took out of that desert, aren’t you, Dorne?”
The soldier’s lips thinned further as he shot Lyrica a hard, vengeful look. “Shut him up,” he told her softly. “Or you and I will play serious later.”
“Unfortunately, he doesn’t listen to me,” she told him. Thankfully, her voice wasn’t nearly as weak as her knees were. “No matter what you may think.”
No matter what she may have wished.
TWENTY-TWO
The tension between Dorne and Carmina was only thickening now. Anger filled her face, and icy contempt filled his as he glanced at her.
“What does he mean by that?” Carmina shifted, staring up at Dorne now, ignoring Lyrica.
Graham chuckled then.
“I mean, he’s here for the two and a half million in stolen Taliban diamonds that disappeared when Betts was killed,” Graham answered for him. “He’s not here to gain vengeance for Betts, and he’s not here for you.”
“Where are they?” Dorne asked softly, a triumphant smile curling at the corners of his lips. “The only way to keep that pretty little thing behind you from being raped in front of your eyes is to tell me where they are.”
Graham shook his head. “You know better than that, Dorne. Haven’t you heard about my ‘flavors’ yet? Doing a friend a favor by protecting his baby sister doesn’t mean I have a damned thing you can take from me.”
Lyrica knew better, though. She knew he would give his life for her, just as he would for Zoey, Piper, or Eve. They were friends. She was more than a flavor—just not enough more.
The hiss of the link activated again.
“Basement door is open and we’re taking them out,” Tracker reported. “Give me two minutes and they’ll be clear. I’ll be in place with one of my men as you come down.”
Two minutes.
“There were no diamonds.” Carmina was watching Dorne suspiciously now. “Tell them, Jimmy. You weren’t able to retrieve them.”
“Is that what he told you?” Graham clucked his tongue at Dorne. “He got away with half of them. He thinks I have the other half. Two and a half mil. Don’t tell me he’s not sharing with you.”
A tense, heavy silence emanated from the woman now. She wasn’t looking happy at all.
