"Not half as many as I have for you."
As she watched her cousin, alive and well and driving down the road like they were going out for lunch, another wave of relief filtered through her. Followed by a parade of burning questions.
"Why, Cass? Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why did you trust Emil? Why did you ignore me? Why did you come out here? And then once you figured out he'd taken the jewels, why didn't you just come home?"
Cassidy flexed her hands on the wheel. "You never understood." Her shoulders sagged. "You won't believe me, but Emil has been very good to me. He really has. That doesn't make him an innocent person, and I guess I didn'treally know him. But I still know him better than you do. He's nice to me. And he means well most of the time." She rolled her lips in and out of her mouth. "But taking those jewels . . . that was too far. He's a real adrenaline junkie. But that was just . . . too much for me."
"A what?"
Cassidy shrugged. "It's a rush for him. Doing dangerous things, you know?"
"Stealing things?"
"No. Well, not usually. This is the first time he's broken the law. I think. Usually, it's something like bungee jumping or swimming with sharks." She squinted, searching for a memory. "I think he bought a jetpack once."
Lena swallowed her opinion of Emil. It wouldn't be helpful right now. "Why did he steal Stanton's jewels?"
Cassidy slumped in her seat. "I didn't know he took them until we got here, to the island. Someone asked Emil if he could steal the jewels and get away with it. I don't know who or why. Emil was on this crazy adrenaline high when we got here. He finally told me why. He showed me the jewels. He had all kinds of explanations—how it wasn't hurting anybody. And how terrible a person Stanton Hightoweris, which I agree with."
Her jaw tightened. "But when I talked to Lacey, she said Stanton and Ruben were both livid and that I was a suspect. I told Emil, and he just laughed. It was all a mess, but I thought it was something I could handle. It didn't seem serious until Emil started acting nervous. I don't know what changed. But I got the feeling taking the jewels wasn't fun anymore. Emil seemed afraid."
The sincerity in her cousin's tone obliterated Lena's irritation. She almost felt sorry for Cassidy.
The headlights barely illuminated the front gate in the distance. Almost there. "Knox and Jason will be on the main road. I met them yesterday. They're really—"
"Later. I want to hear about the guy first." She narrowed her eyes at Lena. "The bossy, cute guy that kissed you a minute ago."
"Yeah, well—oh, no." Lena's stomach dropped.
Frank and Manny stepped into the road, motioning for them to stop. Guns drawn.
"Emil's guys," Cassidy muttered. "Hang on." She jerked the wheel to the right, careening the SUV off the road. They slid down an embankment for a few feet, with Cassidy still clutching the wheel as if she had control.
She did not.
The SUV strained to stay upright, eventually rolling in a slow-motion nightmare. It landed on its side, the seatbelts painfully restraining them in their seats.
Nash jogged along the side of the house. He planned to enter through the kitchen door and position himself as close to the study as possible.
Emil had checked his watch three times before Nash left with Lena and Cassidy. The billionaire jewel thief was waiting for something. Or someone.
He paused near the back of the house, listening for movement. And trying to regulate his heartbeat—his racing pulse that had nothing to do with Emil. And everything to do with that kiss.
He'd kissed her.
She'd kissed him back.
Again.
There wasn't time to fully process that. But he made a decision—he didn't regret the kiss. He wasn't going to chastise himself or apologize. He cared about Lena. And the kiss was mutual. They'd figure out the rest later.
Silently, he crept through the garden and stepped onto the veranda.
Motion through the kitchen window. Emil.
