The Diamond Secret. Lenora Worth

I’ve discovered complete villages buried underneath rock and dirt, and I’ve found rare artifacts in caves and in the ocean. I make a good living finding and selling some of the things I discover. I lecture on college campuses and teach students how to dig and dig and dig. I want that diamond. And I’ve done the research to show that if your father had it, then he hid it and left enough clues for me to take up the quest.”

      “So you actually think he found it?”

      “He hinted at that, yes. I still don’t know. He was very cryptic about it. But I do believe if he didn’t find it, he knew where it might be. That’s why I asked you first. I thought maybe you’d at least let me see the infernal thing—and save me a lot of grief trying to figure out his letters.”

      Her heart felt as heavy as that aggravating diamond. “Is that why you brought me the letters? You want me to help you find clues?”

      He looked guilty but had the good grace to also look sheepish. “Partly. But, beyond that, I truly wanted you to have them too, as a memento of your father.”

      “When you’re done with them and with me, you mean. Then I can have them as a memento.”

      There went that sheepish look again. “I need your help, Esther. But I won’t get you killed in the process.”

      Esther huffed an irritated breath to hide the deep disappointment cresting inside her heart. “I told you I don’t know anything and I’m not hiding the diamond. He never mentioned any of this to me. He mused about the diamond, discussed endless scenarios, but he never told me he’d found it.”

      “Probably to protect you.”

      “Probably because he kept his treasures to himself. Even if he had found the diamond, and even if he had told me about it, do you honestly believe I’d hand it over to you?”

      “I thought we could negotiate a swap or a price at least. As I said earlier, your father and I had a partnership of sorts. We agreed to split everything evenly.”

      A partnership? He only wanted the diamond so he could make an obscene amount of money. And he was willing to barter with her in order to reach that end.

      Again, her heart did a thudding drop, much the way a diamond might feel if it was flung away. Was he using her?

      Of course he was here for the diamond and the money. Nothing more. It didn’t surprise her, but it sure did sting.

      Deciding to sting back, she said, “Sorry, but the trail is cold. My father loved to imagine what might happen if he could find the diamond, but I think he was afraid to try. Because of me. He always put me first, even when he didn’t want to.”

      And no one else would ever do that. She needed to remember that.

      “You don’t know that he loved you, but you should.”

      She hated the sympathy, the pity, in Cullen’s eyes even as his words touched her. She’d been doing fine in her own little world. Now, here he sat, all powerful and all man, like some hero out of a comic book, trying to convince her that her father loved her, trying to convince her that she was needed.

      She refused to let him get the best of her with those midnight eyes and that wonderfully delightful accent.

      “Are you finished?” she asked, not necessarily referring to the food.

      “Yes, thank you.”

      Esther got up and removed their dinner dishes. “I’ll make coffee. I have brownies.”

      Then she turned to face Cullen. “I want you to tell me about the people who tried to kill us tonight. Obviously, they think you and I know more about this cursed diamond than we actually do. Or maybe you know more and you’re not telling me. I don’t know what to believe at this point, but you’re here now and I have to go with that. I need to know if I’m still in danger and…what you propose to do about that.”