Sex, Lies & Diamonds Read online

  Picking up the paper between my index and middle finger, I looked up and under the stone mantle. “What in the world?”

  A tiny X surrounded by a circle was carved into the stone. Running my hand over it, I rubbed it with force to get a better look. Pressing it in, I felt a pop under my fingers—like a seal had been broken. Into my palm, along with the grit of the stone, fell a long steel cylinder maybe an inch in diameter. The end, a button cap with the engraved X.

  I gasped. My heart raced. I was right. “X marks the spot.” I turned it upside down and a single gold key that hung from a gold chain fell into my hand—the bow encrusted with three rubies. I placed the cylinder on the writing desk, and took the newfound treasure to a place with the best light—the bathroom. I flipped the switch on the wall, the crystal chandelier brilliantly illuminating the room. I ran the jeweled key under running water to get rid of the dust, then dabbed it with a clean towel. The rubies were magnificent and I hung the piece around my neck, allowing it to fall inside my shirt to rest between my breasts. The new safe hadn’t been put into the master closet and I wasn’t letting the key out of my sight.

  I rubbed my hand over my chest. In Leo’s big sweater, no one would notice it, but I knew. I knew I was one step closer to what Kostas wanted us to find—Lafitte’s treasure.

  25

  LEO

  The light from the bathroom cut a clear path across the bedroom to where Polly slept. Her hair, sun-kissed from our travels, lay in soft, messy tendrils around her face. She was curled up like a baby on her side, knees drawn tight against her chest. I wasn’t the kind of man who found charm in life’s everyday scenes, but watching my beautiful wife sleep gave me pause. I would give up everything for Polly and yet she was my everything.

  Walking to the bathroom, I closed the door and turned on the shower. Steam rolled out, and I stepped out of the dirty Levi’s. Pulling the sweaty t-shirt over my head, I walked into the shower and soaped up without delay. Washing my hair and body, I thought of how to explain my meeting with Falconi today. I might have taken us from the frying pan and directly into the fire. If we thought we were at risk with the Balivinos around, nothing could prepare us for the wrath of Big Man Tommaso Falconi.

  Turning off the water, I shook my long hair like a dog and reached for a towel. Drying off quickly, I ran it over my head, squeezing out the water.

  When I went back to the bedroom, Polly hadn’t moved. I left a crack in the bathroom door to light the room and went to her.

  Climbing on top of the bed from the opposite side, I worked my way to Polly, spooning her from behind with my naked body. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her close, breathing in her intoxicating scent.

  She moaned at my touch. It was all I needed after the day I’d had. Frustrated as hell and living on the edge, I needed my wife to calm me. I pulled her even closer.

  “Leo?”

  “Yes, cher?”

  “Is that you?”

  “I hope another naked man isn’t coming to you in our bedroom,” I drawled.

  She rolled into me all sleepy-eyed and drowsy. Her cheeks flushed with color, her golden hair twisted in unkempt tendrils. “Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

  “Everything is perfect as long as I have you in my arms, cher.”

  “That’s what all the men say,” she teased, pushing my damp hair from my face.

  A whisper of a greedy smile graced my lips before I cupped her face and covered her mouth with mine. Soft and wet, I bit down on her lip before drinking her in, my tongue teasing hers. Everything about her was intoxicating to me. I stayed drunk on her love every damn day.

  Sitting up on my knees, I began to undress her. She stroked me with her hand. An uncontrollable moan erupted from my mouth. “Be careful, cher,” I murmured in a near growl, unbuttoning her jeans to shimmy them down her legs. “You’ll make me come.”

  She lifted her hips, giving me access to her lacy, baby blue panties. I licked my way up her warm thigh, taking a moment to blow cool air on the trail of my kisses. Chills erupted on her tanned skin. Making my way to her panties, I pulled at them with my teeth. She giggled. I hooked my fingers in them, making quick work of the silk before lifting her shirt and sweater to kiss her taut stomach, my tongue lapping at her belly button.

  She groaned, shifting her hips. I was throbbing, aching. The mere sound of her voice could send me over the edge. The way she loved me was the most erotic act I’d ever known. My hands went to work, pulling the sweater and t-shirt over her head, exposing the lacy bra that matched the panties I’d already taken from her. A gold chain wrapped around her neck. “God, you’re gorgeous, mon amour.”

  She smiled, her heavy-lidded gaze washed over me. I’d never loved anything or anyone as much as I loved my wife.

  Pulling down the top of her silky bra with one finger, I freed her breast and kissed her, running my thumb across her hard nipple.

  She arched, reaching behind her back to unhook the bra. “I like this one. I don’t want you getting too excited and ripping it off.”

  I couldn’t control my wicked grin. “I’m sorry, cher. I can’t help myself when I’m with you—ever.”

  She smiled her sweet smile and I took her mouth in a lust-fueled kiss, my hands skimming over all the sweet places I loved the most on her body. When she moaned at my touch, I rolled her on top of me and watched her sit up, straddling my ache. She leaned into me, tenderly kissing my lips. Digging my fingers into her hips, I guided her with care. Her long mane of hair fell forward as she leaned in, grinding her hips with exquisite motion.

  “Oooo,” I drawled, pushing her hair from her face. “Slow down.”

  Ignoring me, she dropped her head back, and moved faster, urging me on. Flinching, I tightened every muscle in my body, my fingers gripping her hips and hanging on for dear life. No match for my strength, I rolled her over, taking the top position.

  I covered her mouth with my mine, kissing her hard, trying to calm myself. It wasn’t working. Polly could take me over the edge just by running her tongue along the seam of my lips. I nuzzled her neck, moving into her slowly—greedily. I wanted to make love to her forever.

  Pulling away she cupped my face, staring into my very soul. I could barely breathe I was so close. “Cher.” My voice was hoarse with desire. I pinned her tightly against the bed, rolling my hips into her over and over.

  “Please,” she whispered, moving into me in a synchronized pulse.

  “That’s it, cher,” I purred. “Let go.”

  She writhed in my grip and moaned my name. I kissed her, capturing her punctuated breaths.

  I moved into her like a man possessed, lost in the moment—lost in my wife. She tightened around me, sending to the point of no return. My body convulsed and I let out a guttural roar, unable to contain on the outside what I felt on the inside.

  Collapsing against her, I panted into her neck, kissing her between breaths. I moaned again, still reeling from the ecstasy coursing between our joined bodies.

  I could feel Polly’s chest heave under the weight of my spent body. I rolled her on top of me, playfully squeezing her perfect bottom with both hands. “You wreck me, cher.”

  She propped herself up on her elbow, resting against my still heaving chest. “How was your day, dear?”

  I laughed soft and low. “Eventful. How was yours?”

  Polly reached behind her back, pulling the necklace draped across her throat to the front of her body. A gold key with gemstones glistened by the stream of light coming from the bathroom. I popped an eyebrow, taking the key in my hand. “Where did you find that?”

  Rolling off of me, the key slid from my open palm.

  “I got to thinking after you left, if Kostas put angels on his mausoleum and in his bedroom it had to mean something.”

  I cocked my head, listening.

  “I inspected the mantel closely and thought about the Bible verse. He chose something that said he heard. Only one of the angels on the mantle have anything
with them in the carving that can be heard.”

  “Gabriel,” I whispered. “But it’s a solid stone carving. I know that for a fact.”

  “Underneath Gabriel, if you look up from the floor, there’s an X inside a circle,” she said. “It’s on your writing table.”

  Kissing Polly’s bare bottom, I rose from the bed and went to the desk. The steel cylinder was small. Affixed to the end was the stone with the circle and X.

  “I pushed and rubbed on it to get the soot and grime off. It literally twisted and fell into my hand. Inside,” she said, holding up the key around her neck. “Was this, and nothing else.”

  I walked back to her. “No note?”

  She shook her head. “Leo. This key is gold. These are rubies. This has to belong to Lafitte’s treasure. I believe you’re right. I think Kostas found it a long time ago. And I think this is the key.”

  She slipped it off her neck and handed it to me as I sat on the edge of the bed. Turning it over and over, I inspected it for words, clues—anything.

  “There’s nothing written on it, if that’s what you’re looking for. At least not that the naked eye can see,” she said. “I even looked at it under the magnifying glass I found in your desk. Nothing.”

  “What’s your theory?” She’d figured everything out so far, I wanted to know what she thought. I already knew what I believed.

  “If there are only two places the angels are and the key was in one of them, then whatever the key unlocks is in the other.”

  I knew she was right. My grandfather had done what everyone always said you couldn’t do. “He took it with him.”

  Polly nodded. “To the grave.”

  26

  POLLY

  I woke with a start and reached beside me without looking, feeling for Leo’s warm body. It was gone. Picking up the alarm clock on the nightstand, I could see it was after eight o’clock. No wonder I was alone. Padding to the bathroom, I turned on the water. The shower walls were already wet. Leo had already been up and at ’em and I was a little mad he hadn’t woken me. If he was planning a trip to the St. Louis cemetery, I didn’t want him going without me.

  Opening the door to the bathroom, I looked back into the room and spied the gold key on Leo’s writing desk. He hadn’t taken it. Naked, I hurried to the desk and swiped it, bringing it back into the bathroom with me. I wasn’t letting it out of my sight.

  I showered quickly, washing my hair and the traces of sex from my body. In and out in under ten minutes, I ran a comb through my wet head and wrapped a towel around me. Rushing to get dressed, I picked a set of lacy red panties and matching bra, and slipped them on while pulling a red shirt off the hanger in the walk-in closet. The construction crew had nearly finished the job. The new safe was in and the remaining woodwork was to be done today.

  The safe door hung open, the full-length mirror that would hide it when it was closed sat in the corner. The new safe was larger and built to hold weapons. Inside it was dark and empty. I took off my diamond engagement ring and placed it on one of the velvet ring stands built into the middle shelf. Then closing it, I keyed in our anniversary. Leo’d had the locksmith program it in as the code.

  Hustling around for pants, I found my jeans on the floor. I hopped on one foot, putting them on again and searched for my black flats.

  My hair was still wet, I slicked it back with the comb and twisted it up into a tight bun. I did my best to straighten the sheets from the night before, but knew Dinah would take one look at the bed and change it all anyway.

  As I hurried down the staircase, I slipped the gold chain around my neck, tucking it inside my shirt and the key inside my red bra. In the main parlor, Leo sat behind his desk. Wearing jeans and a blue linen shirt, his hair was down. He looked relaxed—more relaxed than I’d seen him in days. I hurried to his side, brushing a kiss to his temple. “How’s my handsome husband this morning?”

  He looked up at me with his dark eyes and pulled me to him by the waist. “Better after last night.”

  Playfully, I smacked his hard chest with my open palm. “You’re bad.”

  He pulled me off my feet and over the arm of his chair into his lap. “I know I’m a bad boy, cher.”

  “Yeah, but you’re such a good man.”

  I kissed him. Parting his lips with my tongue, I swept his mouth and listened to my favorite sound—a low moan from Leo. Pulling me closer, he took control of the kiss, pressing his mouth against me hard. I slid my hand down his chest and cupped his manhood.

  “Ahem.”

  I pulled away from our kiss, abruptly quelling the passion and heat filling my cheeks to stared into the face of Hawk. I cleared my throat. “Good morning.”

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Hawk said.

  I got back on my feet. Leo sighed. “And yet you did.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t important.”

  “Yes?” Leo asked, as he pushed himself under the desk and dropped his hand. I knew he was adjusting his erection after I made it a point to caress his crotch. Being at Jackson House wasn’t as freewheeling at sailing across the ocean. Our crew on the Andromeda were only around when we needed something. Leo and I were free to barely wear clothes if we wanted and sometimes didn’t.

  “There’s chatter on the police band.”

  “And?” Leo asked.

  “Foster Norwood. The chief of police.”

  I watched Leo’s face pale. “What about him?”

  “Sir, they found him on Poydras Street in the business district. He’s dead.”

  I lost my breath. “Dead?”

  Leo stayed calm. Staring at the papers on his desk, he asked his next question without looking up. “How?”

  “Suicide, sir. He jumped from the top of One Shell Square.”

  “Jesus,” Leo sighed. “That’s at least fifty stories.”

  I sat in one of the chairs across from Leo’s desk and studied his blank face. He didn’t seem shocked—at least not like me or even Hawk.

  “Anything else?” Leo asked.

  “Tristan’s here.”

  Leo nodded. Hawk left, his face a mask of obvious confusion.

  My back to him, I heard Tristin enter the room. His heavy motorcycle boots echoed across the floor and muted again each time he went from hardwood to one of the many oriental rugs in the room.

  “You heard?” Tristan asked, flopping into the seat next to me.

  Leo nodded again. Still quiet. I felt as if there was an unspoken or inside joke I wasn’t privy to. Looking back and forth between the two of them, it ate me up inside. Leo and I were a team. We were supposed to know everything. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Tristan wouldn’t even make eye contact with me. Something was definitely up. “C’mon Leo, I can tell by the look on your face.”

  Leo stood, walking to me. Stroking my wet hair, he leaned in and kissed the top of my head. “When I made the deal with Falconi yesterday, part of it was giving him the list Marchant turned over to us.”

  My eyes widened. “He’s killing the people on the list?”

  He looked away. “It’s possible.”

  Taking my hand, he pulled me from the chair. “I don’t want you to worry about this. I’ve got it under control.”

  I tightened my gaze. “Are you serious?”

  Leo licked his bottom lip and tossed a glance Tristan’s way. “In light of this new information, I don’t think it’s wise for you to leave the house, cher. I mean, unless we’re together to do that thing—you know, run our errand.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I understand.”

  “Good.”

  “I understand you don’t want me to get ahead of you.”

  “No. That’s not what this is,” he said with a matter-of-fact tone. “We’re a team. We do it together. Right?”

  I dropped his hands and walked away. “Fine. I just wish I knew when we were doing it.”

  “I wish I knew why you aren’t wearing your engageme
nt ring.”

  I turned before disappearing into the dining room and flipped him off with my left ring finger. “I’m trying out the new safe.”

  He gave me a crooked smile and a single nod.

  Pushing the swinging door open into the kitchen, Dinah, Liz and Tree all stood around the marble center island. “Did I miss the memo about the meeting?” I asked with a laugh.

  “No, ma’am,” Tree replied. “These two lovely ladies were just filling my coffee mug.”

  He hadn’t finished his sentence and Liz had a hot mug of it in front of my face. “Thank you, Liz. What’s for breakfast?”

  Her eyes brightened. “Are you going to let me fix you something to eat?”

  “Sure. It’s still breakfast time, right?”

  “Ladies,” Tree said, tipping his baseball cap. “I’ll be outside if anyone needs me—and by that, I mean you, Miss Polly.”

  I took a sip of my coffee. “Ah yeah. I’m blowing this popsicle stand in a bit. I’m getting cabin fever.”

  Tree’s lips thinned into a concerned smile. “Whatever you say, boss.”

  My brow arched. “Boss?” I took a sip of coffee before giving him my reply. “I think I like that.”

  At noon, I took my hair down from the tight bun and shook it out, the twist giving my long mane some body and a spiral curl. Running red lipstick across my pouted mouth, I gave myself the onceover in a mirror in the front hall, then tossed my wallet and my Glock filled with a full magazine into my purse, setting it all by the front door.

  “Tree!” I called out to him as I walked through the house, passing the finishing carpenter climbing the stairs. Dinah was hot on his heels along with Taco Six. I knew Leo had given instructions for no outsiders to be alone in any part of the house.

  I opened the front door and found Hawk. “Have you seen Tree? I want to leave the house for a bit.”

  Hawk spoke into his radio. “Tree. Tree, Hawk.”

  Faintly in Hawk’s earpiece, I could hear him respond. Go for Tree.

  “Mrs. X is ready to go into town for—” He paused and looked at me, cocking his head and leaning in to hear my answer.