Amy Atwell - Lying Eyes

“Sorry.” She should be grateful he’d taken their gags off. Instead, she’d spent the past hour whining about how much coffee she drank last night.

The blonde turned her huge brown eyes his way. “Could you close the blinds some? That sunlight is giving me a headache. Please?”

Jock wasn’t impervious to her plea. She treated him with proper respect. He walked over and lowered the blind on the window.

“Allie, ask him if we can go to the bathroom,” the brunette said.

“Didn’t you go at the hospital?”

“I thought I was going straight home.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm as her eyes followed him.

Jock stalked past them. “Shut up, or I’ll put your gags back on.”

“Could you at least turn that television off? Those stupid shows are making me crazy.”

“Get over it. It’s only another hour or so anyway.” He left the bedroom but pushed the door open so he could monitor them.

“Well, now, isn’t he just Prince Charming?” The brunette’s acid tone carried to him.

The other woman was much more philosophic. “It’ll all be over soon.”

“Yeah, but how’s it going to end?”

“It’s going to be all right. I just have one of those feelings.”

Jock swigged down some more beer. Yeah, all over soon. He couldn’t wait to release these women, collect his cash and then he and Pebbles were leaving town. Yep, he was tired of being a small fish in a big pond. Time to move someplace where they could get the respect they deserved. They already had the car packed for the trip to Reno.

Everything better go as planned. Cosmo had to hand over those gems this time, or there’d be hell to pay. Nervously, he played his tongue across his upper teeth. If Cosmo screwed this up, Jock and Pebbles were supposed to kill these women. Not that he’d told Pebbles that. You could never tell when Pebbles would get a bug up his butt about something.

But…killing people. Jock blew out a breath as that reality sank in. He’d never done that. Hadn’t ever seriously thought about it. He knew other people did it. He didn’t mind running into a dead body, but to actually pull the trigger? And those two women, fresh, young, pretty… Well, the blonde, anyway. If he had to kill them, he’d kill that bitchy brunette first.

Still, it would be better all around if Cosmo coughed up the gems. He’d like to start his new life in Reno without having to dispose of a body. Hell, they’d have to unload the car, and-

A knock at the door interrupted him. Swigging down some more beer, he glanced at Pebbles. The giant was totally engrossed in his television show, probably hadn’t even registered the knock.

Jock set the beer down and approached the door cautiously. The Boss had said he’d call, so who would be at the door? Mickey was in the hospital. Turner was dealing with the other daughter. Cosmo wouldn’t waste his time coming here before delivering the gems, and after delivering them-well, to be honest, the Boss wasn’t going to let the old guy live. Even Cosmo had to know that.

He peered through the apartment’s peephole. At first he didn’t see anything, then he noticed a head of gray hair down near the bottom of his line of vision. A sour wrinkled face tilted up to look at the door.

With a curse, Jock pulled open the door to contemplate the skinny old lady in her wheelchair. “What the hell do you want, Granny?”

Like a striking cobra, she swung her cane at his head. That sour face of hers turned even meaner.

Surprised, Jock still managed to catch the end of the cane with both hands before it inflicted any damage.

She tugged the cane, pulling him slightly off balance. She didn’t have that much strength, was she crazy?

“You’re starting to piss me off.” He gave a good tug on the cane, hoping to pull her out of the chair. But she released her hold and, with his momentum, Jock stumbled backwards and fell on his ass.

He felt more than saw a shadow hop across him, and from the living room, Pebbles’s laughter was cut short. Jock hurriedly sat up, only to find two older men standing just inside his door. They both pointed guns at him. A quick glance over his shoulder showed a third, younger man had Pebbles covered.

Looking back to the doorway, Jock noticed the old lady had climbed out of her chair. She stepped forward and wagged a finger at him. “You’ve pissed me off, too.” She leaned down and pulled his gun from his waistband, only to point it at his privates with a steady hand. “And I’m not your Granny.”

Donovan watched the young woman and her rabbit by the pool. It annoyed him that after all the trouble she and her father had caused, Iris Fortune stood out there sipping iced tea as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

Did she think he wasn’t serious? She’d learn the truth.

And why the hell hadn’t he heard anything from Turner?

“Your sisters are in luck. The jeweler confirms these are true alexandrite.”

She shaded her eyes from the bright sun to look his way. “I told you they would be.”

“Your father seemed less sure. Why?” This troubled him. He didn’t like feeling troubled.

“Have you released my sisters?”

Donovan contemplated her. She wanted to negotiate. How trite. “No, but let me call now.” He pressed a button on his cell phone and waited. The call connected to his voice mail, but he pretended otherwise. “Jock? Free those two girls. I don’t care how you manage it, just do it.”

He clicked the phone shut. “Satisfied?”

Her return smile was tempered. “Just like that?”

“What, you don’t trust me?” he countered.

She snorted. “Forgive me, but do you think that’s likely under the circumstances?”

He was starting to hate that she wasn’t unnerved by this situation. It was almost as if she knew something. “If you think your father’s going to mount some sort of rescue attempt for you, forget it. You should know by now that Cosmo Fortune doesn’t think of anyone but himself.”

Even this didn’t seem to pierce her self-confidence. Maybe he should have resorted to tying her up, frightening her. But what could she possibly know?

“Actually, I think Cosmo’s gone to rescue my sisters, and that’s as it should be.”

“Martyring yourself now?” Selfless gestures were such a waste.

“If I must. So, your jeweler confirmed the alexandrite with a refractometer?”

“Yes, said the density and refractive index were perfect. He was quite impressed with the specimens, said they were very valuable. Of course, he knows nothing of their historical significance.”

“Neither do you.” Fanning herself, Iris returned to the chair beneath the patio table’s umbrella.

Donovan flexed his hands to release the tension agitated by her smug attitude. “Explain yourself.”

“Did he study the inclusions at all? Under magnification?”

He scowled at this new ploy. What was she driving at? “Why would that be necessary? They’re top-quality gems. They’re cut to the size and shape Cosmo described to me. They must be the Romanov alexandrite.”

“You’d think, wouldn’t you? It’s just that my father’s known for fooling people. He’s even fooled me once or twice.”

Of course, she was grasping at straws, trying to give him a reason to keep her alive. Being a jeweler, she wanted him to think she knew more than she did about those stones.

Through slitted eyes, Donovan watched as Iris petted that fat rabbit.

Cosmo had already led him on quite a chase for these gems and put him days behind schedule. That two-bit magician didn’t have any more tricks up his sleeve.

Did he?

“Watch her!” With a curse, Donovan returned inside to call the jeweler and ask about inclusions.