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Luke got up from his chair.

“Chadwick's of London, and all behind my back,” Brent shouted.

“At least I didn't go for sloppy seconds,” Luke said.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You and Jessie.”

“She has nothing to do with this. You sold the diamonds. Without my knowledge. You didn't even talk to me. You sold me out. What did they pay you? Huh? Was the price big enough to lose your company and my respect?”

Brent lost control and shoved Luke. Luke swung at Brent and his fist collided with Luke's jaw. Both men reeled backwards. Luke shook out his hand. There was no time to think. The reaction came automatic to hit Luke in the face. A fist for a fist. The impact sent Luke's body against the shelves. He got up and charged Brent. He tackled him and both men crashed onto the floor.

Brent got out of Luke's grasp and got to his feet. Both men stood and stared at each other with a few feet between them. “Why did you do it?”

“I needed the deal with Chadwick's.”

“You greedy bastard.”

Luke held up his hands. “Let me explain.”

“You don't deserve to explain. We do all of our deals together. What happened to you?”

Luke wiped his bloody nose. “Not this one. I wanted to turn Trace Elements into a franchise, a chain. If I got them the diamonds, they'd bring us under their name brand. We'd be an imprint of one of the biggest diamond companies in the world. The owner hates Jefferies Abbott. He's wanted the tiara for years. I could have handed it to him.”

Brent's breathing began to normalize. “We agreed to keep the jewelry store as a one-of-a-kind retailer. It's what we both wanted. Keep the demand high and the products exceptional. We had a plan.”

“You had a plan. I wanted something bigger.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” The look of condemnation crossed Luke's face. Brent understood. “You didn't want me to be involved.”

“We have different interests where the business is concerned. You want to keep the concept small and I want more.”

“You could have told me.”

“Would that have made any difference?”

“No.”

“Would you have given up the diamonds?”

“No.”

“Then I had to do it my own way.”

“You sold me out.” Brent headed for the doorway.

“Where do you think you're going?”

“To get my diamonds.”

“What makes you think they're still in the nursery?”

Brent turned around. “How did you know?”

“They are the names of my daughters. As soon as I saw Melanie's note, I knew and I searched their room and found the diamonds.”

“Where?”

“Each girl has a jewelry box up high on the shelf. It didn't take much to locate them.”

“Where did you put them?”

“Somewhere safe. Until I decide what to do about them.”

“They're not yours. I brought them to you. They are mine.”

“Technically, they belong to the company. I'm going to do everything in my power to get the lawyers over at Chadwick's to take the remaining six. If you're so willing as to get the green diamond back from Jessie then I think we can make a deal. I'll pay you in full what they're worth.”

Brent laughed. He broke out in a fit of laughter. Luke had no idea what she'd done with her diamond.

“What's so funny?”

He laughed again, from his gut.

“Get me the green one and we'll make a deal.”

A deal isn't what he'd come to see his brother about. He'd come to get the diamonds and now they'd disappeared for the second time. Brent's lips curved into a grin. The next sentence gave him immense pleasure. “There is no more green diamond.”

“You're lying. She wouldn't know what to do with it.”

“She knows how to throw.”

“What are you saying? Jessica has the diamond. I'll go straight to her if you won't give me answers.”

“Don't go near her.”

“If she doesn't cooperate with me, she won't ever step in this house again. She'll never see her nieces. They will grow up without knowing her.”

“You're an asshole.”

“Get out of my house.”

“Stop!” Kendra said, entering the room. “What's going on here?”

“Nothing,” Luke snapped.

Brent walked past Kendra and continued on out of the house. No point in sticking around. The deceit of his brother changed everything. Luke had been planning his own business endeavors. That's why he hired Elizabeth. That's what didn't make sense when he met with her. Luke was making plans to expand Trace Elements, and essentially, start his own company. He did more than that though, he found the diamonds and he moved them. His own brother had taken the last bargaining chip for his son.

The meeting with Jefferies later today would happen whether Brent brought back the diamonds or not. He wouldn't go down without a fight. He didn't have the diamonds. He had nothing, but he'd show up and he'd get back his son if it was the only thing he ever did again. Brent strode away from the house with his heart pumping hard adrenaline beneath his skin. He didn't bother to look back. He wouldn't come back again.

Brent got into his car and started the engine. He called Daniel and asked him to meet at the house on Rosemond Street. They'd have to figure out a new plan. The diamonds weren't a possibility anymore. Brent backed out of the driveway and set off down the road.

The security gates at the end of the driveway opened. He almost missed her, standing at the end of the property, and waiting for someone to pick her up, he presumed. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't turn to look at the sound of his car. He pulled up alongside her. “Get in,” he said.

Jessie didn't fight him. She hopped inside and instantly rubbed her hands together. “It's freezing.”

“Are you going to the hotel?”

“Yes.”

“I'll take you there.”

“What about the diamonds?”

Brent gripped the steering wheel. “Forget about the diamonds. You won't get them.”

“I have to try.”

“Not going to happen. Luke has them. He figured out Melanie's note.” Brent veered the car onto the main road.

Jessie gawked at him. “He has to give them to you. Didn't you tell him about Gabe?”

Cold-heartedness seeped through his blood. In a calculated voice, he made sure she understood, “Luke will never know about my son.”

She looked startled and closed her mouth. “What happened?”

“Nothing. It's history now.”

“What will you do?”

Brent tried to focus on the road, but his thoughts drifted. “I'll still meet with Jefferies. I'll see what else he wants.”

“Is Gabe even in the city?”

“I'm not sure.”

“Are there any guarantees that even if you gave Jefferies exactly what he wants that he'd hold up his end of the agreement?”

“There's a chance, yes. There's always a possibility someone won't hold up their end of the bargain. Unfortunately, I'm out of options.”

“Jefferies did bid against you for the Marmalade diamond. Perhaps he'd be willing to take that one.”

“The Marmalade diamond isn't going to replace the sentimentality of the tiara. All the money in the world can't buy him another one. Which is the real problem.”

Brent veered to the right and joined the other line of cars slowing down towards the entrance to the Golden Gate. Help-wise, Jessie had taken him as far as he could go. He couldn't ask Luke for anything and his younger brother was useless. The people he needed to rely on left his good graces at an alarming speed.

“Why did you run from Salvador's?” he said.

“I didn't want to deal with the situation anymore,” she said, looking out her window. “I want to go home. I want this all to disappear.”

“How long will you stay?”

“Until after the funeral.”

They crossed back into San Francisco and each passing minute Brent got her closer to the hotel. This was where they would say goodbye for good. The thought worsened his mood. He'd said goodbye to women before; usually he was ready to part ways. This time proved different, but given everything, it was for the best. For both of them.

“When will you meet Jefferies?” she asked.

“As soon as I hear from him.”

“I want to come with you.”

“You can't and you won't.” Aside from the fact that she'd started all of this, he didn't know what to expect from Jefferies and he wouldn't put her in harm's way. He slowed the car and stopped at a red light. “You've done enough already.”

The light switched to green. Brent pushed his foot hard on the pedal.

“You think you can handle this all by yourself. You can't. You are not even close to finding out the identity of Melanie's attacker. Do you have any idea about who this man could be? Do you realize it might be your own brother?”

Brent slammed on the brakes. The driver in the car behind him honked and swerved. “Do not bring up Luke again.”

“Luke, there I said his name.”

“Like you're able to openly talk about your sister.”

“We don't have to discuss family. At least call Detective Brennan and the police.”

“The police won't do anything. Jefferies and I made a legitimate deal. They can't arrest him for holding a business meeting.”

Brent was relieved to see the sign for the hotel and he drove faster towards it. He slowed down upon entering the dropoff lane. With his foot on the brake, he turned to face her. “Good-bye, Jessica.”

The contempt was visible in her eyes. “That's it?”

“Yes. We end things here.”

She folded her hands over her chest and stared out the window. “Why?”

“You already know the answer. Aside from everything that has gone on between us, we have too much family history in the way. My brother put your brother in prison. My brother married your sister and she's dead. I am set in my life and you don't know who you are. You have a long way to go before you're settled and happy with your choices. We don't live near each other and if all goes well, I'll have my young son living with me. If my meeting fails, then all of my time will be tied up in a fight to get Gabe back. There's no room for you in my life.”

“Our sleeping together meant nothing to you? I thought back there at Luke's house you'd forgiven me.”

“We had sex. Twice. Nothing more.”

She bit her lip and looked up with watery eyes.

A huge reaction is what he expected. But she said nothing. She kept her mouth closed and her gaze cold. It tore him up to see her like this. He hated himself for having to say that to her. It went against what he felt, but she couldn't be involved anymore.

The valet driver knocked on her door and she unbuckled her seat belt. Without looking back, she uttered the words, “I hate you,” so quietly that he almost missed it.

Brent drove off and away from the hotel with his hands clenched on the wheel. The need to protect himself surpassed all other relationships. If he let her in any more than he already had, he would be the one to get hurt. The death of his wife. Victoria's passing. Now Melanie and the tragedy surrounding her death. The three women he'd been close to, each in his own way, were all gone. He didn't want Jessica a part of that equation.

Taking the back way to Rosemond Street sliced ten minutes off the drive. The SUV parked in front of his house belonged to Daniel. With Jessie at the hotel, he focused on the task ahead. He parked the car and met his business partner at the front door.

“Afternoon,” Daniel said, putting out a cigarette.

“Let's go see what I have that might interest Jefferies,” Brent said and unlocked his door.

They hustled up the stairs with Brent in the lead and he reached the upper level in no time. He deactivated the alarm to his office and walked the three stairs up to the attic. Brent flipped on the light and disarmed the locks to the vaults. He took out several of the boxes containing diamonds.

“Start looking through these. See if I have anything of interest to Jefferies.”

Daniel opened one of the boxes. He picked through them like a bowl of nuts.

“Not white. They have to be colored,” Brent said, and pushed another box over to Daniel.

The sight of a fancy yellow diamond caught his attention and he put it to the side. They worked like this for some time and sorted through all the boxes of gemstones. A glare of diamonds sat in a heap in the middle of Brent's table. The light from the ceiling fixture showed off the vivaciousness of stones. Each one brilliant in its own way.

“We have two we can use,” Daniel said and held out the yellow diamond and a pink one the color of pale blush.

“I'm screwed.”

“Call your brother.”

He wouldn't ask Luke for anything ever again and said, “That's not an option.”

The cell phone positioned next to Brent beeped. One touch of the screen and he saw the new message:

Whitaker's Auction House. Two hours. J.A.

Jessie stopped in her tracks. She saw him the same time he spotted her. The sallow-faced man she'd looked at for almost a decade. Carl rose to his feet. His hand gave a curt wave, all the while Jessie still reeled from Brent's assertion that they would never be something more than they'd been. He was the one she wanted. Not the man approaching her.

“Carl,” she said, under her breath.

“I came as soon as I heard,” Carl said, meeting her halfway. He placed a kiss on her cheek.

“You didn't have to come.”

“Of course I did. Your mother called me. She told me the news. I wish you would have called me first. I can't stand the thought of you going through this alone.”

“I'm not alone.”

“You know what I mean.”