The Diamond Affair Read Free

she was going to make her brother's life
so miserable he'd want to stay in Afghanistan.
    That's if she
lived long enough to tell him.

 
     
    CHAPTER 2
    He hadn't given Ruby
a description of himself but she knew who Jake Forrester was the moment she saw
him. Like her brother and other SAS officers she'd met, the man leaning against
the bar exuded power and authority even at a distance. But that's where the
similarity ended. Where her brother was affable and fun-loving, Jake Forrester looked
formidable. It seemed incongruous that Matt could ever be friends with the brooding
giant glaring back at her, arms crossed over a broad chest. His deep scowl and
don't-mess-with-me expression ensured everyone gave him a wide berth.
    Ruby got the
feeling she was about to regret ever calling this man.
    She approached,
determined to meet him glare for glare, but a few steps away she couldn't help
lowering her gaze. His dark eyes were too intense, too all-seeing and she felt
like she would lose something in them if she stared too long.
    "Can I buy
you a drink?" he said after introductions.
    "No. I'll
buy you one. It's the least I can do." She got the bartender's attention. "A
margarita and another of whatever he's having," she said, nodding at Jake's
glass which contained what looked suspiciously like water.
    "You don't
have to buy me drinks," Jake said. "But it helps."
    His face remained
deadpan so she wasn't sure if he was joking. She smiled anyway. It helped her
nerves to think that the brick wall of a man had a sense of humor. Even so, she
remained on tenterhooks.
    He drained his glass
in one gulp just as the bartender set down the next one. He picked it up and
indicated a free table in the corner. "Let's sit."
    She walked to the
table, feeling more self-conscious than she had in years. Not only because of
the powerful man behind her, possibly staring at her ass, but because she
suspected everyone in the bar of being an associate of Fat Frankie. A man like
Guy Beauvoir would have eyes everywhere, even in an Ascot Vale bar.
    She slid into the
booth seat, her back to the wall so she could see everyone.
    "No, you sit
here." Jake held out the chair opposite. "That's my seat."
    Her temper
flared, heating her face, but she managed to keep it under control. "Why?"
    "Because you're
paying me to help you and I can't do my job with my back to the room."
    Her anger
evaporated, relief taking its place. He was going to take her on as a client. Thank
God for that. She gave up the seat readily. "So you're happy to help me
out?" she asked when re-seated.
    "Happy is
not a word I'd use in this situation." Jake's gaze flicked around the room
then settled back on her. Unblinking. Penetrating. "I'm only doing this as
a favor to Matt. No discounts. Understand?"
    She resisted the
urge to salute. Somehow she didn't think Jake Forrester would find that funny. "Business
must be booming if you're not taking on new clients."
    "Business is
moving. To Sydney. I'm winding down operations here in Melbourne for a while. I
should have been gone by this weekend."
    Now, because of
her, he would have to stay longer. "Sorry." She cradled her glass,
twisting it between her hands. "If there was anyone else I could trust I'd
go to them. And I mean anyone ."
    Unexpectedly, one
side of his mouth lifted in a half-smile. That simple twitch transformed him
from scary to handsome in a heartbeat. If he didn't scowl so much he'd be
gorgeous. Too bad the smile vanished just as fast as it had appeared.
    "So you're
stuck with me thanks to your brother."
    "And you're
stuck with me."
    His expression
darkened. "Hopefully not for long."
    Her sentiments
exactly.
    She told him about
Fat Frankie's attack and how he'd followed her home, then when he asked her why,
she told him about the Florentine diamond and Guy Beauvoir.
    "He
contacted me yesterday saying he wanted to buy some of my jewelry, but that turned
out to be a ruse. When I arrived at his office building, he whisked me into his
private