Thieves Like Us Part 26

"Disobedient," she answered for him, broadening her smile and winking. "I don't like him telling me what to do."

Vasili chuckled, causing a full-body jiggle in the flabby parts. "Women not so good at taking orders, this I know." Casting a pitying look on Rocky, he said, "Sometimes you not so smart."

"Ha-ha," Rocky muttered. He directed a suspicious look at Janet. "How did you find this place?"

She shrugged. "You told me the name. I looked in the phone book."

He was obviously unhappy that he'd made it that simple for her. "Well, you wasted a trip. What you're looking for isn't here."

"How you know?" Vasili interrupted. "Don't interfere with customer. She say she come to do business. Maybe your Janet looking for jewelry, eh?"

"I am," she agreed.

"See?" He beamed. "I give good deal on many kinds jewelry. What you want, bracelet? Necklace?" His furry eyebrows wiggled upward. "Diamond ring, maybe?"

Rocky folded his arms. "She's looking for the rest of the Pellinni Jewels."

Vasili's expression became cautious and he glanced at Rocky before telling her, "I might have them."

"You don't have them," Rocky said.

"I don't have them," he corrected himself. Leaning toward Rocky, he said, "I thought I had them."

"If anyone besides Janet asks, you have them."

"Okay." He held his hands out helplessly as he looked at her. "Honest, I don't have them. But I have other jewelry. Better jewelry, not so much illegal."

Ignoring Vasili's equivocation on degrees of legality, she faced Rocky, hands on hips. "You two already planned something. I want in."

He said nothing, and his stubborn expression didn't change.

"Is no big deal," Vasili told her. "We make believe I have-" Rocky elbowed him. "No plan," Vasili shook his head. "Big nothing."

She narrowed her eyes at Rocky, which didn't affect his even stare one bit. Sensing Vasili was her only ally here, she told him, "You don't have to do what he says, you know. He just thinks it's his job to keep me safe."

Vasili hesitated, gaze darting from one to the other. "Is not bad thing."

"Is not fun, either."

"Maybe dangerous for you." One eyebrow lifted in warning.

She made a guess at his weak spot. "Sometimes there's no joy in life without a little risk."

"Ah! Is true," he affirmed. "You maybe little bit Russian, eh?"

"Maybe," she agreed, ignoring a snort from Rocky and saying a silent apology to her English and French ancestors.

Vasili beamed. "I knew this!" he said, shoving Rocky's shoulder.

"Oh, please." Rocky closed his eyes, as if in pain.

"But my friend Rocky is right about this thing," Vasili added.

Rocky looked as surprised as she did.

"Bad men in this business," Vasili went on. "Is no place for cla.s.sy woman like you. Rocky is right to protect you. He is good man."

She didn't have an argument for that, since stubborn or not, Rocky was possibly the best man she'd ever known.

"You like him, yes?" Vasili prodded.

She darted a glance at Rocky before answering. "Yes."

In a low voice, Rocky said, "Stay out of this, Vasili."

"Maybe you love him, too."

"Vasili . . ." Rocky warned.

Something inside her went soft and mushy. She couldn't lie. "Maybe I do."

Rocky froze.

Vasili declared, "He should buy you jewelry. I give good price."

"He doesn't have to buy me anything." She met Rocky's startled gaze. "He just has to let me be part of his life."

"I have," he protested. "I mean . . ." He smiled and squinted as if he'd heard wrong. "Could you say that first part again?"

"I want to be part of your life."

"That's good, too, but I meant the other part."

"You lucky man!" Vasili slapped Rocky's back, although he'd looked so stunned to begin with she wasn't sure he even noticed. "Janet is good woman, better than you deserve."

"Thank you." She gave Vasili her best smile. "But I think Rocky deserves a good woman."

The Russian considered it. "If you say so."

"You just said I was a good man," Rocky reminded him.

"Not that good." He turned back to Janet. "Go on."

She'd given this some thought in the past twenty-four hours. "I think he deserves more than some casual affair with no real emotional connection."

Rocky c.o.c.ked an eyebrow in obvious interest.

"Eh," Vasili said, dismissing his friend's love life. "Even good man can make do with bimbos. Woman like you deserves fine Russian man with romantic soul, who treat you like princess."

"You're very sweet, Mr. . . . Excuse me, I didn't get your last name."

"He just goes by Vasili," Rocky said.

"Petrovich. But you good friend, you call me Vasili."

Rocky rolled his eyes.

"Vasili, let me ask you something." She stepped closer and laid a hand on the Russian's beefy arm as he leaned toward her attentively. "Suppose a woman really cares for you-"

He nodded vigorously. "Do I care back?"

"I hope so."

"Let's say yes." Rocky smiled. "For the sake of your story."

"Okay," she said to Vasili. "This woman cares for you enough to want a real relations.h.i.+p. She's brave and clever in a crisis-she's proved this before."

"Good qualities," Vasili agreed.

"And she's smart enough to discover that her ex-husband was paying his lawyers with stolen diamonds, and she tells the police in time to recover them."

"No s.h.i.+t?" Rocky grinned. "Good job."

"Thank you."

"Hmm," Vasili rumbled as he frowned. "Police always a problem."

"Yes, well, this capable, smart woman wants to share every part of your life, even the slightly dangerous ones, because that's how much she cares about you. Do you let her?"

Vasili rubbed his chin. "Good question."

"Yes, it is." She spoke to Vasili, but her gaze was locked on Rocky. If she stood here much longer she might fall right into those feverish brown eyes. Before she could, she said, "You think about it and let me know."

"I will," Vasili called as she walked out the door. She strode past the two burly barbers without glancing at them, yanking the outer door open without even a pause in her step. A feeling of power surged through her, a sense that she could take on the world. She nearly skipped across the street to the abandoned parking lot, elated with the way she'd laid her argument out, and even more elated with the way Rocky had reacted. It had been a long time since a man's smile had made her tingle, and his had shot jolts down to her toes.

She was reaching for the door handle of her BMW when a hand slipped around her neck and covered her mouth and nose, pulling her back against a hard body. Another hand chopped at her wrist, sending her keys flying from her suddenly numb fingers. She opened her mouth to scream, but a cloth m.u.f.fled the sound. It smelled funny, too.

Oh, s.h.i.+t, not again. One deep gulp made her realize she should hold her breath, but it was too late. The already dusky sky went pitch black and the sound of heavy breathing in her ear faded to nothing as she slumped into unconsciousness.

Chapter.

Fifteen.

Rocky grinned. "d.a.m.n, I love that woman."

Vasili nudged him with a his elbow. "Good! I have perfect ring for you!" He hustled around the counter, fumbling with his keys.

He laughed. "I'm not getting engaged, Vasili." He shot a thoughtful look toward the closed door. "At least not yet."

Vasili straightened. "Of course you marry Janet. You love her. Very beautiful girl. Fire in eyes." He gave a knowing wink. "You know what that mean."

He narrowed his eyes at the Russian, wondering what in the h.e.l.l had happened to the Mafia boss who used to threaten to cut his fingers off if one single gemstone was missing from a heist he'd ordered. Romance seemed to have turned his aggressive tendencies to mush. The big guy was a sap-who knew?

"What you think, two carats? Three?"

"I'm not giving Janet a stolen ring."

"Not stolen." Vasili looked offended. "Loose stone. Get band at store, all legit. Three maybe too much for little fingers, eh? I have nice two and a half."

Great, a hot diamond, probably stolen from some upscale suburban home and pried from its setting. "I already have a stone, Vasili." Anything to keep Janet from walking around the rest of her life with a stolen diamond on her finger.

What was he thinking? She wasn't talking about marriage, and one thing he knew about Janet was not to rush her. But she wanted a relations.h.i.+p, and that was good enough for now.

"Gotta go," he told Vasili, reaching for the door.

"Wait! We got business."

The sting. They'd had word that someone was interested in buying the remaining Pellinni Jewels and might show tonight. The response had been so fast, they were sure they'd hooked the right thief. When he showed, Rocky wanted an up-close look at the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who had searched Janet's condo and killed Sleazy. When he was done with him, Ben could have him.

"I'll probably be back before he shows. And I decided I'm bringing Janet, because she's right: We make one h.e.l.l of a team, and I'm not going to risk losing that. If he stalls on closing the deal, you'll have it on tape, right? You have cameras hidden in here?"

Vasili stared under lowered brows. "I look stupid to you?"

He had cameras. "Not in the least. I'll be back."

"No hurry, she said let her know, she didn't say deadline," Vasili called after him, but Rocky didn't stop. He didn't want her to think he was hesitating, weighing the decision.

Rocky scanned the street, squinting through the growing darkness as he looked for her rental car. Gone. Not surprising, since she'd had that purposeful look about her. He didn't want to chase her all the way back to Bloomfield Hills, then drive back here to wait for their thief to show up. If he could get her to pull over, he'd meet her somewhere. It might even be romantic.

He smiled to himself as he stood on the cracked sidewalk outside the barber shop and dialed her number. His gaze wandered along the street as he listened, idly noting the kids loitering outside the convenience store down the block. One ring. Up the street in the other direction, a resale store closed up for the night with a clang of metal bars shutting over the front window. Two rings. She was driving, so she might have to dig the phone out of her purse. Three rings. Four rings. He frowned and looked around again, doing a double take when he saw a BMW in the lot across the street.

He snapped the phone shut and jogged toward the car. The bar's neon sign cast the only light in the sheltered lot, but he could already tell that it was a dark colored BMW-not the usual car for this neighborhood.

An old man smoking on the sidewalk glanced at Rocky as he dashed by, tossed his cigarette in the gutter, and ducked into the bar. Probably avoiding whatever trouble had Rocky sprinting.

He reached the car and rounded it quickly, examining it. Dark blue, just like Janet's. There were no marks on the body, but it had been recently repaired. Nothing inside to give him a clue about the owner, and he didn't know her license plate number. He circled the car again, trying to remain calm, but something inside him was edging toward panic. He ran his hand over the smooth metal, peered through the windows, and stepped on something hard in the process.

He bent down. Keys-with a large, silver rectangle bearing a company emblem and black letters. He held it up to catch the light. Aims Air Freight.

A cold jolt of fear hit him in the gut. She hadn't left here on her own.