Page 12 of Savannah Heat
In spite of her own pain, Jenna’s heart went out to him. “Yes, sorry. And listen, when all of this is over, providing we escape jail or getting shot, I want to go to see Elliott.”
Dan nodded. “Yes, of course. I’m sure he would love to see you, too. So, let’s think about what we need to do to get there.”
Chapter Six
Once outside, Dan pulled Jenna into the alley and kissed her hard, taking her breath away. She tried to pull away, but he held her, kissing her more deeply.
He moaned and let her go. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I saw you on that bench.”
Jenna felt her face flush and could still feel the pressure of his lips on her own as she fought for control. She put her hands on her hips and stepped back. “Well, I see you still have not totally conquered your low impulse-control situation. We are in public, you know.”
He grabbed for her hand and kissed it. “Not much control where you’re concerned. Holding on to her hand, he looked around. “Well, I think it’s safe to go back into the hotel now. You go first, then I’ll check out and try to find another place to stay. I can always go out to Tybee and stay in Rex’s house, if I need to be even more out of sight. He’s in Scotland for another three or four weeks. I know where he hides the keys.”
Jenna handed him her phone. “Here, put your number in. I’ll call you later, and you can tell me where you are, and we can go from there. If we’re right, this Red Cat person is here to do what he or she does and put the blame on you or us. Stopping them sooner rather than later will be the thing we need to focus on.”
“We need to find out who this is, but I’m not sure how we do that without exposing ourselves to a lot of scrutiny. So be prepared for the risk.”
Jenna held up one hand. “Oh, wait, I just remembered, the senator’s wife—he gave her the Blalock diamond for their anniversary. I heard it was reset for a new necklace. That diamond, worth about a million or more alone, is now surrounded by black pearls in that necklace—at least doubling the value. I’ll bet she will wear it the night of the Black-and-White Masked Ball to show it off. I recall reading about it and the hints she might be wearing it. I’ll bet that is the main attraction for our thief. No doubt, there has been press about it in many outlets. If I heard the rumor, many others have heard it, too.”
Dan nodded. “Yeah, what a prize that would be for some collector. It would bring a fortune. And what a way to end a three-day event.”
“No wonder your insurance investigator is here, Dan. I’ll bet she is thinking the same thing. Maybe her company has it insured, and that would explain her being here. Maybe it’s not to try to catch you, but to be around in case someone shows up to steal the Blalock necklace.”
“Maybe, but she might be thinking, hoping even, that I’m the one here for it. She’ll be watching me like a hawk, Jenna. I can’t hide so I might as well get it over with.”
“But maybe not me—looking for me, I mean, or at least not as much. She can’t watch us both at the same time. I can take advantage of the fact I won’t be as high on her radar. Well, here I go, wish me luck.”
Dan pulled her close again, and this time, he buried his face in her hair. “Be careful, just be careful,” he whispered. He kissed her again and let go of her hand.
His breath puffed hot on her neck. Jenna, her lips and body now practically vibrating from his touch, went back around the corner and turned up the side street that led to the hotel. Her heart was thumping in her chest but from Dan’s kisses or the excitement of what was ahead, or both, she wasn’t sure. Just like the old days, she thought, as she looked for any sign of Gail Wells as she entered the hotel. Not that she got that great a look at her earlier, but at least, she was sure it couldn’t be the old lady with the poodle at the front desk now. Dan said she was tall and brunette and with a sour expression. Though Jenna wrote that last part off due to Dan’s intense dislike of Ms. Wells.
Jenna went to her room and felt a little guilty she was happy Brock would be occupied most of the time. Though she was fond of him in some ways, things would never have gone on to something more serious. Before her talk with Dan, she could not continue the relationship with Brock.
Dan’s kiss awakened something in her beyond passion. It pulled her back from the shadow life she had been leading since he left her. The problem was she didn’t yet trust him not to leave her again. She wouldn’t risk that kind of pain again. She couldn’t bear it, but she didn’t know what to do about him and admitted she never did know.
Back in her room and alone, Jenna was forced to come to grips with her feelings. She felt the real Jenna wake up—the one who had been part of the ‘black cat’ jewelry heists for two years, helping Dan take back his father’s jewelry the Milano family had stolen. Dan made it a point to take some of the Milano families’ personal treasures, as payback for what they did. It was revenge for his father’s death, Jenna knew, and she couldn’t blame him. She thought about how she struggled to rebuild her life the past five years without Dan and what she might now lose. She looked at herself in the mirror and, as if making a promise to herself and to the universe, whispered, “This time, I’ll be smarter about giving away my heart.” She ran a brush through her hair and looked again. “Ah, who am I kidding?”
Now that Jenna had things straight in her head, more or less, she knew Brock must go and soon. Whether things worked out with Dan or not, it was unkind to string him along. She needed some time by herself to regroup.
As it turned out, she didn’t have to tell Brock anything. He was called home due to a death in his family. His favorite uncle had a heart attack and died, ironically, on the golf course. Brock packed his bags and left for the airport with a promise to call her the next day. Though she felt bad about the reason, she was glad at least one distraction was out of their way for a while.
Jenna sat in the middle of her bed, waiting on Dan’s call. It took her back to the days of their tracking, plotting, and planning as they made their way across two countries taking back the stolen gems and artwork from Boris Roget, Tony Milano’s cousin and fence, while being dogged by the dirty FBI agent, Sal Amato. She wondered why those in the FBI who knew Agent Sal Amato were not more concerned about his friendship with international thieves. Was it possible they didn’t know? Was Sal playing both sides? Or was he an undercover guy? Those were all questions for Dan later.
Their mission had been dangerous and difficult at times, but Jenna never felt more alive than when she and Dan were planning their revenge. Roget had run the biggest jewel and art theft ring in Europe for decades, buying his way out of trouble across Europe. When they decided to take treasures from him, they weren’t being greedy; it was all justified in their minds. She felt the tingle in her hands and butterflies in her stomach now thinking about it.
The ringing phone interrupted her thoughts. “Hey, Dan, where are you?”
“Not too far from you. I called an old friend of mine, and he is on his way back to New York, so he loaned me his townhouse for as long as I need it. It’s in downtown Savannah, not that far from the hotel. As a backup, we will also have access to Rex’s house on Tybee. I’ll text you the address for both.”
“That’s great, but now, what do we do?”
“The party tonight back on Tybee Island should help us get a better idea of what is at stake. This is the second of three advertised parties, so the thief will have one more shot. I would bet he or she will be doing a practice run tonight. Also, there are some priceless jewels at stake, even without the Blalock necklace. So, it would be a win-win for the thief.”
Jenna frowned, still not feeling comfortable about everything. “What about your insurance inspector-tracker-lady, Ms. Wells? How can you, we, operate with her on your trail? She will be tracking everyone you talk to and trying to determine why you are really there. Lots of scrutiny.”
“She will be watching me, for sure. You will be free to scout things out. I have an idea; if I confront her and ask for a breakfast meeting tomorrow at nine o’clock, can you get into her room while I’m with her to see what you can find?”
Jenna could feel her adrenaline kicking in already. “I can try, I suppose. I’m a bit rusty, but maybe I can manage it. Do you know her room number?”