Because, he reminded himself with a mental thump to the forehead, she thought he was on the verge of proposing to another woman! And wouldn’t the box in his pocket only further cement his lie? His head hurt from chasing the same thoughts over and over. And he felt a distinct pain in the middle of his chest. He rubbed the skin over his breastbone with his knuckles. The only explanation he could think of was that he’d pulled a muscle in his chest last night at the gym.
A few straggling customers had kept the jewelry store open nearly an hour past closing time, so the rest of the mall sat dimly lit and quiet. Stacy waved to no one in particular on her way out, and Sills was busy unlocking the chains on the Valentino display case in preparation for rolling the diamond into the vault.
“I got this covered,” Sills said to Carter. “You can go ahead and take off.”
Carter glanced toward the vault where he could hear Faith humming to the music overhead. The man’s message was clear: he wanted to be alone with Faith. Carter ground his teeth, but managed a passable smile. “I need to ask Faith a favor.”
Sills frowned. “What kind of favor?”
“It’s personal.”
“Personal?” she asked, emerging to walk toward them.
He hesitated, then gave Sills a pointed look. The man scowled, then proceeded to roll the Valentino display case past them and into the vault.
Faith was looking at him expectantly. He shifted nervously, then withdrew the ring box from his pocket and set it on the counter in front of her.
“What’s this?”
“My great-great-grandmother’s ring. I was hoping you would appraise it for me. It isn’t insured, and I was told it might be valuable.”
She picked up the faded blue box and held it reverently. “This looks like a Tiffany’s box.”
He nodded. “My great-great-grandfather purchased it from Tiffany’s.”
She gently opened the box. “Oh, my.”
Gratification buoyed him at the expression of wonderment on her face.
She looked up, and he noticed with a start that her eyes were also Tiffany’s blue. “Is this the original box?”
He nodded.
“Eighteen eighty-six?”
“That would be about right.”
Two spots of color bloomed on her cheeks. “Carter, this ring could be extremely valuable.”
“I’ll lock the vault for you, Faith,” Ben said, walking up behind her. His smile was congenial as he held out his hand for her keys.
She looked at the ring, torn, then set the box down on the counter. “No, that’s my job. I’ll be right back, Carter. Good night, Ben.”
Carter flashed a smug smile in Sills’s direction, but the man was already moving toward the door. A warning bell went off in Carter’s head—he’d seen that body language before. “Sills, hold up,” he said loudly, pushing away from the counter.
“The diamond’s gone!” Faith shouted from the vault.
Carter’s body sprang into motion just as Sills turned and withdrew his revolver. “Stop, Carter, or I’ll put a plug in you.”
Carter’s hand swept past his empty holster and he realized the man had planned the heist all along. Carter reached down for Plan B, and heard Faith’s gasp behind him.
“Stop, Grayson.” Sills looked at him, but pointed the gun in Faith’s direction. “Put your hands where I can see them, or I’ll put a plug in her.”
Carter swallowed hard and lifted his hands. “Don’t do this, man. One shot will bring the front-door security guard running.”
He laughed. “I sent that guy home an hour ago, when the other shops closed. Not everyone is as conscientious as you are, Grayson. Or as suspicious.”
Carter’s head pounded from sheer frustration. “You’ll never get away with this, Sills.”
“Sure I will,” the man said with a smile, then patted his jacket pocket where a sizable lump indicated he had stowed the priceless diamond there. “In fact, I just did.” He looked back to Faith and made a rueful noise. “Don’t bother trying to set off the silent alarm behind the counter. That’s the advantage of being in the security business—I know how to disengage all those pesky little things.” He gestured to the mounted cameras near the ceiling. “Same thing with the cameras.” Then his glittery gaze landed on the blue ring box on the counter, and his smile widened. He extended his free hand and wiggled his fingers. “Faith, be a doll and bring me that ring.”
Faith stared at the gun pointed to her chest—this wasn’t happening. Her stomach rolled at the depth of Ben’s betrayal to his company, and to her. It was her fault—she’d allowed the man to talk her into disarming Carter. And now he was going to take Carter’s precious family heirloom because he’d overheard her say how valuable it might be. “No,” she whispered, lifting her chin. “You can have anything and everything else in this store, but not that.” A sob bubbled up in her throat. “Please.”
“Faith,” Sills said through clenched teeth, “bring me that ring.”
“Give it to him,” Carter said. “Just do what he says, Faith. Now.”
She pressed her lips together to stem her tears as she lifted the aged blue box from the counter and walked it toward him.
“That’s close enough,” he said when she was at arm’s length. He snatched the box and dropped it into his jacket pocket. “Now, both of you, in the vault.” He waved the gun, shooing them. “Hurry, I’m losing patience.”
She exchanged glances with Carter who stood a few feet away. He nodded imperceptibly, but she knew he was wondering the same thing as she: was Sills going to take them to the vault and shoot them? The fact that he hadn’t taken her key ring to lock them into the vault was not a good sign.
As she walked toward the vault, a thousand things ran through her mind. Words to loved ones unsaid. Good deeds undone. Exotic lands unvisited. She was too young to die. And the irony of dying with the man she was in love with—facing death had a way of erasing the ambiguity of her feelings—was too much to bear. And what about Carter? He was on the verge of starting a new phase of his life: marriage, probably children. He’d spent his career protecting others only to be taken out like this? Such a waste.
What could she do? She took a deep breath and forced herself to think. Her mind raced over the complicated security measures surrounding the vault. A red button on the outside panel would trigger an automatic lock that bypassed the keyed locks and activated when the door closed, but it was supposed to be for a manager’s convenience and could only be disengaged from the outside with a lengthy security code. Still, if they could somehow manage to lock themselves inside, they could access an emergency phone to summon help.
She turned her head to glance at Carter, but he was darting his gaze all around, probably also trying to think of a way to save their hides. Would he remember the automatic lock button on the vault door amid all the information she’d given him during his intensive security review?
“Well, Faith,” Carter said suddenly, “this hasn’t exactly been a red-letter day.”
“Shut up and keep moving,” Sills said, prodding Carter with the gun.
But Faith’s heart lifted—Carter remembered. Since she was walking in front, it would be up to her to press the red button without attracting undue attention. As they approached the vault door, she pretended to trip on the thick carpet, and fell forward, catching herself on the heavy door and managing to activate the lock.
“Get up!” Sills barked.
Carter helped her up and squeezed her hand. She looked into his eyes and squeezed back.
“Open the door and get in there, or I’m going to shoot you both right here.”
Carter opened the door and she walked inside. Carter followed her and, to her dismay, Sills stepped in behind them. While keeping the revolver trained on them, he slid out a tray and scooped jewelry into his jacket pockets by the sparkling handfuls. After cleaning out a second tray, his pockets bulged. “Guess it’s time to say goodbye.”
“Just leave us in here and close the door, Sills,” Carter said. “You haven’t done anything really stupid yet.”
She kept one eye on the door, still slightly ajar. If Sills pulled it closed behind them, all three of them would be in here for a while.
Sills angled his head. “I don’t like you, Grayson. I didn’t like you from the beginning, and my opinion of you didn’t improve.”
“If you kill a cop, they’ll execute you,” Faith said, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice but failing.
“Doll, they’ll have to catch me first.” He waved the gun back and forth between them. “You’re mighty protective of your hired help. If I didn’t know better, I’d say there was something going on between the two of you.” Then his smile faded and he cocked the hammer. “Nice knowing you.”
Carter dove into Sills and the men crashed against the heavy vault door, pushing it open. The gun fired into the ceiling and Faith hit the ground. When she realized she wasn’t bleeding, she lifted her head. The men were still struggling. The gun was knocked to the floor, bounced, then slid under a wall of jewel-laden trays. Sills grunted, but managed to stay on his feet and leveraged to kick Carter in his bad thigh. Carter howled and pulled Sills down with him. They rolled over and over, crashing into the walls of trays. Jewels spilled out of Sills’s pockets. Faith considered scrambling for the gun, but she was afraid she’d shoot herself or Carter in the process. So she pushed to a crouch and waited with her heart in her throat for an opening to get past them to run for help.