Chapter Seventeen

While he mulled over the phone call he'd just had with Ruby, Presley slapped together some turkey and cheese sandwiches. That was about the full extent of his food prep skills, and he chowed down on one and some chips while he waited for Billie to finish getting cleaned up and come into the kitchen.

It'd been damn tempting not to hang around with her for her shower, but he'd needed his own shower and change of clothes. Plus, if he'd stayed, they would have likely ended up having a second round of sex, and he figured her bruised, battered body didn't need that.

He wasn't sure what he needed—other than the over the counter pain meds he'd just taken—but he was pretty sure thinking time had to be part of what was left of the afternoon. Eating time, too, since Billie and he hadn't managed lunch, and it was already past three PM.

There was a mixed bag of emotions going on inside him. He was troubled by the things Ruby had told him, but he also still had a nice buzz from being with Billie. Now, there was a jolt of energy from the food that he'd clearly needed.

But there was also the head stuff.

The nonstop whirl of thoughts and information. Once this investigation was over, he'd obviously have some sorting out to do.

He looked up when he heard the footsteps and saw Billie walk in to the room. Or rather limp in anyway.

Hell.

He took out the bottle of ibuprofen and put it next to the sandwiches.

"Thanks," she muttered. "You've already taken some?"

He nodded and got her a glass of ice water. "I should have moved us to the bed…" But that was as far as the apology got before she leaned in and kissed him.

"The location was great," she murmured against his mouth. "Everything was great."

Presley hadn't realized just how much he'd needed to hear Billie say that. And he gave her a quick kiss before he pushed the plate with the sandwiches closer to her.

"Eat, take your meds, and I'll fill you in on my call with Ruby while you were in the shower," Presley instructed.

She downed two of the pills and sat on a stool at the counter to eat. "Is this about Hattie?" she asked. "Did they arrest her?"

So, he'd need to dole out some bad news first. Of course, there hadn't been any good news in Ruby's update.

"Hattie's not at the cabin, and she's not answering her phone," Presley explained. That could indicate she was guilty. Then again, with her hatred of cops, she could be just uncooperative and avoiding them. "There's an APB out for her."

"If she comes here, I'm guessing your security is good," she said.

"Damn good. No one will get near the place without a sensor going off." And he'd engage his full security system to expand to the perimeter of the house. "It would be a big mistake for Hattie to show up and take on two trained operatives," he added.

Billie nodded, ate some of the sandwich. "So, what else did Ruby tell you?"

Presley took a deep breath first. "The bomb squad found five other plastic explosive devices at the fire station. They were on all the windows and doors so no matter which one I'd tried to open, it would have blown up."

She stopped in mid-bite and muttered some profanity.

"Yeah, someone definitely didn't want the cops or us to take a look in that building," he spelled out. "But I wonder if it could have been more than that. I mean, if Joe had gone there, he likely would have been killed."

"And maybe that's what his stepsons wanted," she finished. "Joe probably didn't put them in his will, but this could have been their way of getting back at him while cleaning up the scene."

That was a good guess on both fronts, and Presley continued with his update. "Damon didn't show for his interview with Sheriff Bonetti, but Bonetti was able to confirm the man definitely could have supplied his brothers with the guns and the explosives."

Billie stayed quiet a moment. "Is Damon the boss who orchestrated the whole shebang?"

"Bonetti and Ruby don't think so. Damon's apparently a follower, not a leader." There was a sharp beeping sound that instantly put Presley on alert. "Someone's coming," he said just as his phone rang. "It's Angel," he relayed to her.

So, not Hattie or an intruder, but Presley had to wonder what this visit was about. It probably wasn't good news.

"What happened?" Presley asked the moment he answered the call on speaker. He figured Angel was about to say that Jesep had dismissed him as Victoria's bodyguard.

"I've got Victoria and Joe with me," Angel said. "They insisted on talking to Billie and you."

What the hell? Presley had a lot of questions, including how had Victoria and Joe ended up together, but he held off on asking anything and gave the command to disengage the security so that Angel could drive through, triggering the alarms and sensors.

"You trust them both, right?" Billie muttered, and he heard the concern in her voice.

Presley was feeling some concern as well, but he had to nod on this. Added to that, Angel would have searched them both for weapons before he'd even brought them here.

He went to the door to open it, and Presley got a serious gut punch of emotions at seeing Joe and Victoria step out of Angel's van. His parents . It was going to take a while for that to sink in.

Angel's gaze went straight to Presley, no doubt checking to see if he was all right with this. Since he was far from being at that all right stage, Presley only lifted his shoulder.

"Elvis, scan visitors for weapons," Presley instructed his AI program, and he heard the slight whirring sound of the infrared kicking in.

"Female and male one are unarmed. Male two has—"

"No need to list Angel's weapons," Presley told the AI app because he knew Angel would be armed to the hilt. He stepped back to let them in.

Victoria paused in the foyer, looking at him, and for a moment Presley thought she might hug him. She didn't though.

She was still way too pale, and her bruises were an even darker riot of color today, only emphasizing them even more. Her hand with the reattached finger was anchored in a splint with a bandage securing it, but she was cradling it with her uninjured hand.

"Thank you for seeing us," Victoria finally said, and she nodded a greeting to Billie.

"Victoria wanted to come," Angel was quick to volunteer, "and she asked me to pick up Joe along the way. Olivia is on her way here, too."

Presley did a whole lot of silent cursing. While he trusted Victoria and Joe, he couldn't say the same for his bio-sister. He'd be using the scan on her as well.

"Jesep and Ari don't know we're here," Victoria let them know. "At least I don't believe they do."

Presley was betting either Ari or Jesep had Victoria under surveillance so, yeah, they would likely be aware of where she was.

And who she was with.

How the devil would Jesep react to his wife being with her teenage lover, the father of her children? Presley figured Jesep wouldn't be pleased about that, especially since he'd never wanted Olivia's parentage to even come to light. Still, there was that sort of pre-nup so Jesep could use the mere fact that Victoria was with Joe to get a chunk of her estate.

And divorce her.

He didn't think Victoria would object to that now that Olivia knew the truth about being her biological mom. But Jesep almost certainly wouldn't make a divorce easy on her.

"Security, rearm full system," Presley instructed, motioning for them to follow Billie and him into the living room. "Anyone want anything to drink?" he asked, and all three declined.

"All right," Presley added. "Tell me why you're here."

And he truly hoped it wasn't so they could hash out their personal relationship with him. Presley wasn't ready to go there just yet.

"I overheard Jesep and Ari talking about an hour ago. The Marbury collection of diamonds is missing," Victoria blurted as she took a seat on the sofa.

"Shit," Presley spat out. "How the hell did that happen?"

Another headshake from Victoria. "I'm not sure. But they were in full panic mode when I left the estate with Angel. Apparently, the co-owners of the collection sent someone to verify the safety of the stones after they got an anonymous tip that the diamonds were missing. When Jesep had someone open the vault, the diamonds were indeed gone."

"Who has access to the safe?" Presley couldn't ask fast enough.

Victoria's forehead bunched up while she considered that. "Jesep, Ari, Olivia, and any of their PAs. The security staff, too. Oh, and the appraisers."

So, way too many people, which meant there was ample opportunity for someone to steal them. Well, ample opportunity for an inside job, that is.

Victoria glanced at Joe who took up the explanation. "I'm part owner of the collection," Joe said. "And I got the anonymous tip."

Presley definitely hadn't seen that coming. "Why didn't that info about your ownership come to light earlier?"

"I'm not the primary owner," Joe spelled out. "There are a total of four owners, and I only have a six percent share." His gaze met Presley's. "And, yes, Jesep could have possibly known about that. Maybe Ari and Olivia, too."

Presley tried to focus in on what this might mean. Were the diamonds the reason that Victoria had been kidnapped? If they were missing because they'd been stolen, then maybe Jesep could claim the diamonds were given as ransom to save Victoria.

Billie turned to Presley. "You think the fake diamonds could be the real ones?" she whispered.

He couldn't imagine a mistake like that being made, but the look he gave Billie must have let her know it was possible.

"I'll get them from the SUV," Billie volunteered, heading in the direction of the door that led to the garage.

"Does Jesep know you're my bio-father?" Presley had to ask Joe while they waited for Billie to return.

Joe shrugged. "I didn't think so, but it's possible that Victoria's parents mentioned my name to him."

"Or Jesep could have done some digging to find out," Victoria added. "He might have done that so he'd be aware of Olivia's DNA and medical background."

True, and if Jesep knew, so could Ari.

"This is the text I got," Joe took out his phone and handed it to Presley. "It came from an unknown number."

Check your diamonds 'cause they ain't there .

That was it, no other details.

"Ruby's trying to trace it," Angel informed him, "and she's reported all of this to SAPD."

"Jesep's not going to like that," Victoria remarked. "He'd want to handle this in-house."

"Yeah, I'll bet he'd like that," Presley grumbled. That way he could try to contain the bad press. "What happens in a situation like this? I'm assuming there's a security cam feed of anyone going in and out of the vault?"

Victoria nodded. "There is. Ari and Jesep were getting that from the security company when I sneaked out of the house." She paused, her bottom lip trembling a little before she steadied it. "I'm afraid of what Jesep might do."

Presley latched right onto that. "Are you worried for your safety?"

She took her time responding, which in a way was an answer in itself. "I'm worried who he'll blame for this."

Presley figured Jesep would point the finger at any and every one in order to take the heat off himself. Something like this could destroy the reputation of his company.

"I'm assuming the diamonds are insured?" Presley asked as Billie came back carrying the small pouch.

"They are for the full appraised value," Joe verified.

Billie opened the pouch, spilling out the contents onto the coffee table. The sunlight sparked off the stones, sending rainbow prisms around the room.

All five of them leaned in for a closer look, but Presley had no idea if these were fakes or the real deal. Before he could ask Joe his opinion, there was another of those sharp beeping sounds from the security system.

"Security, monitor on," Presley instructed.

The painting above the fireplace faded, and in its place was the feed from one of the cameras. Presley immediately spotted the silver Mercedes making its way toward his house.

"Olivia," Victoria muttered, getting to her feet. Presley both saw and heard the nerves in her voice and expression. "I haven't spoken to her since she learned I gave birth to her," she added under her breath.

So, this might turn into some kind of venting session. Presley couldn't blame Olivia for needing something like that. Once this investigation was over and done, he might vent as well. He would certainly need to try to come to terms with it anyway.

The Mercedes came to a stop, and Olivia immediately stepped out. She looked at the house, but then her attention shot in the direction of the road. So did the security camera when it obviously detected some motion there, and Presley soon saw another vehicle. A sleek red Porche.

"That's Ari's car," Victoria muttered.

The Porche was speeding, and it braked to a screeching stop directly behind Olivia's Mercedes. Ari bolted from the vehicle, his attention nailed to his sister.

"Where are the fuckin' diamonds?" Ari shouted, whipping up his hand. Not empty. He was holding a Glock. "What the hell have you done with them?"

And he aimed the gun directly at Olivia.