He stared down at her. "All right, Mary Sunshine. I'll go with it, but only if you promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Don't let this change you. Stay as sweet and hopeful as you've always been, and I'll try to find the positive guy inside me." He grimaced. "I'm warning you, though. He's buried deep. It might take me a while."
She could wait. "Okay. It's a deal."
Kinley tilted her head back, looking up at Riley as he kissed her, sealing their deal.
Reluctantly, he pulled back. He reached into the shower, turning the water off. "We need you to skip the shower. No cause for alarm, but we're thinking it might be a good idea to change locations. You know, stay safe, just in case."
"What about the FBI? Aren't they coming to see us?"
Regret skipped across Riley's face. Then the lights flickered and died.
His whole body stilled. When she began to ask about a generator, he shoved a hand over her mouth. His eyes bored into her as he whispered. "No talking. Give it a second."
The lights came back on. And died seconds later. A loud buzzing followed, an alarm signaling something.
"Fuck." Riley paled. "Listen to me very carefully. The security system is offline because someone cut the power to it. The generator is top of the line, and so is the backup. We have to assume someone took both of them out."
Shockwaves pinged through her system. "Do you think it's FBI agents working some sort of sting? They've been looking for me." She'd signed the affidavit that she wasn't a hostage, but who knew if they'd believe that or assume she'd been made to sign under duress.
"The feds would announce themselves, and the feds know what we're doing. I'm starting to think that Jansen has someone on the inside, and we're screwed. Here's what's going to happen. Jansen wants the diamonds. I have to hide them. If he gets his hands on them, he'll kill us all. My gun- Damn it, my gun is back in the office. Law is out at the hangar, and Dominic should be rounding up the dogs."
"Greg is here?" Oh, god, if he was in this house, he was coming after her. And he wouldn't come alone.
Suddenly, she heard an odd popping sound.
"Gunfire. Shit. Sweetheart, I need you to hide. I'm not sure where that gunfire came from, maybe the back of the house."
Kinley grabbed the clothes she'd brought in with her. She'd picked them up without thinking. She was holding a pair of jeans covered in blood diamonds. She never wanted to see another pair of jeans again.
An idea struck her. She quickly opened the medicine cabinet. There was a nail file, the metal kind with a nice pointed end. She went to work on the stitching in the back pocket. After a couple of good twists, it was easy to pull the heavy scrap of fabric apart from the rest of the pants. "We need to hide the diamonds, but the actual jeans are bulky and it would take too much time to pry each stone off individually." She reached for the bottle of her favorite shampoo. She dumped half of it into the shower and then stuffed the pockets in one at a time.
Riley kissed the top of her head. "I will spank you if ever call yourself dumb again. You're brilliant. He needs them all. Every single diamond."
She nodded. "All right, but I think Dominic took the rest of them. I don't know where they are."
"I do. He took them to the office. He was going to put them in a bag or something so you didn't have to look at them." Riley's face tightened. "I need to get to those jeans."
Riley hesitated, but Kinley knew his brothers could be out there dying right now. Her men were in danger, and she would do anything she could to stop it. "Go. I'll stay and be exactly what Greg expects me to be-a hostage. He won't kill me."
"You don't know that, Kinley."
No, but … "You have to leave. Greg and his goons could be here any minute." Her hands were shaking as she pushed him away. "Go. If you can find a way to get to the jeans, hide more of the diamonds. Hurry. We're running out of time. He won't kill me until he has them all. Can you get out the bathroom window?"
Riley drew her close, kissing her hard. "I can get out of it. You stay alive. Do you understand me?"
With a nod, she dashed into her room, the damaged jeans in her hand. She folded the jeans neatly, so the damage didn't show. Her heart pounding, she retreated to the bathroom where Riley was just disappearing through the high window.
She was alone.
"Kinley!" Greg's voice floated from down the hallway, inciting a sharp pang of terror. She bit her lip. Being brave didn't come naturally to her, but she had to find that within her now. "Come out, you bastards. There's no place to hide!"