“Wait. Anyone might be spying on us.”
They trekked back to the car and drove away. Only when they were on a main road did Kara pull out the necklace. Diamonds glittered in the sunlight as she held it up.
“It’s the Vandermeer necklace. Not a replica.”
“How can you tell?”
“I’m not a trained gemologist, but I’ve learned a few things along the way. With diamonds you look for cut, clarity and color and carat, what’s referred to as the four C’s. I look for clarity—the fewer imperfections, the greater the clarity grade. But with this necklace, there was a small imperfection...not in the diamonds themselves, but the clasp.”
Kara pointed out the lobster-claw clasp. “It’s crooked. I meant to get it fixed. Besides, Dylan wouldn’t have had time to replicate the necklace. Or the resources.”
“Unless he worked with a third party.”
The necklace dropped into her lap. “Jace, he’s not like that. He’s a scared kid. Stop acting like he’s a suspect.”
“Which he is.”
“And so were you. Or is your real mission to find and arrest my cousin instead of that criminal gang?”
With considerable effort, he curbed his temper. “Your cousin is in extreme danger. If Lance and his gang find him before we do, or the police do, Dylan is a dead man. He’s the only one, that we know of, who can identify Marcus, the real power behind the Devil’s Patrol.”
He hated scaring her like this, but Kara needed to know the threat Dylan faced. She ducked her head, staring at the velvet bag. “I’m sorry, Jace. I didn’t mean to snap. I’m worried about him. And I trust you’ll cut him a fair deal when he’s found. Promise me.”
At least she’d cut him that break. He gestured to the necklace. “I promise I will do what I can. What about that bling?”
“Bling?” She laughed and consulted her phone. “I wouldn’t call six figures in diamonds bling, Jace. I need to store this in a safe place. A bank deposit box... There’s a branch of my bank in Atlanta.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” He drew in a breath. “That necklace is evidence.”
“Evidence! It’s mine and Dylan returned it to me... What, are you going to hand it over to that murdering biker who wants the property he stole back...? Wait...”
Jace waited. Yeah, he knew she’d make the connection sooner or later. Surprising it took this long because Kara was sharp. Worry about Dylan had consumed her.
“Evidence,” she repeated slowly, tucking the necklace back into the dusty velvet bag. “Cop talk. I forgot. How absurd of me.”
Tucking the bag into her jeans pocket, she shook her head.
“What about Dylan? Are you sending your squad after him?”
Jace sighed. “I don’t have a squad, Kara. I told you, my concern is the same as yours—find the kid and get him into protective custody. You have to convince him to turn himself over to us. It’s for his own good.”
Trusting him now was important. They were close to getting Dylan to come in. If not, the kid would keep running, and Lance and his crew had spies everywhere.
“All right. I’ll try.”
Kara called Dylan and put the phone on Bluetooth speaker. Dylan answered.
“You got the necklace? You see, Kara? I’m not a thief. I always meant to return it to you.”
“Thank you for returning it to me, Dylan. I know you are not a thief. Now please, Dylan, you have to come in. You can’t keep running forever,” she said in a gentle tone.
Silence.
“Will you trust me on this? Please?” Her gaze flicked to Jace. “If I share something in confidence, will it convince you to turn yourself over to Jace?”
“Jace?” A bitter laugh. “He’s okay, but he’s still one of them. What’s to prevent him from tossing me to Lance to end up with a bullet hole to my head?”
Kara looked at him. Jace cleared his throat. Now or never. He’d already blown his cover. But maybe it could work in his favor this time.
“I’m not a real member of the gang, Dylan,” he said slowly. “I’m working undercover, investigating Lance and his crew.”
“Huh.” Dylan’s voice filled with suspicion. “Like one of those television journalists?”
“No. I’m FBI.”
A long whistle. “No kidding? You’re a Fed? A Fed! Damn.”
For a few minutes, her cousin laughed. “All this time I thought you were a little easygoing mechanic who liked to ride and hang out with criminals. And you’re a Fed.”
“And you’re in trouble. Big trouble, not so much with the law but Lance’s crew. Name a place and I’ll meet you, Dylan. I promise to speak to the US attorney on your behalf.”
It was all he could do.
For a few moments, Dylan said nothing and Jace feared the kid wasn’t going to agree. Then a tiny sigh.
“Okay. But a place on my terms.”
Dylan named an abandoned campground in southern Tennessee. “Meet me by the railroad tracks at five tomorrow afternoon. Bring Kara. If you’re who you say you are, Jace, I’ll surrender to you. But if not, I’m outta there. Kara, I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess.”
