Diane (The Town of Pearl 6)

“Well, he has a hell of a way of showing it.” Drake looked back down at the clock and continued to work. He glanced up a few minutes later and saw Lucas staring at Diane’s picture on his desk. He took that shot six months ago in the park. She didn’t even see him with the camera.

“I miss her,” Lucas whispered.

“I do, too.” Just then Drake and Lucas’s cell phone beeped indicating they had a text message.

They both reached for their phones and glanced down.

“Diane?” Lucas asked Drake and Drake nodded.

“Guess we’re doing dinner out tonight with Sage and her men,” Drake added.

“This is a good thing? I’m not a social person,” Lucas stated.

Drake chuckled. “Welcome to having a girlfriend, brother. No more being a hermit. Sage and Diane are best friends. We get along very well with Dale, Virgo, Matt, and Quaid. It might be fun.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “I’d rather stay home with Diane and just be with her.”

Drake smiled. Maybe this would be good for Lucas, and could help him be more social. Drake just hoped that the night would take away the trepidation he felt inside. Could Mark give up this case and focus on Diane with them? Or would his brother become obsessed with finding out what really happened to Brenda? Feeling frustrated and angry, he released a sigh and focused on his work and on seeing Diane tonight. He’d worry about Mark later.

* * * *

“I want to know the minute the raid is complete. From my connections, Marzban’s hands are all over this. He won’t be able to pin it on someone else. He screwed up, and now we’ve got him,” Mark stated into the phone as he pulled up the live surveillance of the shipping docks off the Florida Keys.

“You did great, Mark. This is what we needed. Did you hear from your other informant? Was Brenda sighted again?” Mark asked Brenda’s commander.

“No. There’s been no sign of her, but Marzban is on the move and here in the United States. He’s not far from the location of this shipment,” Commander Liam Franks told him.

“Wouldn’t that be great if Marzban was in the shipyard when SWAT and FBI raid the place?”

Franks chuckled. “That would be too easy. Thanks again for your help, and I will keep you posted.” Mark disconnected the call and then looked at his phone. He had a text message. When he saw it was from Diane, he smiled.

He read the text and saw that she sent the message about dinner to Drake and Lucas. His brother was pissed at him. He was going to be even angrier when he told Drake he needed to stay on this case for a few more days at least. He was helping to solve that old crime and to halt the efforts of illegal stolen weapons to be shipped overseas. This was big stuff, important steps in securing this country and the innocent people. It would hit Marzban where it would hurt most. In his pockets.

Plus, it would also send a message that he wasn’t too smart to trick everyone, and if Brenda was still alive, she would figure out that Mark was the one behind the raid and figuring things out. She knew how resourceful he was, and how many informants he had. Maybe there would be good news by tonight, and he could solely focus on Diane and making love to her again. He missed her and wondered, as he texted her back, why his stomach ached, and why he felt guilty.

He glanced at the computer screen and Brenda’s picture. He couldn’t get himself to believe that she committed treason and was in cahoots with Marzban. Something was entirely wrong about this operation, and he was going to figure out what.

Chapter 10

“He’s a dead man. He wants to fuck with me? He wants to try and destroy what I have been working so hard for? Let’s see how he feels about this!” Marzban yelled into the phone at Zand Yousef and then slammed the phone down.

He stood up, walked toward the balcony of the private villa and stared at the sunset.

He just lost over three million dollars of an investment. Never mind the twelve men who were overseeing the operation. Zand and Arshad were lucky to have placed someone else in charge of completing the operation or the feds would have them in custody, too. Now he had to send men in to kill off those men so no one would snitch him out. This was supposed to be a foolproof operation. Who gave them up? Who double-crossed them? He paced the balcony and thought about the key players. It came to him suddenly as he stared toward the closed bedroom door. Brenda was supposed to be taking a bath.

His phone rang. He walked toward his desk to answer it. He saw that it was Arshad.

“I’ve got a few names. Do you want it done messy or just a warning? Give me all the details. I will decide who will die and who will live with the fear of not knowing where or when I will get them, just that I’m coming. The message must be loud and clear,” Marzban replied.

* * * *

Diane was smiling after Drake, Lucas, and Mark expressed in kisses how much they missed her today. She was overwhelmed with desire, and they still needed to get through dinner with Sage and her men and of course the main topic of discussion, New York. Sage had texted fifteen minutes ago and said that her men were concerned and not certain they felt comfortable letting her go. But she also added that she had ways of convincing them and hoped Diane didn’t mind if they left dinner early. Diane chuckled. She wondered if someday she would have that type of relationship with Drake, Lucas, and Mark.

Drake squeezed her hand as Lucas placed his arm around her waist and both guided her through the back room of the restaurant. Abigail had saved a large table in the back corner for the nine guests.

They greeted their friends, and Lucas squeezed her hand. She knew that he wasn’t into the social scene and preferred time alone, but she was glad he was here. She wondered if he was doing it because of her, and that kind of made her feel guilty for questioning their commitment. But t

hey really didn’t specifically say they were committed to only her. They said they had wanted her for a long time and that they cared for her, but how serious was this relationship and did they just expect her to fall right into the place by their side as their woman because they spent one night together? That was moving fast, and her fear, her insecurities were begging for them to put on the breaks.