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back.”
    Graff snorted. “Legwork? Is that what you call it?”
    “Jesus, Graff.” Tiffany shook her head, an apology in each movement. “At least she’s being polite about it.”
    “Thank you,” Poppy said, though his words didn’t rattle her. Poppy had long subscribed to the sticks-and-stones motto. Words couldn’t hurt her…but Todd had . “I need that necklace. All I want is a single string of pearls, and I’m out of your life forever. It’s that simple.”
    The three siblings shared a look then, and it was the first time Poppy felt that maybe she was out of her element coming here like this. There was no malice in their look—no antagonism or furtive moves toward the artillery near the door. It was almost regret, like the situation was out of their hands and luck was out of hers.
    “What?” She looked back and forth between them. “What are you not telling me?”
    Asprey winced. “The thing is…”
    Even Graff softened a little, if that term could be applied to a creature made of stone. “We could give it to you, but it’s not going to do you any good.”
    “What do you mean?” Even though she couldn’t fence it for full value, her ex could get her at least ten thousand. She’d probably even be able to sell the diamonds and pearls piece by piece, if it came to that. “I’m discreet. I have contacts. It’s not like I’m going to saunter into the nearest pawn shop and see what I can get for it.”
    Asprey stood and moved to the nearest table, plucking the necklace from an ivory jewelry box that looked worth a fortune by itself. “I wasn’t lying when I said I can appraise jewelry. This necklace? It’s a fake. Unless the grand plan is to wear it to a costume party, you’re headed for disappointment.”
    She took the proffered item, her fingertips just grazing Asprey’s. The contact made him flinch—and it made her shiver.
    Stop it. This was neither the time nor the place to start losing her head.
    “How do I know you’re not lying?” she asked, looking closely at the pearls. “You could be trying to trick me.”
    And they’d have good success—she had no idea what to look for. She could pass most forgeries off in a con, pull in a few thousand dollars and leave her mark with a bad case of buyer beware, but appraisals and evaluations had never been her area of expertise.
    “It’s not a trick,” Asprey said. He handed her an eyepiece, one of those owlish-looking things jewelers always stuck in their eyes.
    She hesitated before taking it. If she directed her attention to the necklace, she’d be letting her guard down in a clear violation of rule number two, something she never did unless absolutely necessary. “Stand on the other side of the table first,” she commanded, angling herself behind it.
    Asprey placed his hand over his heart. “You wound me. I thought we were becoming friends.”
    “I’ll tell you what. We can be friends when I’m safe at home with twenty thousand dollars in my purse. I’ll even make you cookies. How’s that sound?”
    He winked. “Consider it a date.”
    Winking? Honest-to-goodness winking? Not even Todd tried something as hokey as that…and yet…Asprey actually looked charming while he did it. That had to be another trick—part of the whole, tight-pants-tighter-vest-rolled-up-shirtsleeves-hipster-hottie thing he had going on. Men weren’t normally that good-looking and perfectly put together as they lounged about empty airport hangars. It was unnerving.
    She stared him down until he moved to the other side of the loot table. Graff arrayed himself by his brother’s side, arms crossed in full-on militant mode.
    “If it helps, I can vouch for him,” Tiffany called. She hadn’t gotten up from her chair, opting instead to pull out some handheld device and scroll through the screen. She peeked up through the hair that had fallen in her face. “I’m really sorry if we took a necklace that was supposed to be yours. But if my brother says a