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pretty little girls to their mother’s waiting cars. He’s very concerned for their safety.
    “Wait. Shelby, you realize that if Victor wanted the diamond he could have gotten it himself at any point, right?” A feeling of dread washes over me as I consider why he’s telling me this. “He doesn’t give a shit about the stone. He wants you.”
    “That makes no sense,” I say. I’m about to explain the kind of man Victor is when Chase brings his hand up to cup my jaw and places his thumb over my lips, silencing me.
    “He wants you,” he says, giving me no room to argue.
    I nod my head even though I don’t quite believe him. Victor’s pride was wounded when I broke it off with him—he’s used to sending women packing when he gets bored with them—but our relationship was never that deep to begin with.
    Part of me wants to warn Chase that should anything happen to Becca, I’m going to take it out on him. But that would imply some kind of relationship or bond here—something we don’t have. What we do have is a stupid girl who broke a couple of laws and a cop who ’s trying to right her wrongs. And that’s it. And even though I’m trying like hell to ignore it, I have this suffocating desire to have more good in my life—the kind of good Chase can bring.
    The other part of me wants to hug him and hold on, apologize for dragging him into this mess, and cry into his shoulder. It was never supposed go this far or be this awful. I know my mother always said that easy money was never easy. Everything comes with strings attached, even the things that look like gifts. I should’ve known better. I should have been smarter.
    “ You should know that Becca is my best friend. If anything happens to her, I might literally die. She’s like a sister to me, and if there’s one thing I take seriously, it’s family.”
    “ Miss Connor, if there’s one thing I take seriously, it’s helping others. Especially pretty ladies in distress,” he says with a wink.
    “Are you flirting with me, Officer?” I ask. I flash him the best smile I can muster under the circumstance s.
    He shakes his head, his lips fighting a twitch. “I should tie your ass to that bed and leave you here while I sort out your disaster.”
    “I might like that,” I say.
    “Unfortunately, I know better than to think any makeshift knots I create out of those sheets would hold you. Even if they did, you’d probably just scream until security came up to untie you.”
    “Oh, Officer. You have no idea how loud I can be.” I smirk up at him. He has to let me go with him , even if I don’t have the gun or the diamond anymore. And if I have to flirt with him to get my way, I will.
    “Miss Connor, this is hardly the time to test my resolve,” he says. His voice is flat and his expression unyielding.
    “You can’t leave me here,” I say, crossing my arms and essentially putting my foot down.
    “I can, but I won’t. I have no clue what this Victor guy looks like , nor do I know where you’re supposed to meet him.”
    Chase makes his way to the door, stuffs the diamond in his front pocket, and opens the door into the hall. He slides himself to the corner of the frame and gestures for me to walk past. I move quickly, too quickly, and before I can get out the doorway , his large hand lands on my upper arm. He shakes his head, letting me know he’s keeping tabs on me.
    As we make our way down the hall and then down the stairs to the first floor , I realize the earlier threat hasn’t exactly vanished. I don’t know who those men were, nor do I wish to know, but they may still be lurking. There is little I can do about it, as we don’t have much time—or rather, Becca doesn’t have much time.
    Despite my better judgment, which isn ’t saying much, I tell Chase where the warehouse is.
    Like everything in the French Quarter, the building has been left in a charming state of disrepair. Made of bricks that have seen better days and the occasional