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    Diamond and Chase Book Two: Diamond and Chase, #2
    Diamond and Chase Book Two: Diamond and Chase, #2
    Diamond and Chase Book Two: Diamond and Chase, #2
    Ebook214 pages3 hours

    Diamond and Chase Book Two: Diamond and Chase, #2

    By Odette C. Bell

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    About this ebook

    Audrey's had enough. She's had enough running, she's had enough intrigue, and she's definitely had enough of men with guns. She needs a holiday.

    James Chase has a job to do, a clue to follow, and treasure to find.

    The problem? They're on the same plane.

    Sometimes saying no to one adventure simply opens the door to another. When Audrey and James show up in Cuba, circumstances thrust them together once more. They'll have to work together if they want to get out of the winding back streets of Havana alive. How closely together? Oh, that just depends on how risky things become.

    ….

    Diamond and Chase follows a wisecracking historian and a dropdead gorgeous actuary battling secrets – and each other – for hidden treasure. If you love your action-mysteries with punch, wit, and a splash of romance, grab Diamond and Chase Book Two today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOdette C. Bell
    Release dateApr 14, 2017
    ISBN9781386657682
    Diamond and Chase Book Two: Diamond and Chase, #2

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      Book preview

      Diamond and Chase Book Two - Odette C. Bell

      BOXSETS

      If you like binging a whole series at once, check out Odette C. Bell’s boxsets. With over 60 to choose from, you’ll find something new to read today.

      PROLOGUE

      Audrey Diamond

      Dear God, I was going to die.

      And it was all because of James frigging Chase.

      Audrey, for the love of God, leave it, he screamed, voice somehow pitching higher than the reverberating sound of ricocheting bullets as they pinged around this old, colonial fort.

      We were pinned down, hired muscle coming at us from every direction.

      Audrey, don’t. Leave it. It’s not worth it, James bellowed, the stress powering through his voice so obvious, there was nothing he could do to hide it.

      Hell no. You see, I hadn’t come this far not to grab the cross. I’d come to Cuba for a holiday, but then I’d run into James, and my life had fallen apart worse than it had in Huddleston. You see, there was something magnetic about James Chase, and no, it wasn’t just his looks. The boy had an ability to attract trouble that was preternatural.

      I gave out a justified scream as a bullet slammed into the stone window ledge beside me, chips of rock flying off in every direction.

      Audrey! James bellowed as he leaned out of his own window and started laying down cover, blasting off round after round of his gun.

      I didn’t bother sparing the breath to scream back at him. Instead, I focused everything on the metal box on the opposite side of the room. Well, I called it a room, but that was a generous term. You see, it was open on two sides. This fort was in ruins, after all.

      Though there was only technically 10 m separating me and the box, that 10 m would put me in direct line of sight of Mr. Pontier’s men.

      And they were pissed.

      We have to get out of here, Audrey – just leave the damn box. It’s not worth your life, James insisted.

      I didn’t listen. Instead, I clenched my hands beside me, pushed up, took a breath, and ran.

      You see, there were several things James Chase didn’t know about me – several things he would have to learn. One of them was that I didn’t give up. The other? I was usually lucky.

      Just not today….

      1

      Audrey Diamond

      I was going on holiday.

      Thank God.

      I needed one.

      You see, ever since my little episode with a certain beautiful, charismatic, but nonetheless prickish James Chase, my life had changed. And then it had gone right back to being boring again.

      Though I knew in my head the decision I’d made – to leave James and his fast-paced life of treasure and mystery behind – had been the right one, I was still… well, bored.

      I knew just what to do about it, too. Go on holiday. Have a small, insignificant, nonviolent adventure on my own, and just get it out of my system.

      So here I was, shifting my way through a plane, a grin locked over my face as I made my way to my seat. I plonked myself down in it – a window seat, of course – pressed a genuine smile over my lips, and told myself this would be brilliant. There would be sun baking, piña colada’s, and there’d be no end of checking out beautiful buildings. From colonial to neoclassical, Havana would have it all.

      Because I was going to sunny, adventurous Cuba.

      This would be brilliant.

      What was more, I was sure, 100% frigging sure that it would finally cure me of whatever bug a certain James Chase had infected me with before he’d rode off into the sunset.

      Then?

      Then I would finally get back to being normal.

      …

      James Chase

      I wasted no time. I couldn’t, you see. Not after the incident with Jeremiah. News like that spreads. I had to pay my debt to the British Government – had to make up for my father’s follies. So as soon as I used the compass I’d found in Huddleston along with the first postcard to find the location of the next clue, I’d booked a plane.

      It was roughly a month and a half since the incident, as I was calling it. The incident where I’d foolishly brought a certain Miss Audrey Diamond into my world. I say foolishly, but at the end of the day, I doubted things would’ve ended as well without her.

      Though you’d never be able to tell with one look at her, she was a natural for this world. She had a great blend of action, intelligence, and strength, with a side of way too much lip.

      … It was stupid, extremely frigging stupid, but I kept thinking about her. I found myself thinking about her at random intervals, in fact, but none more so than now, when I was getting ready to board the plane, headed for none other than Sunny Cuba. That’s right, that’s where the next clue was.

      It wasn’t that much of a surprise, to be honest – dad had loved Cuba. From the old, beaten, but still charming architecture of Havana, to the crystalline waters of the surrounding islands, Cuba had so much to offer.

      But this would not be a trip for pleasure. A fact I specifically reminded myself of as I boarded the plane behind a strikingly beautiful woman.

      Of Spanish extraction, she had sweeping black hair that cut low to her coccyx, soulful brown eyes, and the kind of smile that told me one thing.

      Come hither.

      And no, I wasn’t making that up. I wasn’t the kind of arrogant jerk who misread signals just to inflate his ego. I was just the kind of arrogant, specifically good-looking prick that got a lot of welcome attention.

      She turned over her shoulder again, letting her lips curl gently and yet at the same time with a distracting firmness up into her cheeks.

      I reached my seat, and I shot her one last smile before I proceeded to put my bags away in the overhead luggage compartment. Her face suddenly lit up like a flare at close range. Look at that, we’re seated next to each other. Would you mind helping me with my bags? she asked, her accent thick, lilting, and so goddamn easy to listen to.

      I didn’t hesitate. Nor did I bother to remind myself once more that this was not a holiday.

      … But the plane ride could be a holiday, right? I’d start paying attention when I actually arrived in Cuba. So I put on the charm as I took the bags from her and wrestled them into the luggage compartment.

      The whole time, her eyes were on me, and despite the fact I was shoving her luggage into the overhead compartment, I ensured my eyes never left hers for long, either.

      Thank you, kind sir, she said in the cutest way possible.

      Though I’d booked a window seat and usually fought to the end to keep it, I offered it to her, and she accepted with a wry smile.

      We sat down, and I got ready to distract myself for the rest of the flight until the real work began in Cuba. You’re welcome, Miss? I asked, ensuring my tone was just as deep and gravelly as a man after a whiskey binge.

      That would be when I heard something. A voice, to be exact. A voice I would never forget.

      You’re shitting me, right?

      I stiffened.

      None other than Audrey Diamond suddenly pushed up from the row of chairs in front of us, twisted around in her seat, and stared right at me.

      Audrey? My voice shot up as if I’d just been sprung.

      James Chase, she said as she somehow managed to lock a hand on her hip even though she was twisted around in her seat.

      I hadn’t seen Audrey for a little under two months now. But as I’d already admitted, I’d thought about her. I’d stopped just short of checking up on her, though. That being said, I had instructed Sandy to keep an eye on her. Though we’d dealt with Jeremiah’s men, and there’d been no collateral from the incident in Huddleston, it wasn’t impossible that someone would track Audrey down. Not impossible, that was, but damned unlikely. After all, why would they bother? Her part in this game had been played.

      Had been, being the operative part of the phrase. I could still remember the conversation we’d had in my father’s house before Audrey had walked out the door to live her life elsewhere with a lot less hassle. She’d agreed that the smart thing to do was to leave me and the treasure hunting world far, far behind.

      So what the hell was she doing on a plane to Cuba?

      I think my expression must’ve said it all.

      Because in a move that was oh-so-familiar to Audrey Diamond, her lip curled into a half snarl. Before you accuse me of following you anywhere, Mr. Chase, I’m on holiday. I’ve always wanted to go to Cuba, she said, getting distracted for half a second as a happy little smile spread those memorable plush lips.

      Holiday? I questioned in a pointed tone.

      Yes, holiday. What are you doing on this plane? she demanded, her eyebrows notching down low over her eyes.

      I swallowed. Bad move, right? Even a rookie spy would be able to tell you not to show emotion in the face of a prying question.

      But why was it that every time I was around Audrey, I forgot basic rules?

      I cleared my throat, nestled further back into my seat, and tried to smooth a smile over my face. I went through all of the right actions, ensuring my lips curled slowly enough that they framed my hard jaw, and yet not so slowly that I looked like a serial killer.

      And yet, it didn’t work on Audrey.

      Goddamn that woman.

      She just raised an eyebrow. She opened her mouth, and I knew she was getting ready to ask if I was going after the next clue with the postcards. That’s when she flicked her gaze to the side. The beautiful woman was still sitting there, watching the to-and-fro of our conversation.

      Do you know each other? the woman asked politely. Would you like me to move? she asked as she locked her gaze on mine.

      Though I’d just met this woman and I’d barely said a word to her – regardless of the fact we’d been making eyes at each other since the terminal – she still arched an eyebrow at me and gave me that look. You know the look women give you when you’re stringing them along?

      Okay, you don’t know that look, but I know it well. And I’m usually pretty damn good at dealing with it. Today? I kind of shrunk a little under Audrey’s prying gaze and felt the need to cross my arms defensively.

      Audrey let her gaze tick efficiently from me to the woman, then she arched a single eyebrow. Don’t worry, love, she said in a polite if slightly patronizing tone. He’s all yours. I couldn’t think of anything worse than spending the next 12 hours next to him. With that, Audrey turned around and sat back down.

      Back to being the sassy bitch, ha? It hadn’t escaped my attention that the both of us swung between working efficiently, professionally, and productively with each other as if we were a match made in heaven to bickering like school children.

      Obviously Audrey hadn’t taken too kindly to my prying tone, and she sat back down, crossed her arms, and didn’t turn to me again.

      While that theoretically left me with the attention and time to return my focus to the woman next to me, the mood had kind of been killed.

      Because Audrey Frigging Diamond wasn’t just on the same plane as me – she was headed to Cuba.

      The same part of my mind that wasn’t railroaded and confused every single time Miss Diamond appeared on the scene briefly thanked my good luck. After all, Audrey was extremely handy when it came to searching for things. She wasn’t that bad with her hands, either. And no, that wasn’t a euphemism. She had a talent when it came to action.

      But I wasn’t going to go there. Was I? Because I’d already made it crystal clear to Audrey that this was not her world.

      So I settled back in my seat, stiffly turned my head to the lady beside me, and forced a smile across my lips.

      But the truth was, my heart wasn’t in it. Because, despite the fact Audrey had sat back down in her chair with her arms tightly crossed around that considerable bust of hers, she was still there. One chair ahead of me. And together? We were headed to Cuba.

      Okay, not together. But we’d be there at the same place, at the same time. And knowing Audrey, I’d run into her again.

      That? That brought the slightest smile to my lips.

      Then pretty Miss Spaniard leaned in.

      2

      Audrey Diamond

      Really?

      Really, seriously, really?

      I’d somehow accidentally got on the same flight to Cuba at the same time with none other than Mr. Good-Looking Prick, James Chase?

      I won’t lie to you – I’d been thinking about him nonstop since the incident in Huddleston several months ago.

      Hello, I’d already admitted that that was why I was going on this holiday.

      But seriously, what were the chances that he would appear in the seat behind me on the same plane?

      … He hadn’t planned this, had he? He hadn’t used Sandy and his considerable hacking skills to figure out where I was going and booked a ticket on the same plane just to make it appear as if it had been an accident?

      No. I considered that option for like half a second, then shook my head.

      You see, I could read James Chase like an open book. Though he always tried to hide his emotional reactions from me, he couldn’t. And the shock that had spread across his face like fire through dry wood had been so damn genuine.

      … So this was fate, right?

      I had a Chinese mate who always talked of fate. If two people met in unlikely circumstances and kept meeting – that was fate. And it was meant to be important. If you fancied the other person, it was meant to be an indication that you’d wind up happily married one day.

      I didn’t even need to snort at that prospect.

      There was no goddamn possibility that I would ever wind up anywhere with Mr. Good-Looking Prick other than prison or the morgue.

      And that – that wasn’t going to happen, I reminded myself firmly once more.

      Maybe we were heading to Cuba together, but once there, we’d go our separate ways.

      Though I’d had plans to do all sorts of things on the plane like read brochures, catch up on a little of the local history, and you know – sleep – I spent most of the time keeping my ears pricked, trying to listen to James behind me.

      Though he started a smattering of conversation with the gorgeous woman beside him, his heart wasn’t really in it. Hers was, and she was persistent, asking where he was going in Cuba. If I didn’t know better – and if he didn’t look like a goddamn underpants model – I’d wonder if someone had sent her. If, you know, some rival treasure hunting band was using her as a honey trap to catch the foolish James Chase.

      But James was a professional, right? He wouldn’t fall for that.

      Bullshit, the cynical part of my mind pointed out. James was very good at certain things, but not good at others.

      Hence we’d been such a good pair. I made up for his misgivings, and I guess he made up for my inexperience in this ridiculous world of treasure hunting and action.

      Still, I honestly tried to put all of that out of my mind, and I did manage to get a few hours of beauty rest. Next thing I knew, I was waking up to the sight of the plane coming in to land in Havana.

      Gorgeous. There was no other way to describe it. The juxtaposition of the old, weathered architecture of the colonial and baroque periods with the newer buildings, all framed with the ocean beyond – it was a dream come true. I’d always wanted to come to Cuba. And hey, now I was here.

      Once the plane landed, the couple beside me who’d been thankfully quiet during the flight

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