Chapter 23

“Just tell me where he is and I’ll give you anything you want.

Anything at all.”

“Money,” he

says.

I nod. I have money, back at the

house. When I tell him this, he shakes his head. “No, I want it

now. I want something of value, something real. I can’t trust

you.”

Reaching into the pocket of my pants,

I pull out Tomas’s diamond stud earrings. They’re replaceable; he

is not. Walking back to the barrel, I hold out the diamonds until

they sparkle in the firelight. I can see them reflected in Nuri’s

wide eyes. They’re huge stones and cost a small fortune, but Tomas

is worth every penny and more. I’ll give Nuri a million of these

diamonds if he can tell me how to get my boy back. “Are they real?”

he breathes, reaching out for them.

I close my hand into a fist and pull

away before he can touch the earrings. “One carat each.”

I spent money I saved for years on

these stones. No price is too high where Tomas is concerned. “I’ll

give you them both when we find him. Deal?”