"But if you really find something valuable in there, you might not be able to keep it safe."
Claire nodded. She had to admit, Kendrick had a point.
"I'll make a quick call."
She was just about to dial Pandora, wanting to ask if Pearce's son had any connections around here, but before she could, her phone buzzed. Incoming call.
It was Dane.
"Hello?" Claire picked up.
"Are you in Altair?" Dane's voice sounded as smooth as ever, calm and familiar.
"How did you know? Wait, are you here too?" Claire was caught off guard. Seriously, how did Dane manage to pop up everywhere?
Dane told her to turn around, so Claire did. And there he was.
He nodded at her, gesturing for her to come over. But he was clearly busy, people waiting to talk to him, so he couldn't just leave.
Claire waved at him, signaling that she was fine on her own, that she didn't need his help this time.
But Kendrick, ever observant, noticed what had just happened.
His expression shifted. "You know Dane?" The suspicion was obvious.
Dane?
"Yeah, I know him."
The easy way she said his name only made it more obvious that she and the Green Family were close.
"If you know Dane, why isn't he showing you around?" At this point, Kendrick knew the stone probably wasn't going to be his. Dane looked out for his people. If he was willing to say hi from across a crowd, that meant he had her back. Lay a finger on Claire, and Dane would make sure you regretted it.
"If you cut jade out of that thing, it could get dangerous for a newcomer. You can ask Dane to stay with you."
"With him around, no one would dare go after your jade."
So that was it. Kendrick was scared of Dane.
Claire smiled, taking it all in stride. "It's not like I know there's jade in here or anything," she joked.
Honestly, she was just holding a rock. Why was everyone so sure there was something inside?
"Well, it's a game of chance,"
to totally
Kendrick said, not Ware you
tule out the possibility. "Are you going to cut it open? If you are, would you even want to sell it?"
Claire hesitated. "I'm not sure. If it's beautiful, I might just keep it for myself."
Was she serious? Kendrick couldn't
tell if she meant it or not. But anyone
who knew Dane probably wasn't
hurting for money. If she found something amazing keeping it to make jewelry made sense.
"I'll stick around for the reveal, see how much this rock is really worth. You don't mind, right, miss?"
"Go ahead," Claire said. She knew he'd stay just because he was nervous about Dane getting involved. It didn't bother her.
What she didn't expect was to run into someone else right after.
She'd seen him in Pearce's family photos.
Dreadlocks, really tall, dark skin, a long scar—maybe four inches—running down his
arm.
He had a serious
us boss vibe.
Bodyguards were opening a path for
him, he walked right in the center, and a few people followed behind, carrying his bags and suitcases. The
whole scene screamed new money and confidence.
Claire rubbed her eyes. Did Patti even know her son looked like a gangster?
While Claire stared, Dewitt caught her watching him.
He lifted an eyebrow. Such a good-looking girl. Was she checking him out?
"Dewitt!"
Before Claire could say anything, Kendrick was already on his way over to greet him.
So they knew each other?
Claire just stood off to the side, quietly watching the show.