Blood Ties (Book 3 of The Blood Bond Series)

38. Blood Diamonds

Thanksgiving in Virginia was a nice, family affair, and then Quinn's finals came upon her a couple of weeks later. When that was over, she heaved a sigh of relief. Not only that the semester was done and she knew she did well, but also because she wouldn't have Michael tailing her everywhere on campus. It was like being under constant surveillance, which wasn't her idea of a fun college experience. She liked her independence, liked being able to do things by herself or with a solitary companion—usually Viv. Now she was eating her lunches with Michael's ears listening in, so she felt she couldn't speak as freely with friends. It was hard to remember he was around since she'd grown close to Viv over the past several months. Out of all her friends, she was the one that she looked to when she needed to vent. The opposite applied as well.

With everything that was going on their lives, they'd had to do their Christmas shopping late, and they had just gotten home to wrap present on Christmas Eve when there was a knock on the door. Adam got up immediately. It was like he'd been expecting it and walked over. The Christmas tree was set up in the front room by the floor to ceiling window so its lights could sparkle through and reach the street. The house felt cheerier this way when you drove up, and Quinn enjoyed coming home to see it that way.

As Adam walked over to the door, Quinn watched as he opened it and greeted someone. She wondered how the person had gotten past the gate, but remembered that you could send a one-time entry code to get in that would be null and void if you tried the same one again. It worked like ATM machines when you forgot your debit card at home. You requested a one-time pin, and it was good until used just once. It was actually quite genius if you were expecting company and might not be able to get to the door.

"Thank you, you're right on time."

The man said something quietly, and a generous tip was exchanged. Adam closed the door and watched until the car pulled out past the gate again. Then he shut the door and looked over at her. His grin was infectious and made her smile in return.

"What's up? Who was at the door?"

"Delivery man," he told her and sauntered back over to the tree. The skirt underneath was wide, and Quinn's knees ruffled on the fabric before she sat with her legs crossed. "I had a special package that couldn't come through normal delivery routes. It's too costly to me and too important."

Her eyebrows rose on her forehead. Her interest was definitely piqued. "Oh? A present?"

"Yes, my love." He sat down next to her and kissed her squarely on the mouth. "A present for you. One I'm giving you tonight while we're alone because it's special. I don't want anyone else seeing you when you get it."

That made her a little nervous, and her smile faltered. "What is it?"

He grinned wider, and she relaxed. "Let me take it out of the packaging first. They had it wrapped up well because it's not exactly sturdy."

She watched him rip through the outside packaging easily. It took next to no power for him to do that, and then he was gingerly taking out a white, beribboned box with a note attached. At least, Quinn thought it was a note. When Adam picked it up, he read it aloud.

"Dear Mr. Payne, we hope that this package finds you well and isn't mishandled. We shipped it fragile with the highest priority so that you may get it on time. Any time you wish to do business with us again, you may look on our business card for contact information. Sincerely, the Estate of the late Bernadette Peters."

Quinn blanched and looked stricken. "Bernadette Peters the actress? The Broadway star, Tony Award winner—not to mention the Golden Globes—nominated for a Grammy 5 times Bernadette Peters?"

His smile widened. "You forget Primetime and Daytime Emmy award nominee. And yes, that's the one. But what's important is inside the box. Take a look."

He handed the box over to her. She looked over at him and took it before placing her fingers on the red ribbon and tugging. It came apart easily for her, and she took the lid off the box. Inside was a necklace. It was mostly crimson in color, like blood. One jewel in the middle with gold and smaller gems to the side in the same color. It looked strangely familiar, but she couldn't remember where she'd seen it before until she ran through her favorite performances of the inimitable Ms. Peters. She nearly dropped the necklace on the ground when she gasped and almost literally freaked out.