The Heart of the Jungle, стр. 53
Brunner's eyes narrowed as he considered. He was still wary, but he realized Chris had a point. He did, after all, have the upper hand.
"Apart from that, if I somehow did manage to escape," Chris continued, "where would I go? We're in the middle of nowhere."
Brunner seemed to make a decision. "Very well. We will stop at the next town. If, as you say, you truly are unprepared to 'go commando,' you will not be harmed. If you so much as twitch in the wrong way, however, it is your child who will pay the price. Understood?"
Chris clutched Brianna fiercely to his chest. He believed Brunner when he said she would suffer if he caught him in an escape attempt. He clenched his jaw. He was faced with a desperate course of action.
Eventually, he would be required to produce a diamond he had never even heard of---this Heart of the Jungle that Brunner was so desperate to get his hands on. Despite all that he'd done to try to convince the man he knew nothing about it, Brunner steadfastly disbelieved him. Chris shuddered, imagining any number of horrific things Brunner would do to get him to produce it.
Somehow between now and then, he was going to have to risk escape or die in the attempt. The alternative was unthinkable. He kissed Brianna's soft forehead and held her close. Whatever the price, he would protect this precious little girl. Of the many choices he'd had to make in his life, this was, perhaps, the easiest one of all.
IN FRANK'S spartan office, Jason paced like a caged lion. Michael Blake was dead. Their one hope for answers, the one person who could have blown this thing wide open, was lost to them forever, an apparent victim of a drug overdose.
Bullshit. Someone had gotten to him. The officer on duty had been thoroughly questioned and maintained that only medical personnel had come and gone since he'd been stationed outside the room---that is, until word came in that a dead orderly was discovered in a utility closet. The officer stuck by his story but allowed that the hospital was a madhouse when Blake had been admitted. He agreed it was possible one of the doctors had been a fake, since he hadn't questioned any of them.
Frank's team had been working on uncovering information about the Heart of the Jungle, but had so far come up empty. There was no record of such a gemstone with either the GIA or the Diamond Registry in New York. Calls to museums and universities similarly led to dead ends.
Frank stared at Jason from his perch behind the scarred desk. His eyes were troubled. "Walking a path in my threadbare carpet isn't accomplishing anything, son. Why don't you sit down?"
Jason stopped midstride and bit his lip. He folded his arms and stared directly into Frank's eyes. "I can't handle this. I feel so helpless. It seems like everywhere we turn, we're running into brick walls." His voice was raw with emotion and unrestrained anxiety.
"You get your patience from your father," Frank chided gently.
"Speaking of which, I hear you haven't talked to your folks in a couple of months." His expression carried reprimand. "Angelica said she's left messages for you, but you don't return her calls."
Jason sighed deeply and blushed. His mother's calls had gone unanswered lately. He could have blamed it on an unusually busy schedule, but after the breakup with Bradley, he'd withdrawn, avoiding the inevitable uncomfortable questions that would come up.
He and Bradley had spent holidays with his family and Frank's, and he hadn't quite been able to bring himself to discuss the details of the split with them. He knew his mother, in particular, would be curious about it.
No special closeness had developed between Bradley and his parents, but they'd seemed to like him well enough. Even though his "lifestyle," as his father so adroitly referred to it, was openly acknowledged, his parents still struggled with acceptance. In the beginning, their disappointment had been more pronounced---after all, they had been counting on a daughter-in-law, a big wedding, grandchildren, and the knowledge that their son would have some permanence and a family of his own when they were gone. Over time, the disappointment had faded, but with each passing year, their worry over his continued lack of relationship stability had grown. Explaining that he'd failed in love yet again would have rubbed salt into those festering wounds, and he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Frank pointed at the chair. In response to the disapproving scrutiny, he finally sat down and looked at his lap in shame. "A lot has been going on," he lied feebly.
"Don't give me that crap. I'd knock Curt upside the head if he didn't keep in touch with us. Sounds to me like you need a knot jerked in your tail, kid."
Jason smiled wanly. It was true. A busy schedule was a lame excuse. He was an only child, and he knew that, no matter what, he was the focal point of his parents' universe. He was their legacy, however flawed. Undoubtedly, the long silence had broken their hearts---well, he corrected himself, it had probably broken his mother's heart, at least.
"I broke up with Bradley a few months ago, and I guess I've been trying to work through things on my own."
"Bradley," Frank said thoughtfully. "That the one we met at Thanksgiving last year?" He didn't wait for Jason to acknowledge the guess. "Curt said he