The Blue Diamond

SIERRA POV

New York glittered beneath the night sky bright, loud, and full of people who thought they were untouchable.

They had no idea I was here.

I adjusted the diamond bracelet on my wrist, blending effortlessly with the wealthy elites gathered inside the museum. Expensive dresses, champagne glasses, fake smiles this was my playground.

And tonight?

I was here to steal the most valuable piece in the room.

The blue diamond.

“Positions?” I murmured softly, my voice low as I spoke into the hidden microphone.

“Ready,” Faline’s voice came through.

A pause.

“Yeah,” Kage added.

Even through a single word, I could hear it—the distance. The coldness.

I ignored it.

We had a job to do.

Twenty-four hours earlier, things had been… different.

Kage had been avoiding me ever since I rejected him. The tension between us was unbearable.

“Are you planning on avoiding me forever?” I had asked, blocking his path in the living room.

He turned slowly, his eyes sharp.

“Who said I was avoiding you?” he scoffed.

“You’re not that special, Sierra.”

That stung.

“You don’t have to be rude,” I said quietly.

“You ruined it,” he snapped.

“You and your feelings.”

I exhaled, forcing myself to stay calm.

“Speaking the truth isn’t a crime.”

“Maybe not,” he muttered, “but it sure makes things messy.”

And just like that, he walked away slamming the door behind him like I meant nothing.

That was Kage.

Loyal… until emotions got involved.

“Focus,” I whispered to myself, pulling my attention back to the present.

The diamond sat inside a glass case at the center of the room, glowing under the spotlight like it was begging to be stolen.

Too easy.

I slipped through the crowd, timing my movements perfectly. No one noticed when I pulled out my glass cutter.

No one ever did.

A clean circle. Precise. Silent.

I disabled the alarm, my fingers moving like second nature. Years of experience. Years of survival.

“Clear,” Faline’s voice came through.

I removed the glass and reached inside, my heart steady.

There it was.

Cold. Perfect. Mine.

I slipped the diamond into my pocket and replaced it with a fake.

Flawless.

“Exit’s clear,” Kage said.

Good.

I turned to leave and slammed into someone.

My balance snapped. I hit the floor hard, a sharp pain shooting through me.

The diamond slipped from my pocket and skidded across the polished floor.

No.

No, no, no

A hand reached down and picked it up before I could.

Slowly… I looked up.

And for the first time that night I felt something close to fear.

He was tall. Composed. Dangerous in a way that didn’t need to be loud. His dark eyes locked onto mine like he already knew everything.

A slow smirk curved his lips.

“I had a feeling you’d show up,” he said calmly. “

The notorious jewel thief.”

My stomach dropped.

This wasn’t an accident.

This was a trap.

“Security.”

His voice was quiet but absolute.

“Take her.”

“No wait this is a misunderstanding.”

But no one listened.

Hands grabbed me, dragging me up as the crowd watched. Some shocked. Some amused.

Some… applauding.

I clenched my fists.

Faline.

Kage.

Where were they?

“Faline…” I whispered under my breath.

No response.

I turned toward the exit.

Empty.

They were gone.

Something inside me cracked.

The cold metal of the handcuffs bit into my wrists as they shoved me into the police car.

I stared ahead, my jaw tight.

This didn’t make sense.

Unless…

No.

They wouldn’t.

Would they?

The interrogation room was dark, suffocating.

A single light bulb flickered above me as I sat on a metal chair, wrists still bound.

Then the door opened.

And he walked in.

The man from the museum.

Calm. Controlled. Watching me like I was already his.

He sat down across from me, placing the blue diamond on the table between us.

“I knew you’d take the bait,” he said.

I said nothing.

“The police shot one of your partners,” he continued. “But they got away.”

My chest tightened but I didn’t react.

“You must be the leader.”

Silence.

He leaned forward slightly.

“Why the diamond?” he asked curiously.

I met his gaze, unflinching with a smirk on my face.

“Fuck you.”

The next second, ice cold water hit my face.

I gasped, glaring at him.

“You’ll answer me,” he said quietly.

“Or I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life in a prison cell.”

His eyes darkened dangerously.

“And trust me… you won’t survive it.”

For a moment, the room went completely still.

Then he leaned back, studying me like I was a puzzle he intended to solve.

“You have 48 hours,” he said finally.

I frowned.

“For what?”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“To decide if you’d rather be my wife…”

He paused.

“…or a prisoner.”

What the heck?

FALINE POV

Kage winced as I pulled the bullet from his shoulder.

“You’ll live,” I muttered, cleaning the wound.

He looked pale. Shaken.

“Faline… we shouldn’t have left her,” he said quietly. “Sierra didn’t deserve that.”

I froze.

Then slowly turned to him.

“Are you serious right now?”

“If we stayed, we could’ve—”

“We would’ve been arrested too,” I snapped.

“Or worse.”

He fell silent.

Good.

Because there was no going back.

I finished bandaging his wound, my expression cold.

“Do you think she’ll find out?” he asked after a moment.

A small smile curved my lips.

“No,” I said calmly.

“She trusts us.”

I stood up, walking away.

“And that’s exactly why she’ll never see it coming.”