Page 67 of The Diamond Thief
Being here is bringing back that angry, bitter loss it took me years to shake. Damn Antony. I will get out of these dirty walls as soon as possible.
We turn a corner, and the men walking ahead open an elaborately carved wood door.
The room tries to give off an old-money vibe. Everything is carved oak and brown leather with brass studs. He has an antique globe of the world on the corner of his desk.
Nobody’s fooled. Antony settles behind his big desk on an oversized leather office chair. He pivots back and forth, watching me. I stand for a moment, then sort of decide to hell with it, and sit down in one of the side chairs opposite his desk. I’m not going to stand there like a soldier while he berates me. He may run the Den, but in every other way, I have earned my own stature.
He leans back in his chair, clasping his hands behind his head, elbows out. It seems forced to me, like he’s trying to put on the role of a CEO to some lackey who misbehaved.
I’m over it, and anxious to get to my apartment, my backup phone, and my surveillance of the Pennsylvania bunker to see what happened to Jade.
“What is this all about?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer for a while. He seems to relish this control he has over me.
While he tries intimidating me with silence, I glance around the room to get my bearings. Both walls are lined with bookshelves, which means there can be any number of things hidden within the cabinets. Cameras. Gas nozzles. Weapons. There is no way to really assess the threat.
I lean back in my chair, mirroring his pose. This seems to annoy him.
“There are things that we in the Den hold most sacred,” he begins.
Great. He’s going to deliver a monologue.
“One of them is that we don’t let a woman dictate a man’s game.”
“Your opinion on female thieves has been made clear since training,” I say.
“Silence,” he bellows. “You will listen to me. Women are not to be given positions of power. Honor is not instilled in them. They use their bodies to control men at every opportunity.”
“It seems to me it is more often men who impose their bodies upon the women.”
He leans forward. “What has happened to you, Jacob? You used to be one of mine. Now you act as though this tricky girl is something to take seriously. She obviously controls you by her pussy.”
“Maybe I value her.”
He lifts his eyebrow. “She played a switch with your call girl, a predilection which is costing you today. She stole things right out from under your nose, and now our buyers are losing faith in our operation. They stuck their necks out to bid on the swords. When something like this happens, it doesn’t just impact the thief. It impacts the entire ring.”
“I accept this,” I say. “So what is your solution?”
“The swords are no longer your concern. We are in the process of examining footage of that woman to determine where she stashed them. You may forget you ever stole them. You will spend the next six months as a pleasure servant here at Club Y, the same punishment I give to low ranking members of the Den who fail.”
I carefully keep my incredulity off my face. “You’re going to take one of your top thieves out of commission for six months so he can be a fuck toy?”
“Yes. Furthermore, you will be stripped of all assets, and those will be returned to the Den. You will be allowed to return to the ring after the six months as a fourth-rank and start over.”
Despite knowing he can only access a portion of my wealth, since most of it is hidden all over the world, my reaction is explosive. “It doesn’t work that way. There are legalities. Leases. I own four buildings. If you think I’ll sign over any of that, you’re insane. I’ll kill you first.”
He chuckles. “So easily angered, Jacob. Maybe it’s good we’re reverting you to the lower training level. Realize that this is not an option. And it’s not like we work under the laws that govern others.”
I tighten my jaw. Whatever. This club can’t hold me. I’ve escaped museums. Bank vaults. It’s ridiculous for him to try.
“Enjoy your time in Club Y. Because of your general knowledge, we’ll be using chemical restraints for you. Starting now.”
His hand reaches beneath his desk.
I leap to my feet, but it is too late. I feel the pinch of something on my neck.
I reach for it. It’s a damn dart. I’m assuming it has a tranquilizer. I turn to Antony. “Don’t think this will go unnoticed among the other first ranks,” I say. “Don’t think that I don’t have allies.”
