The Sheikh's Diamond (Sheikh's Wedding Bet Series Book 1) by Leslie North Page B

lying unconscious on the ground. “No,” he cried out as he leaned over the first one and put a finger on his pulse.
    “They’re alive, and they’ll stay that way if you hand over the diamond.”
    Masoud looked up slowly and saw ten men surrounding him with guns. He didn’t recognize any of them. A small, slight man stepped forward with a smug smile and held out his hand. “The diamond. Now.”
    “I don’t have it,” Masoud said evenly as he slowly stood. He put his hands out and tried to figure out what his chances were. Fleur would no doubt arrive soon, and he didn’t want her in danger. At the same time, he didn’t want to hand over the diamond. But he was vastly outnumbered. “Who the hell are you?”
    The man cocked his head and shrugged. “I don’t suppose it matters. You won’t be able to prove any of this anyway unless you want admit to the world the diamond exists. And we both know how tightlipped your family has been on the matter. Don’t want professionals knocking on your door to get a look at it, hmm? I’m Anton Negatin. And I know that you have the diamond. You were watched very closely as you entered that cave. And sound travels.”
    Masoud swallowed his temper. It made him ill to think that someone was listening to him as he made love to Fleur. Anton seemed to know his thoughts. “I also have a man watching your pretty redhead right now. Well, I say yours. The truth is that I had my eyes on her first. Tell me, is she a screamer? Or is she real quiet?”
    Without thinking, Masoud swung. His fist connected with Anton’s jaw. The smaller man stumbled, but he held out his hand to stay any of his men from shooting. Rubbing his jaw, he stared at Masoud as he pulled out his phone. “Get ready. If I don’t have the diamond in my hand in twenty seconds, I want you to shoot her. Just the leg first. I want to hear her scream.”
    “Wait.” Masoud inhaled sharply as he reached in his pocket to grab the diamond. His hands shook as he held out his family’s most precious heirloom. They might very well lose their control over the land, but he would not risk Fleur’s life.
    Not for anything.
    “Interesting choice. I thought you’d be a harder nut to crack,” Anton commented as he opened the pouch and peered at it. “You know; I have the Hope diamond. The real one. The one in the museum is a fake. And it still wasn’t as hard to procure as this one was. I thank you for finding it for me.”
    “Give your man the order to stand down,” Masoud said tightly as he stared at the phone.
    “Maybe I’ll just shoot her. She’s a thorn in my side.” Anton shrugged. “But she’s pretty, and I enjoy looking at her.” Holding the phone up to his ear, he complied. “Pack it in. We’re leaving.”
    “What’s the point in having it if you can’t share it with anyone?” Masoud asked.
    “It’s a challenge. And every time I look at it, I’ll know that I rose to the challenge and succeeded.” Carefully, Anton put the diamond back in the pouch and smiled at Masoud. “Now, I have to apologize for all this. I don’t want you to think that I’m not a gentleman. Unfortunately, what I’m about to do next is very ungentlemanly.”
    Pain exploded in his temple, and Masoud dropped like a stone. As he lost consciousness, he could only hope that Fleur was still too angry with him to come back to camp.
     
     

Chapter Twelve
     
    “Masoud? Masoud!” Fleur’s heart was in her throat as she pressed her shirt to the wound on his head. It didn’t look deep, but he was still taking his sweet time coming around. She’d checked the bodies, and they were all alive. Unfortunately, none of them were Bruce.
    Finally, Masoud’s eyes fluttered open. “Fleur,” he muttered. “Danger.”
    She sighed in relief. “Yeah. I got that when I found everyone unconscious. I assume you met Anton.”
    “Could’ve taken him,” he moaned as he sat up and reached for his head.
    “Easy. You’re still bleeding pretty