My mother always said, “You can’t change people.” It’s a fundamental rule of nature. You can’t change people. However, you can make them your ally. And if this mission was going to succeed, that was what I was going to have to do with Ryan Harper. This was my mission, and he was just along for the ride. But I was going to need him for it to work, so I decided to start fresh and try to help him take some ownership of this mission.

I opened the door to my bedroom, to find him lying on the couch, a towel over his face. “Ryan,” I called. “Could you come here a minute?”

He plucked the towel from his face, and sat up.  I nodded for him to come on, and he did. I walked over to the bed and beckoned him to join me. He sat across from me. “I’m not happy about what you did, but I get it. You’re not used to this. But, for this to work, we have to be partners, alright? I have to be able to trust you, and you have to be able to trust me. Coming here was not my first choice.”

“I know,” he said, his voice soft. “But you have your own reasons for coming.”

“I do,” I told him, honestly. “That doesn’t mean it’s not a sacrifice. And I can’t do this alone. I need your help. So, I’m going to ask you not to bail on me. Stay calm and the plan will work. Can you do that for me?”

He swallowed, and his eyes said he couldn’t, but he nodded and said. “I can do that.”

I smiled, and tried to express a confidence in him I didn’t actually feel. But, based on what he’d said of his parents, his entire life had been people expressing their lack of faith in him, and that hadn’t worked at all. Offering faith I didn’t have seemed the best option.  “I’ll show you what came in the bag I got today.”

His eyes lit up at that. “Really?”

I nodded, and pulled the bag from the edge of the bed to the center and began pulling out the contents of the bag. The first thing was a little black box. “Lock picking kit,” I told him. I popped the latch on the box and opened it up to see a set of silver tools that were perfect for most manual locks. The issue here was that not all locks would be manual. I pulled a sheet of folded paper. I unfolded it to find a map of the building.

“This is where we’re going,” I told him, as we looked down at the map. The building had three floors. There was diamond processing on the upper levels. “The diamonds start at the top,” I told him. “Everything initially goes up and works its way down to the main level. At the top they’re sorted, with the best diamonds heading immediately to cutting on the second floor. The next best are also set aside for cutting, but they may take more time, so they’re sent in a separate batch. Then, there are the discards which can be used, but it’s going to take the most time to get their value, so they may be sold locally to someone who has time to fool with them, or processed later here. I need to get to this room.” I point to a corner on the map on the third floor.

“During the tour, when I get sick, we’ll be on the second floor, where the cutting is done,” I say, pointing to the map of the second level. On the far corner of the diagram is a room marked GB. “That’s the director’s private office. Chandran’s going to make sure I get put in there to rest. I just need to pick a lock to get to the back room.”

I looked back in the bag, and pulled out a plastic swipe card. “I need this to access the diamond sorting area. That’s where I’m going to sort the haul for Pauly. I’ll need at least twenty minutes, so you need to make sure no one comes to check on me.”

The color drained from his face. “I thought I didn’t need to do anything.”

I shake my head, pat his hand. “You don’t,” I say, though it’s not entirely true. “You just need to act like the doting boyfriend and tell him you think you’d like to get me a trinket because I’m not feeling well. Have them show you really great diamonds and look like you’re going to buy them.”

He nodded, a little hesitantly. “I can do that,” he said. “But what if they go check on you.”

I pulled two more items from the bag. “Burner phones,” I tell him. “You can text me if something starts to go wrong.”

He didn’t look pleased, a small frown forming on his lips.

“You won’t need to,” I assured him. “This is just a precaution. Worst case scenario.”

He didn’t look assured.

I patted his shoulder. “Seriously don’t worry,” I said. “You can do this. Just don’t panic like you did today. Just have confidence in me and in yourself. This is so in the bag.”

He nodded again. I tried not to mirror his glumness.

“That’s all we need to discuss with the plan,” I told him. “Since that’s done, I say we enjoy the rest of the day. I’ll pack up this stuff and then we can head out and find those clothes you wanted. I know the perfect place to get you a sherwani.”

He looked like he wanted to challenge me, to say he was still nervous or discuss the plan more, but then he said, “The sherwani, that’s the jacket, right?”

“Yep,” I say with a grin. “We’ll get you looking local, since you’ve got a hankering.

* * *

ONYX LED THE WAY THE rest of our day. She took me to see different sights, including a beautiful historic temple, as well as beautiful textile shops. And true to her word, she made me shop Pretty Woman style, going to different shops and having me try on various native garbs. We stopped at a little hole in the wall for dinner and she ordered me goat again, which wasn’t half bad. Didn’t have the same taste as a filet mignon, but it was the best I was going to do in the land of the sacred cow.

When we got back to our hotel room, we set our bags down and she plopped down on the sofa. “I’m pooped,” she said, lying down on half the sofa, her feet hanging over the armrests.

I walked over to her, standing at the back of the sofa and looked down. “So, are you going to have enough energy for tomorrow?”

“More than enough,” she told me. “I just hadn’t expected to walk this much. I’m not in as good a shape. I used to go to a gym, but I don’t have the time now.”

“Because of your job?”

She nodded. “Yeah,” she said, staring up at the ceiling, closing her eye. “I stay after to help out kids who want tutoring. And then, I have lesson plans to do, and trying to figure out things that will make the class interesting. You know, because those kids tune out if it’s not interesting, or if they think you don’t care. But, I’ve made real inroads this year. I’m happy with them.”

I walked around to the front of the sofa, and sat on the part, she wasn’t occupying. “So, what would your students think if they knew what you were doing.”

She grimaced. “Don’t say that. I talk to them all the time about school being the route to success. If they knew what I was doing...” Her head shook and she blew out. “I mean, you can kind of convince yourself it’s less wrong because it's some corporate entity, or if the person’s a bad person, you can say, oh, well, Karma. But that doesn’t matter in the end, does it? It’s still me helping Pauly take things that don’t belong to him.”

“You must really love your brother,” I said.

She sat up, quicker than I expected and turned on me. “I do,” she said, looking me in the eye.

She had a red-hot fire in her eyes, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to ask a question that would stoke that beautiful flame making it burn brighter against me, or if I wanted to let it die out. She was her most beautiful like this, her spirits stoked. Finally, I nodded, and closed my mouth. I stood, and twirled around. “I do look good in my digs, don’t I?”

She laughed at me and shook her head. “It all has to come back to you, doesn’t it?”

“Well, we could talk about your brother.”

She made a clicking sound with her tongue and gave me the hairy eyeball. Then she smiled and said, “You do look excellent in that.”

I’d bought a long royal blue sherwani jacket. It went just above my knee and had a gold braid trim. A collar at the top made me look debonair. Matching silky blue pants went with it.

“It brings out your eyes,” she said. She looked toward the bedroom door. “Listen, it’s late. We should get some rest for tomorrow.”

I nodded, and she headed to the bedroom. I sighed and sat down for a minute in my new digs. The couch wasn’t that comfortable. I wondered if I’d be able to get a good night’s sleep on it. It didn’t matter. We were only here three more nights, and then back to the U.S. Back to our lives. But what would my life be like? I wouldn’t be under Pauly’s immediate thumb. I’d have time to get my act together. But I wouldn’t have my cushy job, either. I’d been fired, and had nothing without my trust fund. I shook my head and breathed out. I didn’t want to think about it now.

Even though what I was doing here was crazy. It was better than being at home. At least here, Onyx liked me, or she pretended to like me. She even forgave me my stupid moves. I wished I hadn’t walked off earlier. But, I wouldn’t do that again. And today, after, we’d had such a great time. It felt good to be in her presence. It felt good to be with someone who actually appreciated what I brought to the table.

The bedroom door opened again. “I’m going to take a quick shower, wash off the grime of the day, so, you can get what you need out of the bedroom now, if you want.”

I nodded, and she disappeared into the bathroom. I went into the bedroom and deposited the clothes I’d worn out this morning, in a pile on top of the dresser. I’d stick them in a bag to be laundered. I hoped the hotel had laundry service. I didn’t see the customary bag for it, but assumed it had it. Then I stripped off the clothes I’d bought at the store, folding them neatly and sticking them in the drawer. They’d only been worn home, so they were fit enough to wear. Clad in just my undies, I decided I wanted a shower, too. I figured I’d pop in quickly after she came out, and then slip into my PJs. They were silk Hugh Hefner types that I thought made me look sexy bachelor. She hadn’t noticed, or hadn’t appeared to notice them last night. I was glad she hadn’t brought real pajamas. She’d looked sexy as hell in that Ravens shirt. It clung to her in all the right places.

I heard the bathroom door open into the bedroom and Onyx popped out clad in only a towel. Her hair was in a shower cap, and I couldn’t help but grinning. She let out a small whelp of surprise at seeing me and then stopped in her tracks. “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for you to come out so I could shower.”

“Why aren’t you wearing clothes?”

“I try not to shower in my clothes,” I said, grinning bigger.

She rolled her eyes and then stepped a few paces away from the bathroom door. “It’s all yours,” she said, waving an arm toward the door.

I walked past her, trying to look undeniably handsome and fit. I didn’t always go to work, but I usually did hit the gym. I didn’t strive for a physique like the Rock or a young Schwarzenegger, but I did want to appear like other famous Ryans: Reynolds, Gosling, Seacrest, maybe even Lochte. I didn’t dare turn and see if she was watching me, but I convinced myself she was appreciating the view right now.

After a quick shower, I emerged with a towel wrapped around my waist, and headed to my drawer in the bedroom to find my pajamas. She was on the phone when I came out, so I didn’t speak. I could only hear her part of the conversation, but it seemed obvious who she was talking to.

“No, everything is great, Lynx,” she said sweetly into the phone. “The kids love it here, and I’m just really glad I was able to fill in.”

There was silence on her end as she listened. I could hear the faint strains of a masculine voice, but couldn’t distinguish the words he was saying.

“Very funny,” she responded. “You’re quite clever.” She turned to look at me, as I opened a drawer, seeming annoyed I was in here. “I need to go. The kids need to get some rest and my talking is going to keep them up. You take care of yourself, alright?”

A clear, “You worry too much,” came from the other end.

“You don’t worry enough,” she said. “Get some rest, and I’ll see you when I get back.” She took the phone from her ear and ended the call.

I slipped my pajama shirt over my head as I turned to her. “That your brother?”

She nodded.

“Why did you lie to him?”

She didn’t answer immediately. Then she smiled at me and said, “I don’t think pajama shirt and towel will make the next New York Fashion Week.”

I frowned. I needed more clothing. “I’ll be back in one second.” I grabbed my boxer briefs from the drawer, stepped into the other room, slipped into them, dropped the towel in the bathroom, and then returned to the bedroom.

She was perched on the bed now, dressed in the same Ravens shirt as before, and those cute little shorts. Her phone was on the nightstand and she had a black folder open on her lap. She looked at me, her eyes lingering longer than necessary, but her expression remaining neutral. “No bottoms, tonight?” she asked.

“I was hot in them last night,” I said.

She shrugged.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I said, walking over to her and climbing in the bed beside her.

She bit her lip as she watched me, but didn’t say anything. Then she looked down at the folder in her lap. “If the couch is uncomfortable, it’s fine for you to sleep here. It’s a big bed, and it wasn’t a problem last night.”

I raised an eyebrow. I wasn’t sure what to make of her invitation. Did she feel sorry for me sleeping on the sofa and grudgingly make the offer out of pity? Did she think I was being assertive by climbing in, that I would demand a spot and she just wanted to head off an argument? Not when she needed my help tomorrow. Or was it an invitation to do more, to make this our bed? I shook that thought from my mind. I couldn’t make assumptions. “I just climbed in the bed to talk,” I told her. “If you’re more comfortable with me in the other room, I’ll go after we talk.”

She looked at me and smiled. “Unless you fall asleep.”

“Wake me if I do,” I said.

“Alright, because you asked for it.”

I looked at the folder. The top paper inside it was the floorplan of the diamond factory. She was studying it. I wondered if she was nervous. But, I was also still curious about her brother. “Why did you lie to him?”

She blew out. “Not gonna let that go, huh?”

“Nope,”

Looking me in the eye, she said, “Because I don’t want him to know what I’m doing. He’d be worried if he knew, or he’d be upset that I was doing this.”

“Then why are you doing it?” I asked totally confused. “I mean, if he needs the money, why not let him take the risk?”

“Because he’s my little brother, and I take care of him. That’s why?”

She’d filled with fire in that minute. She did love him. She did want to take care of him, and I could almost imagine Lily filled with that same desire to take care of me. And for some reason, I asked the question that I always wanted to ask Lily. “If he needs this kind of money, he’s done some bad shit, just like me. Why don’t you just let him go? Why don’t you just give up on him and let him deal with his own problems?”

Her eyes widened as she looked at me, as she searched my face for something — I’m not sure what exactly. It was as if she was looking for some clue as to how to answer, or searching for some piece of my soul that she wanted to see. Whatever she was looking for, it made me want to run. I looked down at the bedspread, unable to meet her gaze anymore.

“When you love someone, you try to help them. Even if they haven’t acted in the best way.” She put a hand on my shoulder. “Lynx isn’t a bad guy, and he hasn’t done anything wrong, but he does need this money. And you’re not a bad guy, Ryan. You were irresponsible and you were trying to cope with something terrible that happened in your life in a way that you shouldn’t have, but that doesn’t mean anyone — not me, not your parents, not your friends — should hang you out to dry for it. Alright?”

“I wasn’t talking about me,” I said, shrugging her hand off my shoulder and looking into her soulful brown eyes.

“I know,” she said, though she didn’t look like she meant it. Or maybe she did. Maybe she did know exactly what I was feeling. Maybe she knew that even when I said I wasn’t talking about me, I was. And maybe she didn’t judge me and maybe she would never hang me out to dry.

I couldn’t look at her anymore. Something about her knowing stare scared me. “I should let you get to your plans,” I said, as I started to turn and get off the bed.

“Do you really want to know why Lynx needs the money?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

I turned back to her, my face filled with compassion as I stared at the tentative expression on hers. Trust me, I tried to say with my eyes.

“He’s sick,” she said. “He has cancer and they’re doing a new treatment approved in Europe, but you have to be able to pay for it. So, I’m getting the money to pay for it.”

I stared. I felt like a total shit now. Here I was thinking her brother was an irresponsible douche like me, and he wasn’t. He was exactly the kind of person you should steal millions of dollars in diamonds to help. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have suggested he be here.”

She waved me off, then stared down at the bedspread, too. “He doesn’t like telling people about his disease, and I like to respect that, but I just worry about him.” She looked me in the eye, a certain desperation in hers. “That’s why you have to make sure he gets my cut if something goes wrong.”

“Nothing will go wrong,” I said vehemently. She didn’t look like she believed me. We were silent for a minute, and then a thought occurred to me. “Why didn’t you just ask Pauly for the money? He likes you. He would have given it to you.”

She chuckled and reached a hand up to rub her temple. “I think you’re overestimating how much Pauly likes me. Even if I’d told him why, he probably would have done exactly what he did in the end: demand I do this job. And not offer to pay me what it’s worth. Pauly knowing things about you, private things, gives him leverage I don’t want him to have. Yes, he knew my father, and even considered him a friend, but more than anything, Pauly is about his business. I don’t want him knowing things that will affect me later. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah,” I said low. I knew exactly what she meant. Knowledge was power, as the expression went. And every piece of knowledge you gave someone had the potential to give them a power over you you didn’t want them to have. She kept things from Pauly so he couldn’t force her into a corner. She kept things from her brother because she didn’t want him to worry. I kept things from my family, because I couldn’t bear more disappointment in their eyes when they looked at me, I couldn’t stand that final death knell of them realizing I was truly as fucked up as they always believed. We were both away from our families who didn’t know the truth. We were two peas in a pod. Our pod. She was staring at me, and she looked absolutely perfect. Especially, those beautiful pinkish brown lips. I leaned in and kissed her. And she kissed me back. Soft and slow at first, our mouths wanting to take their time and get to know each other, but then, a fury seemed to overtake us, and I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her tight to me. I traced my fingers along her back, over her shirt. But soon, my hands found the hem of her shirt and slipped underneath it, caressing the warm, soft skin of her back.

Our kisses were electric, as my fingers explored the small of her back, and then she pulled away from me. I was startled, and I saw her quickly jump from the bed and stand. She put a hand out, as if to stop me from coming closer. But I’d been too surprised by her quick move to consider moving near her. “Ryan, you need to sleep in the other room.”

“What?” I said, completely confused.

She took a deep breath and looked at me. “We can’t do this, alright. We can’t have a romp and still do this tomorrow. We need to be clearheaded.”

“We can be clearheaded, even if we do this,” I told her. “I like you Onyx. And we’re good together. Surely, you’ve felt it these past couple of days?”

She swallowed. “Look, it’s a bad idea, alright?”

I narrowed my eyes at her, as she seemed to want to avoid my questions. “I didn’t ask if it was a bad idea. I asked if you’ve felt it?”

She looked down at the floor. “It doesn’t matter what I have or haven’t felt.”

“It matters to me,” I said, crawling across the bed toward her. I got to her side and stood in front of her. “Have you felt it?”

“You promised me you’d sleep in the other room if I asked. I’m asking you.”

She had a point there. I didn’t want to be creepy or make her feel threatened, but I wanted an answer. “I won’t touch you. I won’t come an inch closer to you. But I’m not leaving this room until you answer me.”

She stared at me for a while, considering her options. Finally, she bit her lip and said, “Fine.” Damn, she looked sexy like that. “I felt it. Now go.”

I smiled. At least I wasn’t crazy. I turned and left the room.