Master of Her Innocence (Bought by the Brazilian) by Chantelle Shaw Page B

Marchant, that you have a fiery temperament to match your hair. Men will pay a lot of money to bed a woman with spirit and passion. Your sister is free to leave, but I have decided that you will stay here and work for me.’ He tightened his fingers on her shoulder and laughed when she could not repress a shudder. ‘I may even decide to keep you for my own pleasure.’
    * * *
    Diego clenched his hand until his knuckles whitened. Rage burned inside him, but he knew he could not slam his fist into the slimeball Rigo’s face and force him to take his hands off Clare. In order to protect her he must show no reaction. Act cool—that was what he had learned in prison. He couldn’t allow Rigo to know how much he wanted to grab Clare and keep her safe. His only chance of saving her from being forced into prostitution, or forced to become Rigo’s mistress, was to offer the drugs lord the thing he prized more than anything else. Money.
    ‘It’s my experience that spirited women are more trouble than they’re worth,’ he drawled. ‘Miss Marchant will be more valuable to you if you demand a ransom for her.’
    Clare shot him a sideways look. ‘My father won’t be able to raise enough money to pay another ransom,’ she said in a fierce whisper. ‘I don’t think you’re helping, Diego. Let me handle this.’
    She looked across the desk at Rigo. ‘I came to Brazil in good faith that you would allow me to pay for my sister’s freedom and it is only fair that you should let us both go.’
    Diego groaned silently when Rigo frowned. He wished Clare would let him deal with the situation but he could not help but admire her bravery and determination to rescue her sister. Most women would have gone to pieces by now, but not Clare. Some of his anger at the way she had lied to him about her identity faded, and he begrudgingly acknowledged that he understood why she had dressed as a nun to protect her from the ruthless men who had kidnapped her sister.
    Rigo ignored Clare and spoke to Diego. ‘Are you prepared to pay a ransom?’
    ‘I am.’
    Clare flashed Diego a rueful smile. ‘It’s kind of you to offer, but I don’t suppose a gold prospector earns much money.’
    ‘That’s very funny.’ Rigo laughed. ‘I recognised you from the media’s fascination with your personal life, Mr Cazorra. You are one of the richest men in Brazil and I would do better to demand a ransom for your release.’
    Diego shrugged. ‘I have no family who care about me, and I do not value my life enough to pay you a centavo . On the other hand, I will pay whatever you ask in return for releasing Miss Marchant. Name your price.’
    The drugs lord gave him a calculating look. ‘The Estrela Rosa .’
    Diego did not hesitate. Any life was worth more than a lump of carbon, which was all a diamond was really. He was struck by the startling thought that he would give Rigo every precious gem he’d ever found to secure Clare’s freedom. ‘All right,’ he said calmly, ‘we have a deal.’
    Clare looked between the two men with a sense that she was going mad. ‘I don’t understand.’
    ‘The Estrela Rosa, the Rose Star, is the largest pink diamond ever to have been found in Brazil,’ Rigo told her, ‘estimated to be worth over a million dollars. It was discovered in the Old Betsy diamond mine by one of the mine’s owners, Diego Cazorra.’
    Not for the first time, Clare wondered if she was dreaming and would wake up in a minute. She stared at Diego’s ripped jeans and the battered leather hat hiding his unkempt blond hair. Several days’ growth of stubble covered his jaw and he looked tough and sexy and dangerously disreputable. ‘You don’t look like you own a diamond worth a million dollars.’
    Amusement gleamed in his eyes. ‘I’m overwhelmed by your flattery,’ he said sardonically. He looked back at Rigo. ‘Tell your bully boys who took my phone to return it and I’ll arrange for the diamond to be flown to Torrente. We’ll make the