The Arrogant Thief

by Mallory Crowe

  Finally Melissa threw her scraps in the closest trash can and let out a sigh. “This is odd.”

  He would ask her what she meant, but he already knew. “I’m sorry.”

  “Please don’t apologize. It sounds odd coming out of your mouth.”

  “What?”

  “Come on, Gage. You’re not the type to apologize. When’s the last time you said sorry and really meant it?”

  Well, that was easy. “After you ran off from Hunter’s job. I was sorry about that.”

  Melissa looked over to him and narrowed her eyes. As though trying to determine how much of what he was saying was bullshit. Finally, she sighed. “We’d better get back to the hotel.”

  He threw out his napkin and turned in that direction. No use arguing with her. He just wished he knew whether she believed him or not.

  Melissa stared into the mirror and tried to figure out what she was looking at. A kidnapping victim? A pawn? A criminal? She didn’t even know what she was anymore.

  Come to think of it, she hadn’t for a very long time. Ever since she’d lost Josh, that had been what she was trying to do. Find herself. Find her calling. And now she felt more lost than ever. She was about to break into a building and help steal seventeen million dollars. Who did that? Was she even capable of something like this?

  But she didn’t have a choice. She was going to do what was asked of her and hope she didn’t end up dead at the end of this. She had so much to do still. How could she die when she hadn’t figured out who she was yet?

  Gage knocked on the bathroom door. “Are you almost ready?”

  He sounded calm. Not as if he were rushing her at all. How could he be so calm? All through this, he seemed to take every twist and threat in stride. Melissa liked to think she was holding it together okay, but she felt as if at any given moment she could snap and break. She just needed to keep it together through today. Once they got Courtney the money, she’d be released and could go home finally. To Josh and Peter and maybe she could go back to her normal life and put all this behind her.

  But how could she do normal after all this? Would she be able to get through the monotony of bartending? Funny, the job had never seemed boring before, but now the day in and day out routine seemed too much for her. And what would she do when someone asked her out on a date? Someone who wasn’t Gage?

  She used to dream of some financial advisor or accountant falling madly in love with her and promising to take care of her for the rest of her life, but now things were so different. She didn’t want someone to take care of her. She wanted a partner.

  And she didn’t know how she’d ever thought Gage would be that person. He wasn’t the partner type. He could work in a team well enough, but he’d never taken orders well from Toni. It was a constant power struggle between the two, and it wouldn’t be any better in a relationship.

  That had to be the real thing that had drawn him to his girlfriend. Sarah. She was probably passive. Willing to follow his lead and go with the flow and not try to take control of the relationship.

  Melissa couldn’t shake the knowledge that she and Gage would never be right for each other. But also, she couldn’t stop the feeling deep within her that seemed to crave him no matter what.

  The knocking came again. “Are you okay in there?”

  She blinked a few times, bringing herself back to the real world. “I’m just about done. I’ll be out in a minute!” she called. Her voice sounded noticeably more stressed than his. Well, she could only do so much.

  Glancing in the mirror, she focused on less existential issues and checked her makeup. The quick stop she’d made last night had served her well. She wore just enough so she wouldn’t stand out too much or too little. She looked utterly normal enough to fade into the background. After a few seconds, she realized she couldn’t delay any longer and stepped out of the bathroom.

  Gage gave her a comforting smile when she saw him, and somehow that just made her feel worse. She didn’t want him to think she needed comforting. She could do this. It was easy. She’d managed herself well enough yesterday. But yesterday was just a practice run. If they got caught, they might get kicked out. Nothing too bad.

  This was seventeen million dollars. Hardly something to be taken lightly. All of a sudden, someone was touching her shoulders, and she tensed up as Gage started to rub her shoulders.

  “What are you doing?” she snapped, even though his actions were obvious.

  “I’m giving you a shoulder rub. Relax, okay?”

  She scoffed even as she started to melt into his expert touch. “Easy for you to say. You’ve done this kind of thing thousands of times before.”

  “Every job is different. The nerves are never something you get used to. You just learn to work around them.”

  “Liar. You’re not nearly as afraid as I am, and you know it.”

  “The difference between the two of us is that you see the nerves as a bad thing.”

  “Of course they’re a bad thing. What if you need me to help you, and I freeze up? Or panic?”

  “Do you know why adrenaline exists?”

  His hands kept on rolling and kneading the knots in her neck and upper back, and she let her eyes close. “So moms can lift cars off their babies when they’re in trouble?”

  “Your senses are heightened. Your reaction time is faster than ever. You’re hypersensitive. If you learn to work with the nerves, they can be a great asset.” Somehow his words became softer, quieter, yet he must’ve leaned forward because she could feel his breath on her neck. The warmth combined with what his hands were doing had a magical effect on her as she started to turn to jelly and fall back against him.

  At the last moment, she tensed and pulled away from him. “Okay,” she said as she tried to undo his spell. “We should do this sooner rather than later, right?”

  Gage didn’t say anything. Instead, he picked up his briefcase and other things he’d collected over the night. While her only job had been to pick up makeup, Gage had spent all night getting things ready. He’d spent a majority of their money on a laptop and then was working on it all night to make sure the software he’d need to get into Brenda’s computer firewalls worked. Apparently he kept digital versions of his software stored on various clouds all over the internet. That way it wouldn’t matter which computer he was using as long as he could access the internet.

  Melissa couldn’t really pretend to understand what exactly he was going to do on one computer to break into another, but she trusted Gage. She had seen him, even if only remotely, effortlessly pull off countless jobs before. Working with computers came as natural as breathing to him. Listening to him and Toni continue their competitive stories, it sounded like two people speaking a completely different language to her.

  She wasn’t sure whether that made her feel better or worse. On one hand, it was something she really couldn’t worry about. It was so far out of her league that all she really could do was let Gage do his thing. But it sucked to know there was nothing she could do to help him out.

  But then Gage was walking to the door and she once again told herself to stop worrying and just get it done. Gage held the door for her, and she walked into the hallway.

  They were quiet through most of the cab ride to the building. Because they weren’t alone, they couldn’t say much. She stared out the window at the numerous people on the New York City sidewalks. How many of them had problems like this? Sure, everyone had problems. But not bomb-strapped-around-their-neck problems. Yay for self-pity.

  All of a sudden, Gage reached out and set a hand on her leg. The very end of her knee, as though trying to keep it comforting and far from sexual. It shocked Melissa out of her self-pity, and all she could do was stare at the contact. Through the black silky pants of her suit, she could feel his warmth. How many times had she daydreamed about Gage touching her? About him craving contact with her like she craved contact with him?

  No, he was just trying to make sure she didn’t mess up. He
’d gone through the plan in great detail the night before, at least her part of it. Compared to what he was in charge of, her part was relatively easy. But it was embarrassing, public, and if her part didn’t go right, nothing would get done.

  The cab stopped in front of one of the many coffee shops in Manhattan. “I’m going to stay out here,” she said as he headed into the shop.

  His eyes bounced around the street as though determining whether that was a good idea.

  “I’ll be fine,” she reassured him. “It’s only for a few minutes.”

  “Famous last words,” he muttered. “I’ll be right back.”

  Melissa leaned against the side of the coffee shop and let out a deep sigh. One step at a time. No distractions. Let her nerves work with her. All too quickly, Gage was walking out of the shop, extra-large coffee in hand.

  Oh Lord, they were really going to do this. Great. He motioned her to follow him, and she obediently quickened her steps. “Are you sure about this?” she asked.

  “I’m sure.” He had to be lying. There was no way he’d be sure.

  “What if I get caught? Do you think Courtney will set off the... thing if I’m at the police station?”

  “I’m sure she’s a reasonable woman.”

  Now she knew he was lying. There was nothing about Courtney that was reasonable.

  “Do you want to go over things again?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “No. I know it. I don’t want to psych myself out any more. I got it. It’s easy.”

  “Funny, you’re not making it sound easy.”

  “It would be easy for you, though. You could do this in your sleep.”

  “I’ve been doing this stuff for years.”

  “Tell me about your first job. Were you nervous?”

  “You think that’s going to make you feel better?”

  “I think it’s going to distract me. Come on, Gage. Spill.”

  “Okay. The first thing I ever stole was a candy bar from my dad’s store.”

  Well, that wasn’t as adventurous as she expected, but it offered a whole wealth of new information about him. “Wait, wait, wait. Start from the beginning there.”

  “I was mad at my dad, but I was too young to do anything about it. So I stole a candy bar, stuffed it in my mouth, and left the wrapper on the floor so he’d know someone stole from him. He hardly cared, but it felt like I was actually doing something for once.”

  “Your dad was a piece of work too?”

  “You’ll find not a lot of people get into this line of work who have two loving parents,” he muttered. “I tried to get help for me and my mom through the normal legal channels. When they didn’t work, I stopped trying to follow the rules.”

  “What happened to your parents?”

  “We’re here,” he announced, obviously not willing to give her any more details of his history even though “here” meant a building away still and plenty of time to talk more. But just as she didn’t want to get psyched out right before she did her thing, she was sure he also wanted his own type of calm. Before they reached the door, Gage stopped. “I’m going to go through another way. As soon as you see me, do your thing, okay?”

  “All right. You brought my stuff, right?”

  He tapped his briefcase. “It’s all taken care of. You got this, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said, even though her voice was already starting to shake. She could do this. She could do this. She could do this.

  Her tension was obviously palpable because Gage leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek. She sucked in a breath at the unexpected intimate touch. “You’ve got this,” he breathed against her. “This time I’m trusting you.”

  And then he was gone, walking away from her. Shit. This was really happening. She looked down to see the cold coffee he’d gotten was in her hand. She didn’t even remember taking it. He must’ve passed it when he kissed her. Well... barely kissed her. A kiss on the cheek hardly counted.

  But between that and the shoulder rub and the hand on her knee, it had to be more than nothing, right? Maybe it was pity contact so she’d feel better? It didn’t matter. For right now, she had a very simple job: distraction.

  She stood motionless on the sidewalk for a few moments. Partly because she was giving Gage some more time and partly because she really didn’t want to go forward. Finally she took a sip of the iced coffee, hoping for it to give her some sort of courage, but all it did was remind her how much she didn’t like the taste. She winced and shook her head. Okay. Apparently she had to rely on her own inner store of courage. Note to self: stock up on more courage.

  Well, it was time. She walked slowly toward the door, looking through the glass. There were still two security guards posted, but not the same ones as last night. That was good. They wouldn’t recognize her.

  The lobby was crowded. It was eight thirty in the morning, so they were in the middle of the morning rush. It was part of Gage’s plan to get in and out without being noticed.

  Once she went through that rotating door, everything seemed to fade away as she walked toward the security counter. She had a job to do. She wasn’t going to be the reason this failed. Her heels click-clacked against the tile floor, and she made eye contact with one of the security guards. And then, right before she reached the counter, one of her ankles twisted and she went down hard on the tile, her coffee spilling all over her.

  She gasped in shock as the ice-cold liquid hit her skin and the embarrassment set in. A second later, she heard footsteps running toward her. Looking up, she saw the security guard leaning over her with a concerned look planted on his face. “Are you okay, ma’am?”

  “I’m... I....” She searched for the right words. “I don’t know. I think I twisted my ankle.” She set what was left of her coffee next to her and leaned up, feeling her ankle as if looking for any sign of injury. “Is it broken? I don’t know but it feels like it could be. It hurts like it’s broken. I don’t know....”

  “Why don’t you stay here, ma’am? I’ll get some help for you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure I can stand.” Picking up her coffee, she started to push herself up. The security guard politely offered her his arm, and she took it, but the second she stepped on the ankle she’d “twisted,” she fell back once more, this time getting her coffee all over the security guard too.

  “Oh God, I can’t even...” she said, laying the shame on strong.

  “It’s okay, ma’am,” said the security guard through tense lips. It very obviously wasn’t okay. She was pretty sure she’d ruined this man’s entire day. But she’d rather ruin his day and have her neck still in one piece.

  She risked a glance toward the security counter and saw Gage behind one of the computers. He must’ve noticed her stare and gave her a thumbs-up as he started to retreat from the counter. Good, she’d done her part. She’d distracted the guard long enough for Gage to get the cloned security badges. She didn’t know what happened to the other security guard. Gage said he was going to call in a distraction to confuse the other guard. Whatever he did, it must’ve worked because currently the counter was unattended.

  She looked back to the guard above her, not trying to draw attention toward what she was actually supposed be distracting him from. “No, no, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m too embarrassed to do anything right now. I should go home.”

  “Ma’am, I really don’t think that’s a good—”

  It was too late, because she was already standing. “Thank you so much for your help, sir. You’re a lifesaver, really.” And with that, she hobbled away, toward the door.

  Once she was on the street, she went right toward the designated corner Gage had mapped out for her before. Now all she had to do was wait for him, and they’d use the cloned badges he just created to go in together. This part would be much easier for her, because he was the lead. Except as the minutes ticked by, there was no Gage. Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen. It was only when she saw the half an hour mark t
hat she realized he wasn’t coming at all.

  Melissa was good. Gage had his doubts about giving her such an attention-getting job. Sure, she’d helped out with Hart Securities before, but mainly as lookouts or reconnaissance. She’d never had an active part in any of the jobs. But even though her nerves had been palpable, she played up her role perfectly. She’d been totally willing to embarrass herself so Gage could get what he needed. Her fall had looked completely believable, and her panic had seemed real. Probably because she was panicking, but still. He was impressed. Not only impressed, but he managed to complete this step one.

  He could come and go as he pleased, and the name his badge was registered to was established. Thanks to their few minutes in the break room, he knew the person he’d targeted had access to the specific floor he needed to get to. All he needed was a minute or two unobserved on security’s computers to print out a duplicate key. He felt bad for lying to Melissa about having her join him on the second half of the job, but it was a smart decision. He didn’t need her for anything else. He wanted her with him so he could keep his eye on her and make sure she was safe. But it was only when he’d seen how nervous she was that morning that he realized keeping her safe would be putting her in more danger. What would happen if she was caught and taken to the police station? Courtney would want her gone before she could answer any questions.

  No, he needed to keep her far away from this. He had a good plan, but it wasn’t infallible. There were too many variables that could go wrong. If he got taken in for questioning and was taken out by Courtney, he could live with that. He wouldn’t let his failures allow Melissa to die.

  Courtney might not be reasonable, but hopefully she was logical. If he got taken in doing her job, maybe she wouldn’t kill Melissa. After all, he’d done what she asked to the best of his ability. And considering he wouldn’t be around anymore, she’d have no reason to hurt Melissa. He knew it was a stretch, but it was all he had at the moment. He’d go in, finish this job, not get caught, and then he and Melissa would be done with this Courtney bitch forever.