The Russian's Tenacious Lover

by Nic Saint

  Thomas, slightly flustered, raised his hand in defense when he noticed the expression of anger that flashed across her face. “I can explain.”

  “No need,” she bit. “Having fun, are we? Who is she? One of your floozies?”

  “Hi there,” spoke the girl cheerily as she started buttoning up her blouse.

  Glynis crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot impatiently. “Have we met?” she queried, eying the intruder with a baleful eye.

  “Of course. Don’t you remember? We met at the opening of the Grant Harbor exhibit last month.” She gave her blouse a final tug, then approached Glynis with outstretched hand. “Jenn Crocket, Lord Crocket’s daughter.”

  Shaking the young woman’s hand automatically, Glynis’ mind flashed back to the exhibition. Indeed. She had met Jennifer Crocket there, she now remembered. The young woman had played the violin, much to the satisfaction and pride of her parents and the rest of her collected family. She also remembered Jennifer walking into The Rialto that morning.

  She jerked back her hand. “What in the hell are you doing here?” Jenn was both pretty and young, and for some reason these characteristics irked her, especially since Thomas still stood eyeing her rather sheepishly, an expression that didn’t become him.

  “Oh, well, you know,” said the girl, airily bringing a hand to her hair. A twig fell from her curly locks. Only now did Glynis notice the scraped knees and scuffed shoes. Had she just climbed in through the window? There was no other explanation possible. “Just thought I’d pay my mentor a visit, seeing as how he suddenly disappeared on me and all.”

  Thomas winced at these words. “I’m not her mentor,” he spoke urgently. “She’s just joking. Aren’t you, Jenn?”

  She laughed. “Who’s joking? We have a deal, remember? And I expect you to honor it, even when shacking up with Glynis Fox.”

  “We’re not shacking up,” spoke both Thomas and Glynis simultaneously.

  Jenn laughed again and pursed her lips. “You two make such a cute couple. Who would have thought a well-renowned thief would get involved with a cop? You never cease to amaze and inspire me, Tom.”

  “What’s with all this mentor stuff? And what,” Glynis added, raising her voice, “are you doing in my house, young lady? Did you just climb the vine?”

  Jenn flopped back on the bed, her arms beneath her head, and laughed at the two of them as they stood staring at her. “I told you. I’m Tom’s apprentice. He’s teaching me all the ins and outs of his most fascinating profession.” She grinned. “I’m going to be a master thief, just like him.”

  “Jenn!” hissed Thomas, his face now uncharacteristically flushed. “She’s Scotland Yard, for Christ’s sakes!”

  Jennifer arched her eyebrows. “I know, Tom. But seeing as you two are working together now, I don’t think she’d mind another addition to the team.” Before Glynis had the chance to recover from this startling revelation, the girl had turned soulful eyes on her. “I’d like to join the revels, Glynis. Can I come? Pretty please? Be part of the team?”

  “Team? What team? There is no team,” Glynis countered feebly, trying to project a staunch front and failing miserably.

  The girl smiled widely. “The team that’s gonna bring down Rostislav Mamykin, of course. Can’t wait to lay my hands on that particular safe.” Then, turning to Thomas again, she added, “I really couldn’t stand spending any more time at grandmama’s, Tommy. Not when we have so much work to do. As soon as I could, I drove back to London in Daddy’s car and returned to that silly little hotel of yours. I think you’ll be happy to know I’ve cracked all of their safes! I’m ready for the big league now!”

  CHAPTER 13

  Thomas watched the altercation with a benevolent eye. He’d taken Jenn’s position on the bed, and watched the two women pace the room, the discussion flowing back and forth. Now that he’d firmly found himself wading knee-deep in the soup, there was nothing he could do to avoid the contretemps. If Jenn wanted in, Jenn was in. It was as simple as that. Though his acquaintance with Lord Crocket’s daughter was brief, if there was one thing he knew about the girl, it was that she was used to getting her way, even when faced with a most stubborn Scotland Yard woman.

  With interest, he watched the battle of the wills between his self-appointed apprentice and his jailor, wondering which of the two was the most eye-catching. From a purely esthetic point of view, perhaps Jenn offered the most value for her money. She was a striking beauty, and her ample breastage would appeal to any hot-blooded male—perhaps even the cold-blooded ones.

  For his own personal taste, though, he preferred the frosty cop to the feisty socialite.

  Glynis’ face was hard, her eyes unyielding, and yet there was something about her that greatly spoke to him. If he hadn’t been caught in a compromising position with Jenn, he might even have had a chance to explore what this elusive something really was.

  Now, he wasn’t so sure he ever would.

  Why the hell had Jenn insisted on demonstrating how to tie a knot in her blasted shirt? Couldn’t she have stuck to the bedding? When she’d suddenly shown up outside his window, a light tap announcing her arrival, he’d been quite surprised at the pluck and resourceful she’d displayed in finding him here and in working her way up to the second story window behind which he’d been imprisoned.

  He’d stared out the window just before, and hadn’t spotted her, even though she insisted she’d thrown a pebble in a bid to attract his attention. Then, seeing as the ivy was so strategically attached to this part of the mansion, she’d simply climbed up and invited him to join her and attempt escape.

  He’d wavered, then. He could have escaped himself, of course, but watching Glynis’ mum on her sickbed had induced him to reconsider his options. That and the huge Doberman Glynis had insisted would maul him to bits if he ventured outside.

  Even when Jenn had told him the Doberman was a figment of Glynis’ imagination and the coast was clear, he’d wavered, telling her the innocuous little fib that the ivy would never hold his weight.

  She’d looked him up and down, being quite complimentary about his slender frame, but he had insisted ivy was out of the question. It was then that she’d quite tediously started her demonstration of tying the sheets together, as she’d seen done in numerous movies. And when that hadn’t convinced him, she’d taken off her blouse, revealing a pair of perfectly shaped breasts that had him staring at her in fascination.

  Perfectly aware of the effect she was having, she’d shown how to tie a knot in her blouse, her boobs wiggling all the while. When his voice had gone husky, Glynis had come upon them and had broken the awkward spell.

  His eyes flicked back to Glynis, and he noticed how her lip twitched slightly when she was annoyed, and felt a sudden urge to still that twitch with a kiss. Then his eyes dropped to her cleavage, which now came peeping through the purple blouse she was wearing, the red satin of her bra shifting into view each time she arched forward. God, she was gorgeous, and not with Jenn’s fresh-faced sexuality, but with the full splendor of a woman.

  Then he noticed those fiery eyes turning on him, and he reeled back at the impact.

  “And what are you staring at!” she demanded.

  “Nothing,” he returned easily, flicking his gaze to her lips as they formed a furious retort. “I just thought it might be easier to include Jenn in our plans, seeing as how she’s so… passionate.”

  Glynis’ eyes narrowed into slits at the mention of Jenn’s passion, and her obvious anger amused him. So she was human after all. Beneath the armor, the policewoman was all woman.

  “I don’t care what she wants,” stated Glynis heatedly. “I’m not taking the daughter of Lord Crocket on a mission to burgle Mamykin. If anything happens to her…”

  “Nothing will happen to me, Glynis,” countered Jenn with the arrogance of youth. “I’m a pro, remember. I’ve been learning from the best.”

  Well, that might be true, and flattery always worked on Thomas
, but she’d only been working under his tutelage for a day. It would take more than that to turn her into a pro. Refraining from voicing these doubts, he merely said, “We need the manpower, Glynis. Breaking into Rostislav’s place is a three man job, at the very least. Preferably four. The two of us won’t cut it, I’m afraid.”

  “But she’s just a kid!” cried Glynis.

  Now it was Jenn’s turn to be annoyed. “I’m not a kid anymore!” She threw up her hands and raised her eyes to the ceiling. “God, I hate it when people do that! I’m eighteen!”

  “Eighteen,” said Glynis, flicking her eyes back to Thomas in a scolding look.

  He merely shrugged, amused by her annoyance.

  “If you don’t include me in this little scheme of yours,” Jenn started to say, “I’m telling my father.” She pointed to Thomas. “First I’ll tell him Tom stole Mummy’s diamond, and then I’m telling him you stole it from him and now you’re planning to burgle his very good friend Rostislav Mamykin.” She planted her hands on her hips and raised her chin mutinously, presenting the perfect picture of the recalcitrant teen. “Let’s see how Daddy feels about that!”

  For a moment, the two women stood glaring at each other in a contest of the wills, then Glynis let out a disgusted cry. “God, you rich people are impossible!”

  Far being it from Thomas to point out the obvious fact that Glynis was very much a part of the rich set herself, he muttered, “So that’s settled then. Jenn is joining the merry band?”

  Glynis lifted her shoulders in a gesture of exasperation. “I guess so.”

  Quite inconsiderately, Jenn pumped her fist and cried, “Yessss!”

  CHAPTER 14

  “No, no, no, and no means no.” The head of the family spoke softly but with decision and authority, and Glynis suppressed a groan of annoyance.

  “Look, Dad, Tom says this job requires a four-man team. Right now, we’re three, so we need you!”

  Hugh looked up at the mention of the word Tom. “So it’s Tom now, eh? When did this happen?”

  Ignoring him, she went on. “Tom says he could wrestle up someone from his team, people he’s worked with before, but frankly I don’t trust him. For all we know he could be working the inside stand. Get a bead on some of Mamykin’s jewels for himself and then secure a buyer. That man,” she added with a look of exasperation, “is the slipperiest devil I’ve ever encountered.”

  “Yes, slippery and quite charming,” murmured Hugh with a twinkle in his eye.

  She hadn’t heard the amusement in his voice nor seen the twinkle, for she continued in the same tetchy vein. “I swear if we don’t tie that man down and lock him up in the deepest dungeon or the highest tower, he’ll be out of here before we have a chance to get even near those pearls. Did you know he almost escaped?”

  “Is that so?”

  “If Jenn hadn’t dropped her backpack and I hadn’t heard the thump, he would be on his way to Moscow right now.”

  “I doubt it, honey,” said her father warmly. “If Thomas Spencer wanted to escape, he would have done so without the help of Jennifer Crocket.” He plucked at the meager mustache he’d been cultivating for years now. “No, if that man is still here, it means he wants to be here.”

  Glynis merely shrugged. “Whatever. Now are you going to help us or not? We can’t do this without you, you know.”

  She eyed him with a look she’d perfected over the years. The one she’d learned while being dangled on his knee. Each time she wanted something, she would give him that pleading look that he found so particularly hard to resist.

  “I don’t know, honey,” he wavered. “I’m a man of advanced years.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Dad, you’re fifty.”

  “Still. What in the blazes can you expect me to contribute to this… operation of yours?”

  “You could keep an eye out,” she offered. “Or you could distract the guards.” She flapped her arms. “Whatever, Dad. Tom says he needs you, so that means he must have something in mind for you to do.”

  He smiled again. His daughter hadn’t noticed how she’d gone from referring to Thomas Spencer as that rat thief to calling him by his Christian name, and had apparently entrusted the organization of the job entirely to him, in spite of her suspicions.

  “Well, all right, honey,” he relented, not wanting to keep her in suspense any longer. “If Tom says he can use me on this job, I guess he must be right. The man clearly knows what he’s doing.”

  She caught the irony in his voice, for she directed a scrutinizing gaze at him. “Well, he does,” she said a little defensively. “He managed to stay out of prison all these years, so he must be doing something right, right?” She frowned, not happy with the way that came out.

  “Of course, darling,” he agreed good-naturedly. Then his face clouded. “The only thing that worries me a little bit… if we both get caught and thrown in jail, who’s going to look after Lydia?”

  She placed a hand on his shoulder. “We won’t get caught, Dad. I’ll make sure we don’t.”

  “Do you really think Thomas can pull this off? I thought he said it was impossible?”

  “He’s since changed his tune. Now he says it’s a cakewalk. In and out in no time. Easiest job in the world.”

  Odd, Hugh felt. Why would Thomas suddenly change his mind about the difficulties they were facing? For a thief, the man was charming, to be sure, but the fact that his elusive daughter, who had never shown any interest in men, suddenly started relying on him for a crucial endeavor worried him.

  He studied her closely. His exacting, demanding, efficient little girl, the consummate professional, was behaving like an amateur on this assignment, the most personal one she’d ever endeavored. He’d told her a million times not to risk her life and career for the retrieval of Mummy’s pearls, but she was unwavering in her resolve. It disconcerted him while simultaneously affecting him tremendously.

  “All right, then. Let’s trust Thomas to do what he does best. If the man says it can be done, we’ll just have to take his word for it.”

  “Don’t know about Jennifer Crocket, though,” spoke Glynis with a frown. “I don’t like the fact that Tom would allow an amateur to toddle along.”

  “I’m an amateur,” he pointed out, but she wasn’t listening.

  “The girl is simply a child. A big-bosomed child, granted, but still a child,” muttered Glynis as if speaking to herself rather than including him in her thoughts. She shook her head. “If her father knew about this, he’d be livid.”

  “Yes,” mused Hugh. He’d wondered about that. The unholy bond of the young socialite and the country’s most renowned jewel thief had quite surprised him when Glynis first brought it to his attention. Nothing good could come of it, he felt. Bored teenagers were a dime a dozen in the world of the upper classes, but very few took to burgling houses or cracking safes just to amuse themselves. Sooner or later she would get caught, and the scandal might well ruin Charles Crocket, one of his best friends.

  “Perhaps you should have a word with Charles?” suggested Glynis. “Tell him to keep his daughter on a shorter leash?”

  He arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “I thought you said we needed her on this job? That we couldn’t do without her?”

  “We could use her on this job, sure,” amended Glynis, “but the moment the pearls are in our possession, she should be stopped from going down the path of crime. I really don’t want to have to arrest her, Dad.”

  “You would arrest her?”

  “Of course! In a heartbeat!” she cried indignantly. “I’m still a cop, aren’t I? The moment we have Mummy’s pearls back, I’m arresting the both of them. Serves them right for stealing.” Then she reconsidered. “On second thoughts, perhaps I should give her another chance. She is only eighteen, after all. At that age, we are basically all blithering idiots.” She patted his arm. “The moment this thing is over, you better have that talk. Tell Charles his daughter is straying from the straight and narrow and associat
ing with known criminals.” Then she grinned. “I can’t wait to see daddy’s girl grounded and Tom behind bars!”

  And with those words, she left Hugh to his musings. The plot was definitely thickening, he thought, and he wasn’t so sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  CHAPTER 15

  She didn’t like to pretend with the likes of him. So when he inquired how she felt about a country ramble, she simply refused, telling him in no uncertain terms how she felt about being confined to a car with a well-known thief and philanderer.

  “Philanderer?” He caught the word with an expression of surprise. “I’ll have you know, Miss Fox, that it’s been months since my last—”

  “Confession?” she interjected.

  “Affair,” he corrected pointedly.

  “Too busy stealing women’s purses to dig a little deeper and steal their virtue?” she inquired.

  “I’ve never…” He halted, his voice betraying an anger that was untypical of him. “I’ve never touched a woman inappropriately, nor have I ever forced myself on a member of the fairer sex.” He cocked an eyebrow. “And I’ll have you know I’ve never snatched a purse in my life.”

  Touché, she thought with satisfaction. For some reason, she enjoyed getting a rise out of him, and when she did, the consequent darkening of his brow satisfied her to no end.

  They were seated on a stone bench in the gardens, watching the family poodle gamboling along the shrubs. No longer confined to his room, Thomas appeared perfectly at ease in his new surroundings. Glynis, on the other hand, hadn’t relaxed her vigilance. She still feared the man might be up to something. Though he’d given his word he’d help her retrieve the stolen gem, she didn’t trust him.