Hooked on the Game

by C. M. Owens

  "Raya," Paul's relieved voice says from close behind me, and I swallow down the emotion as I turn to face his disheveled appearance.

  "Mr. Colton. I'm sorry. I just came to tell you I'll do anything you need me to. I... You can call me if you need me." How I manage to not break down and bawl, I don't know. But this can't be about me right now.

  "There is something you can do. Go see Kade. He's not so well," he says wearily.

  His eyes are sunken in, his hair is a mess, and his suit looks to be three-days-worn. I've never seen him look so... lost. He always looks so in control.

  "Yeah. Of course," I mutter softly, patting his arm as I walk around him.

  I head down the hall, and I hear the familiar voices guiding me to the room as Wren, Melanie, and several others gather around a fragile old man who looked so sprightly not too long ago.

  As I grow closer, I see Kade in the corner with his head in his hands, and I start to ache. It's almost painful to see him so broken. My shattered heart breaks even more when I see a familiar body walking toward him. Courtney Hughes.

  She puts her hand on his shoulder just as Wren notices me. "Raya," he says, making Kade's head snap up.

  He looks just as tragic as Mr. Colton, and my lip tries to tremble. I start to walk toward him, deciding to explain all my past bullshit later. I want to be here for him right now, comfort him. But when I see the way Courtney looks at me, I remember who I am. I remember who he is.

  He wants a big business - a reputable business without any worries that something will soil its good name. The name his grandfather is leaving behind is clean, perfect, and full of respect. Mine... I'm still a conman's daughter. Nothing has changed.

  After staring at each other, both of us uncertain about what to do, I turn to leave, but Kade jumps up, letting the chair scrape across the floor.

  "Raya, wait," he says breathlessly.

  "I-"

  Before I can finish, I'm interrupted by yelling from down the hall. Kade brushes by me, letting his hand trail down my arm as he passes to go investigate the scene. That one touch has damn near made me say to hell with my resolve, but the argument brings me back.

  "You can't be serious," Paul yells, pointing his finger in the face of Leonard Mars, Thomas Colton's lawyer.

  I only met him once that day at the vineyard, but I remember him. Though I can honestly say I have no idea who the woman with him is.

  She's tall with dark blond hair, and appears to be in her mid to late fifties. She looks elegant, with her wavy hair swept perfectly to the sides, but there's a familiar air about her... She's trying to look elegant. I know that rags-to-riches stance. Someone wants so badly to feel prominent, so they fake it. I've known many girls around here try to achieve that goal but to no avail. That means this woman is new to money.

  "I'm sorry, Paul. I really am," Leonard says, seeming exhausted.

  Paul curses and swears as they lower their voices, continuing the conversation in hushed whispers. Kade's jaw clenches as he shakes his head, suddenly looking livid and disgusted.

  "He'd never do that!" Kade yells, pointing back toward his grandfather's room. "My grandfather only ever loved one woman. He hasn't even dated anyone since my grandmother died, let alone got married. This is bullshit."

  What?

  "It's true, Kade," Leonard says wearily. "I was there six months ago when they went to the courthouse. So was Harry. We both served as witnesses. Thomas didn't want you to know. I'm sorry. And he had me nullify his will, which now leaves everything to Henrietta. I know this is hard, but it's true.

  "With him in an induced coma, he's unable to handle his estate. Essentially, since she's deeded everything, she has almost the same rights as someone with power of attorney. The vineyard is hers, the winery is hers, and the farm is hers."

  This doesn't make sense. Thomas told me he had just had his will-

  "That's bullshit, because my father just had his will redone not long ago. My lawyers handled it because I felt it was too important to leave in your hands," Paul barks. "Kade is the only one who is supposed to get anything. She has no rights, and she'd better stay the hell off my father's property."

  A flash of surprise crosses Leonard's face, and my eyes narrow. Holy fucking shit... This... I can't believe it. This is a con.

  "Do you have the will?"

  "No. My father kept it, but I'm sure my lawyers can send you a copy real damn soon."

  Paul walks away, and Leonard turns to text someone. I watch, pretending as though I'm only mildly amused, while Kade follows his father. Leonard's phone buzzes, and whatever he sees forces him to relax. That's not good. A relaxed con has an ace in their pocket. A skilled hacker could easily access and delete those files.

  "Let's go, Henrietta. Now's not a good time to visit. I'll bring you back later."

  She dabs her fake tears on a tissue and nods while following behind him. One of two things is going on. Either she faked the marriage, and an authenticator will quickly dismiss the certificate, which will make whatever will they have suspicious. Or she actually conned Thomas Colton into marrying her.

  Considering their confidence level, she tricked him into marrying her. And as his lawyer, Leonard, could have easily manipulated the old will. They're pros. Paul won't get the new will. Not through his lawyers. There's only one way he'll ever see it. There's only one way Kade will have his vineyard - the one his grandfather wants him to have.

  I walk away, giving everyone some privacy. It's crazy to think I was looked down upon for my roots, but yet a con has been right under their noses this whole time.

  I almost leap into my car and speed out of the parking lot. I already told Dane Sterling I'd be late. I hadn't been expecting to talk to the damn owner when I called in to work, but he was nice enough. Now I'll have to call him and tell him I won't be there for at least two or three days, if all goes according to plan. I'm not so sure how nice he'll be after that.

  I bring my car to an abrupt halt, and I hop out before the engine even has time to register I've cut it off. Dad jumps a little when I barge through the door, and I scour the space for Brody, making sure he's nowhere around.

  "Raya?" he asks worriedly. "What's wrong?"

  I spot Brody through the back window. He's perched up on the palm tree while he smokes. That's plenty far enough away.

  I turn back toward my father, feeling serious, ready, and a little pissed. "I need your help."

  "Of course. What's going on?"

  I take a deep breath to utter the words I never thought I would.

  "We need to set up a con."

  Chapter 18

  The Conman's Daughter

  The look of pure shock on my father's face would be funny any other time, but I don't feel like smiling right now.

  "Raya, I can't help you run a con. You can't go down the same path-"

  "Kade's family's vineyard is being stolen from them as we speak," I say to interrupt, rolling my eyes. "I want to steal it back."

  He visibly relaxes, making me frown. I can't believe he thought I just wanted to swindle away some cash.

  "Then that's a different story. Give me the details."

  Very quickly, I toss out everything I know in short, rushed spurts, keeping an eye on Brody the entire time.

  "What sort of security do they have?"

  "State of the art, but I think we can run through it with a simple hack."

  "And you think his will is in the safe?" Dad asks while jotting down different key points.

  "I know it is, but it's an Annex Goliath. A decoding device will send it into total lockdown. If I don't manually get the code right on the third try, we'll need drills-"

  "Absolutely not," Brody interjects, startling the hell out of me and making Dad groan.

  I just checked on him like two seconds ago.

  "You have me bugged, don't you?" Dad growls, glowering at the FBI nuisance who's fucking with my plan. Brody just smirks while cocking an eyebrow that screams smug bastard. Then Dad c
ontinues, "I can't believe I didn't pick up on them."

  "I'm better than the others," Brody releases with his haughtiest tone. Then he turns more serious while looking toward me. "No drills, no breaking through the security system. If you want to do this, I'll set up a sting operation, and we'll do it legally. Your father can't afford to get a strike this early on, and he'd happily go back to prison just to fix this mess your boyfriend is in."

  "She's not breaking in to rob the place. She's stealing it back," Dad says in my defense, making Brody groan.

  "Raya, make him understand," Brody says, looking toward me to be the voice of reason.

  I cross my arms over my chest and offer him what has to be an incredulous look. "Make him understand what? I don't understand either. We're not breaking the law; we're upholding it by keeping the bad guys away from the good guys' stuff."

  Brody scrubs his face with his hands as if he's exasperated, but I'm confused. How are we doing anything wrong?

  "Look," he groans. "If the marriage certificate is real-"

  "It'll be real. They were too confident for it not to be," I bitch, interrupting him.

  "Then legally it's hers unless there is a will proving otherwise. If you break in, then you're going to be the one brought to justice, not them. So do this my way, and get your boyfriend's vineyard and winery back. Then I'll handle the bad guys - the real bad guys. Trust me."

  "How am I supposed to break into a safe legally?" I hiss.

  "You have three codes, right? Pick the right one. I can't say you didn't know for sure what the code already was."

  "I have three tries in an endless array of possible combinations. You can't be serious," I screech, looking at him as though he just grew two extra heads.

  "Then figure out which numbers meant the most to him," Brody says with a shrug, as though this is a simple task and not an impossible feat. Jerk.

  I look toward Dad, but he gives me an I-know-he's-fucking-impossible glare. Great. As if this wasn't going to be hard enough. Now this simple break-in just turned into a full-on con. I'm so screwed.

  "So, Paul Colton tells me the vineyard-slash-winery has a major deal going on with Davis Marlone. He's new to money, and he has a daughter getting married. She has pictures plastered all over the web, but you can pass for her if you wear sunglasses, red lipstick, and grab a sexy red wig," he says while looking at his phone. "I'll send you a picture of what kind of hair style to get it."

  "That's a lot of info very quickly," I mutter, slightly impressed.

  "I work fast, babe. That's how I keep your dad from doing something stupid." He winks, and then returns to reading from his phone. "Marlone is sending his brother, Garret Marlone, who has some pictures on the web, but he looks dangerously close to your father if he dies his hair silver."

  Dad grumbles and shakes his head. "Wig."

  Brody laughs and rolls his eyes. "Fine. Grab a wig. And grab some cheesy, over-the-top designer suits that poor people think rich people wear, because that's how this guy dresses."

  "I actually think I have all that handy," Dad mutters with a casual, one-armed shrug.

  Of course he does.

  "We need a four man team," Brody says, ignoring the last part my father said. "Two women and two men. We have three out of four. I'll be your loving fiancé, Bradley," he says, grinning at me. "And your Dad will need some hot piece of ass hanging on his arm. We'll need to look like new money."

  "Who are we going to get for the fourth person?" I ask, going back to his "four man team" comment.

  "Do you have any sexy friends who could stand to earn some extra cash. I'm sure your father could afford to hire an actress." Brody casts a smirk toward my father who grumbles something about the government being cheapskates.

  "I know a girl," I say with a grin.

  "Good. Call her and fill her in. All she has to do is act enamored by your father."

  "How are you planning on us showing up at this meeting instead of the real 'new money' clients?" I ask. I'm almost ashamed of how excited I feel.

  "Leave the details to me. Your concern is the will," Brody says, earning a glare from my father.

  "I do the details," Dad scoffs, and suddenly they begin bickering about who is in charge. All I can think about is how destroyed Kade must be.

  I stare at my phone, uncertain if I should call. I'd be devastated if Courtney was with him. Instead, I text Paul.

  Tell Kade not to worry, and keep him away from the vineyard. If he does something stupid, they'll have him arrested.

  My phone buzzes almost immediately with a response.

  Don't do anything. The FBI contacted me just a few moments ago. These people could be dangerous.

  Could be and probably are. That's the only reason I'm okay with Brody going.

  I know. Keep him away. He's mad, and he's likely to do something stupid.

  It buzzes again, but this time Paul promises to keep his son away. He won't be able to do it for long. I just hope our con works.

  With the way Ember is fidgeting beside me, I can't tell if she's nervous or excited. I'm just happy she agreed to do this. Sindell would have been ideal, but the less Brody knows about her existence, the better. She's still in the game, and having a FBI agent around would cramp her style, or land her in prison.

  I may not agree with what the rest of my family does, but they're still family. I won't get them locked up.

  "So, you're sure the people we're pretending to be aren't going to show up here?" I whisper, acting as though someone can hear me as we drive down the lengthy driveway.

  Brody and Dad both chuckle at my paranoia, but Ember doesn't find the humor. This is just another day for the two pros who have been conning cons for a while together. My heart is trying to pound out of my chest and beat out my eyeballs. Ember's whole body is tense beside me.

  "Positive," Brody says. "I explained the situation to Paul Colton. I went over there last night after the lawyers called to tell him their servers crashed, and they lost numerous files. And, coincidentally enough, they couldn't find the physical copies of the files either. I was expecting that though. Colton messed up by showing his hand. He shouldn't have told them about the will."

  "He didn't know they were pros. He was emotional and completely distraught," I say in Paul's defense.

  Brody ignores me as he surveys the landscape, acting like a cop. "Alright," he says as we slow to a stop. "Show time."

  Brody climbs out and walks to the back to open my door for me. I'm not sure where he rented the Mercedes, but at least we look wealthy enough. I'm surprised he didn't go more ostentatious with an outrageous canary yellow or candy-apple red Lamborghini. Of course, then we wouldn't have all fit.

  "Come on, Sweetheart," Brody teases, pulling my hand in his.

  My heart beats faster as the thrill of a real con consumes me. No wonder Dad got hooked. I'm terrified and giddy at the same time.

  I see Henrietta, or whoever she really is. She waves at us through the window while keeping a fake smile plastered to her face. The red wig is very firmly attached to my knotted up hair. It's a little jarring to see such a bold color in place of my chocolate locks, and that's with the sunglasses taming down the hue for me.

  I'm not accustomed to wearing dresses this short. I've only worn something this revealing a time or two in my life. I feel like I'm walking around in someone else's body right now.

  I'm praying no one notices me. Of course, with this brazen choice of red lipstick next to the already scarlet hair, I don't see that as a problem.

  "Come in," Henrietta says cheerily, acting as though this is really her home and not the one she stole.

  I sound hypocritical for hating her so much right now, since my family is full of cons, but no one has ever done what she has. I still can't believe Thomas ended up married to her. I was so hoping she was making it up, but the certificate was authenticated, just as I feared it would be.

  Dad makes our false introductions, while Ember hangs on his arm, looking like a
trashy gold digger who is beyond bored. Good girl.

  While he rattles on about the vineyard and the beauty of it, and how we need to discuss where exactly to hold the wedding, Brody stays attentive, smiling and nodding. I scour the scene, trying to find out the best way to make it to the underground cellar without being noticed.

  "Would you like to take off your sunglasses, dear?" Henrietta asks, interrupting my plan of escape.

  I freeze. I've prepared myself for this. I rehearsed my lines over and over, but the words refuse to escape the moment I'm tested. I'm a terrible con.

  "My fiancée has a migraine. Too much of the Kinderton Merlot," Brody says gently, as if he's being sympathetic to my fake migraine.

  I'd thank him, but I'm still experiencing stage-fright. Instead, I groan - sounding authentic - and lean against his arm.

  "Oh goodness," Henrietta chuckles, making my head actually hurt with her annoying laugh. "Would you two like to sit down in the great room? It has a beautiful view. My lawyer is in there right now."

  Shit. She may not recognize me, but Leonard might.

  "Actually, can you point us in the direction of a restroom?" Brody asks. "It was a long drive out here."

  "Of course. Take the first right down the hall. In the meantime," she says, turning back to my father, "I'll show you the place for the reception."

  As Henrietta leads, my father and Ember follow. Brody waits until the clicking heels disappear from sound before he says, "And... action."

  An involuntary grin quirks up on my lips, and I stifle a ridiculous giggle as the excited tingles consume me.

  "You'd better not even think of making this a habit," he grumbles while tugging my hand, but before we can reach the cellar door, Leonard walks around a corner with Harry, the manager, just barely missing the sight of us before Brody rips me away and back around the corner we just came around.

  Brody almost shoves me into a side door that leads to a large stock room full off office supplies and crates.

  "Shit," he hisses.

  "I thought you were supposed to be good at this," I whisper, wondering why he's panicking.