“I received the signed contract. It is as we discussed.”
“Good, good. The pieces are in motion.”
“I will begin building the stage, as per your instructions.”
“Splendid.”
“Was there anything you wanted to add?”
“There might be, actually. When we first discussed the scenario, it was a two-person production. We might have more players.”
“We can accommodate them, if that is your wish.”
“I’d like that, Yuri.”
“I will work on a plan. Have you had a chance to consider the payment plan?”
“I’d be more than happy to perform the favor, and pay the remainder in cash at the end.”
“Perfect. I much appreciate this.”
Iestyn and Yuri exchanged a few more pleasantries, then hung up.
He took joy in looking at them. In owning them. Knowing she’d painted them.
She should have been his, and soon she would be.
Everything was falling into place.
Shelby shook her hair out and stashed her helmet under the seat of her motorcycle. It was a completely ridiculous mode of transportation, given the high percentage of rain, but it was all she’d been able to secure between ticking off the boxes of everything she needed to accomplish. Working for the FBI was a full-time gig. The con was also a full-time gig. Doing them both was going to run her into the ground before much longer. And that was before last night.
Fuck.
She pushed her hand over her hair.
She had to stop thinking about it. If she didn’t cut it out, one of the others would pick up on her mood and the suspicion would start.
Shelby circled the block on foot, keeping an eye out. Iestyn Ogden had any number of enemies and competitors who would target this team just to stick it to him. And that would put a major damper on the FBI case. Once she’d appeased her mind that she was relatively safe, she entered one of the boarded-up stores through a back door. No one else appeared to be there yet.
Was this about Kade? She’d been there when the brothers had brought up pulling their youngest sibling into the con, which was why she’d gotten ahead of them.
Kade.
She swallowed.
Last night had gone so very wrong, on every level imaginable.
Sooner or later, he’d learn the truth. He might come to trust her, he might hate her, and he could always rat her out. She hoped, for his sake, that his brothers came up with another plan. Gil had rejected hers without listening, which left Kade as their final option for keeping the body count at zero.
The old brick building had seen better days, and would hopefully see many more after them. For now, it was their meet spot, where they stashed the equipment and anything else they might need. The FBI agents watching the place reported that Gil rarely left, which meant that however he was communicating with Ogden had to be on the premises.
Another phone.
A laptop.
A secure line.
She must have missed something. But what? And where?
Shelby opened the back door and stepped in, hesitating in the doorway long enough for her eyes to adjust. Just because she’d been hired for the gig didn’t mean she was safe with the team. She was in as much danger from them by performing her part in this charade. They were all criminals, some with violent records. And she only had herself to rely on, in these situations. She couldn’t wear a wire, and Rusty couldn’t spend all his days shadowing her. She was on her own.
The building was empty. No one hanging around, nothing being delivered.
This was all very strange. Up until now, Gil had them all coming in at once for briefings, to handle equipment. What was going on?
Something scraped overhead.
Shelby turned and caught Gil Salvail, up on the first-floor landing. Staring at her.
“We’ve got a problem,” she said.
“Save it.”
“I need more money.”
“I said, later.”
“Where are the others?” Shelby turned in a circle.
“Get your ass up here.” Gil’s voice reverberated off the brick.
“Okay, fine, whatever.” She considered bolting. Being trapped with Gil in the upstairs apartment-slash-office was not a great idea, but neither could she refuse him.
Gil turned on his heel, stalking back into the small, upper space.
Shelby followed slower. She reached around behind her to her gun and flipped off the safety. If it came down to protecting herself, she wouldn’t hesitate.
The room was long and rectangular, likely an addition to the ancient shop. Gil had a desk parallel to the door, the walls covered in print outs, and a cot over in a corner. He stood behind the desk, shuffling some papers around. His laptop was there, the one she hadn’t been able to get her hands on. Yet.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Shut up,” Gil snapped.
Shelby muttered under her breath and leaned against the wall. There was a certain amount of backtalk and swindling expected of people in her position.
While Gil continued to search for something, she glanced around the room. Nothing new or noteworthy was in sight. She’d managed to get up here once without getting caught. She’d planted a listening device on the landline, but if Ogden wasn’t communicating with him that way, there had to be a line she’d missed.
Where were the others?
They’d put together an eight-person team, including herself, Gil and Kade’s brothers. For the amount of stuff they were supposed to steal, it was a small group. Gil didn’t like her, that much was obvious. So, why’d he offer her the gig? Why was she here?
“Boss wants you to do a side gig,” Gil said finally.
“In what time?” She scowled, but on the inside, she was bouncing for joy.
Gil glanced up, his stare hard. “You’ll make time.”
“What’s the gig?”
“You’ll know more when the time comes.”
“How can I prepare, if I don’t know what I’m doing?”
“All you need to know is that it’s not art, but it does require a steady hand.”
“No way.” She shook her head. “If I can’t prepare, I can’t do it.”
“You’ll do what you’re told.”
“And then what? Who are you going to get at the last fucking second to do the big job?” She gestured through the door, at all the equipment and stuff they’d amassed to do a heist of this level.
“It’s something to do with a computer server. He needs you to get in, plant a drive and get out. Should be child’s play for someone like you.” Gil continued to watch her.
“Computers?” Shelby lifted her brows. “That’s not my area.”
“No, but breaking and entering is. Boss says it has to be you, so you’ll make time.” Gil threw up his hands. “Fuck. I don’t know where it is. Get out. I’ll tell you more later.”
“If I’m going to do a job, I have to know what it is. What the hell, Gil?” Shelby threw up her hands and made a face at Gil. She wasn’t Superwoman.
“You’ll do what you’re God damned told.”
“Okay. Fine.” Shelby held up her hands. “We do need to talk about the load-out practices.”
“Fuck me.” Gil scrubbed a hand over his face.
“You’ve seen what the guys do to plywood. If they don’t figure out how to handle the merchandise, we’re going to lose it in transit. You brought me on to advise on the authenticity of the art and transportation. I’m just trying to do my job.”
“I’ll make them practice more.” He pointed at the door. “Now, get out.”
She shook her head and muttered all the way down the stairs. She paced the length of the building, taking mental stock of what was there.
The gun cases were gone. Where to, then?
What was Ogden up to?
There was more than just stuff for their gig here. She wished the FBI could raid the place, get whatever they
were storing before it was moved, but they wouldn’t get Ogden that way.
Why did he need her to break into a place?
There were any number of reasons why he’d want it done. He dealt in information, as much as merchandise. A thumb drive could hold billions of dollars’ worth of stuff to be sold to the highest bidder. It could also bring down countries, cost thousands of people their lives, and possibly cause wars. He could want her to corrupt a server, or beef up someone’s security.
She needed to talk to Rusty, but Gil would get suspicious if she split. Besides, the brothers were supposed to bring Kade by today, at some point. Part of her wanted to be there to see his face, while the rest of her had already withered and died.
No matter what her feelings were about Kade, for this job, she had to do her part. And that meant possibly working with Kade. She should never have let him kiss her, no matter what she wanted. She’d known better. It couldn’t happen again. Because sex changed people. She didn’t have enough faith in herself to lie and pretend it would be fine. Which meant she’d need to walk away from whatever this was with Kade. It would fade. In time. And she’d go on about her life—without him. All the more reason to get her head back in the game, because she wasn’t entirely certain this gig was about art anymore.
7.
Kade’s dreams were turbulent, full of green, rolling hills and a woman with brown and blonde hair. They took a turn for the weird when he dove into a sea of orange juice and hooked his arm over a log of bacon, but dreams didn’t always have to make sense.
It wasn’t until a clatter of metal on tile that he started awake, blinking grit out of his eyes.
The bacon wasn’t just in his dreams.
He sniffed.
Someone was cooking bacon.
In his apartment.
Kade tossed the comforter back and swung his legs out of bed.
He padded toward the door, a knot of tension riding up his throat.
Those voices, he knew those voices…
Kade pulled the bedroom door open and stared out at the last thing he wanted to see.
His oldest brother, Sasha, sat at the bar drinking coffee, while Anton, his middle brother, fried the entire package of bacon Kade had bought last week.
“You’re up, finally,” Sasha said.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Kade knew, because Shelby had told him, but he wanted to hear it from their lips. He hadn’t believed her. This couldn’t be real. He had to be dreaming.
“What? We can’t visit our own brother?” Anton grinned over his shoulder.
“No, you can’t. What do you want?”
“Sit.” Sasha pushed at the stool next to him.
“What kind of shit are you in now?” Kade glanced at the front door, then the window leading out to the fire escape. It was cracked and the board that had braced it shut was sitting on the sofa.
They’d come in through the window, likely an hour or more ago, judging from the mess, and helped themselves to—what? The cash in the sugar jar was probably gone, and he wouldn’t be surprised if they’d stolen other things. Kade’s belongings had a nasty habit of wandering away when his brothers were around.
“Why must you always think the worst of us?” Sasha scowled and made a face, but it was all for show. His hand was clenched and it wasn’t hot enough in the apartment for him to be sweating like he was.
“Breakfast is done,” Anton said.
He shoved the bacon onto plates, followed by eggs and fresh biscuits from the oven. A plate and coffee were set out for both Sasha and Kade, while Anton chose the safer option of standing in the kitchen. Growing up, Kade and Anton had been near enough in size that Kade hadn’t hesitated picking fights with him. Sasha took after their father in height, though, which made him a less appealing target to an adolescent young boy.
“Eat.” Sasha gestured to the plates. “Then we talk.”
Kade was halfway tempted to call his detective friend, Owen. The cop could give his brothers a good scare and maybe then he’d get some real answers. Or maybe he’d just scare the two away and they’d mire themselves into deeper shit.
He slid onto the stool and contemplated his options.
God damn it, he’d wanted Shelby to be wrong.
If she was right about this, what else was she right about? Them? No—that’d been a lie. He’d been so focused on work and avoiding the Prince Chasers at Trinity Hall that he’d gone without companionship for a bit too long. That was it. There was nothing special about the chemistry between him and Shelby.
Who was threatening his brothers? What were they doing here? How much trouble were they in? And was any of it spilling over to their parents?
He’d hear them out. Whatever his brothers were in trouble for doing, it didn’t touch him. Kade was far removed from their world.
No one spoke as they ate, which in and of itself was a sign. Anton was a ham, a charmer, and he never turned it off. And Sasha usually had something to say. If neither were in a talkative mood…it had to be bad.
Kade needed to decide right now how much he was willing to do, where the line was. It might not be enough to simply tell them no. Especially knowing that he’d been introduced to the tip of the iceberg last night.
“That was good.” Sasha pushed his plate back first and crossed his arms over his chest. “You have the cards?”
“Yeah.” Kade wasn’t inclined to do a reading for Sasha. Kade’s luck, Sasha would see something in them that led to piss-poor decision making.
Anton, on the other hand, had barely eaten anything, and from the look on his face, he wasn’t interested in it either.
“Well, you going to talk now or what?” Kade asked.
“Why do you rush through things?” Sasha frowned. “Can’t you just enjoy that your brothers came to see you? We’re family.”
“You didn’t just come to see me. I’m pretty sure you hate me. So, what gives? Why are you here?” Kade shoveled the last bit of egg in his mouth and chewed.
“We don’t hate you.” Anton studied him. “You’re just different.”
And in a culture that didn’t embrace differences, that was not a compliment.
“Again, why are you here?” Kade had come to terms with his life years before. Now he was just tired. Couldn’t they just have it out already and stop wasting time?
“We have a job to do,” Sasha said.
Kade tipped his chin up and groaned. Shelby was right, damn it. Damn her.
“It’s not what you think,” Anton said softly. “We don’t want to do it.”
“Then don’t. End of story. Why are you telling me this?” Kade glared at one brother, then the other.
“Because if we don’t pull this off the right way…” Sasha shook his head.
“They’re threatening Mom and Dad,” Anton said.
“Whatever.” Kade shook his head. So few people followed through on threats like that. This wasn’t the Old World, gangsters couldn’t do whatever they wanted without repercussions.
This was a play as old as time. Find a pressure point and shake a stick at it, just enough to scare people. His brothers knew better. What had them really scared? Losing their balls?
Not Kade’s problem.
“It’s not like before,” Anton said in a rush.
“He’s right. These guys are bad news.” Sasha was downright grim.
“How’d you get involved in this? And why does it matter to me?”
“We were hired by a guy to do a job.” Anton sighed. “Things went sideways and we cost the guy a lot of money. Now he says if we don’t do this his way, he’ll go after you, Mom, and Dad. And he will. We know he will.”
“Yeah, right.” Kade had heard plenty of stories like this, none of which held water.
“You remember Little Pete?” Sasha asked.
“How could I forget?” Kade gave his oldest brother a flat stare.
Little Pete and Sasha used to wait for Kade on his way to school, rough him up, steal his
lunch money, and then skip out of classes. To say that Little Pete was one of Kade’s least favorite people growing up was an understatement.
“This guy killed Little Pete’s daughter, his wife, and then took one of his hands, because he didn’t do what the boss said.” Sasha stared at Kade. “You want that to happen to us? To watch you all die?”
“You wouldn’t cry at my funeral.” Kade bit off the bacon, but now he was sweating.
Sasha wasn’t the kind of guy to care much about what happened to others. He was cutthroat to a fault, but even he seemed to have discovered a heart under all that gristle. If they were right, if this guy would carry through, then that likely meant more people were in danger than just their family.
How deep was Kade willing to go?
The FBI were involved.
Shelby…she’d said she knew his brothers, that he wasn’t like them. Was she in danger, too? For some reason, that bothered him. Why? She’d lied to him. And yet…he really hadn’t given them a chance to explain it to him. Because he did what he always did when presented with an opportunity to scam—he ran. He’d put distance between himself and his family to avoid this.
“What do you want me to do?” Kade asked.
“Come talk to the boss,” Anton said.
“He means the guy in charge,” Sasha said. “We haven’t met the boss. Yet.”
“When?” Kade would need to get a message to Shelby. Perhaps he could verify his brother’s story with her before he got in any deeper.
“Now. Get dressed.” Sasha stood and stretched.
“I haven’t even finished my coffee.” Kade sipped the now-room-temperature beverage.
“We’ve got about half an hour, get it to go.” Sasha slapped Kade’s shoulder.
“I guess I’m not getting a shower.” Kade slid off the stool. “Don’t steal anything while I put some pants on?”
Anton merely grinned.
Yeah, Kade was willing to bet the sugar jar cash was already in Anton’s pocket. Normally, Kade would be grumpier about the intrusion, but he didn’t have a lot of time and he was only so good of an actor. He snagged his phone off the nightstand.
He’d deleted Shelby’s texts, but her contact was still in his address book. He hadn’t been able to scrub her from his life completely. Not after that kiss, the way she’d held onto him. Part of his sad, pathetic head still thought it’d been something.
Her Prince (Twisted Royals #2) Page 6