Her Prince (Twisted Royals #2)

by Sidney Bristol

  “Who works out of that building?”

  “An accounting firm, a law office, a railroad company, this place that scrubs records, three different consulting businesses. It could be any of them.” She sighed. “We just don’t have time to figure it out.”

  “Okay, so we’re doing this for real, then?” He buckled his jeans and shoved his feet into his boots. “Are we making a copy of it?”

  “Of course. If we can. It has some crazy encryption on it. Rusty was worried about looking at it too closely.” She pulled the flash drive out of her pocket.

  “You were really going there now?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay. Um, what are you wearing?”

  “Jeans, jacket…”

  “Here. Put this on.” He grabbed one of the plain, button-downs he kept on hand. Every now and then, he had to improvise when it came to his uniform if he pulled back-to-back doubles.

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s early enough we can’t just walk in, but if we’re there to fix the elevator no, one will bother us. We’re always getting calls about stuck elevators.”

  “That’s…good.”

  Kade shrugged into the blue shirt and crossed the room. He didn’t want to admit how easily the idea had come to him.

  “Hey?” He cupped her shoulders. “We can do this. Let me grab a few things.”

  He emptied out his backup bag, the one he kept on hand for when he and the guys were out playing football or something. One of them was always getting banged up. He filled the slots with tools, dug out a leather belt, a clipboard, and some other odds and ends.

  “I didn’t come by for your help,” Shelby said, her voice small in the darkness.

  “I know that.”

  Kade straightened, his belt over one shoulder, the bag in hand.

  He’d had a lot of time to think last night. About her. This. Them. He’d come to a couple conclusions that were still taking shape in his head. All he knew was that she was here, and she needed his help. The rest? They’d figure it out—together—as it happened.

  “What do you drive?” he asked.

  “A motorcycle.”

  Kade laughed.

  Of course.

  “Let’s take my Jeep then.”

  “You’ll need to—”

  “Swap the plates out?” He grimaced.

  “Yeah…”

  “I’ve been around long enough to know how this goes. Close the window, will you? I’d rather not leave an open invite for my brothers to just pop in whenever they like.” Kade wasn’t stupid enough to believe he could keep the two out, and given the choice between them squatting somewhere and crashing on his sofa, his place was the better option. He just didn’t have to like it.

  Kade finished patting down his pockets.

  There was an older woman who hardly ever left. They could swap the plates with hers. The Florida tags would put another barrier in the mix. He was pretty sure her car hadn’t been registered or inspected in years.

  They used the walkway to cross into the parking structure attached to the building. The harsh halogen lights made the dark crescents under Shelby’s eyes stand out.

  “Did you get any rest?” he asked.

  “I hardly ever sleep during a job. Too many things could go wrong.” She kept her gaze on the cars around them, as if an enemy might jump out from behind any one of them. “Did you ever do this stuff with your brothers?”

  “Never by choice.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I mean, when your oldest brother takes Mom and Dad’s car for a joy ride, and he invites you along, you don’t ask questions. Not until it’s too late, and you’re holding a flashlight while he breaks into some poor soul’s house.”

  “Sasha?”

  “And Anton. Though, Anton always made it sound like an adventure in the beginning.”

  Kade knelt next to the old, land-shark of a car and filched the plates. It took a few minutes to put them on over his, before they could hit the road.

  “You think this will work?” Shelby plucked at the edge of the shirt he’d given her. It swallowed her, leaving her swimming in fabric.

  “There’s something about a uniform that makes you invisible.” He shrugged.

  “How’d you walk away and never look back? How do you make that choice?” Shelby stared out at the street. It was creeping past four. They had a narrow span of time to do this and get out before the early work crowd showed up.

  “It’s pretty easy, when you’re the one hauled out of bed to save a dying guy who got caught on the wrong end of a gun.” Kade glanced over at her. “I was home for a week, just before my first trip overseas. My brothers woke me up by dragging their friend, Little Pete, into my bedroom. Little Pete’s not really little. He was…covered in blood. Head to toe. They’d tried breaking into a jewelry shop, but the owner hadn’t left yet. He put two bullets in their friend, and one nicked an artery. I told them to call 9-1-1, so they held a gun to my head and told me to fix him. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been back since then.”

  “Did you save him?”

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “What about before that? Something else put you on this path. What?”

  “Any number of things. Traveling with my parents, getting run out of towns because we were devil worshipers. Black magic users. It just wasn’t right. I didn’t want that.”

  “And here you are now.”

  “This is different.”

  “How?”

  “We’re going to stop the bad guys. Right?” Or was there something she wasn’t telling him?

  “What if we can’t figure out what we’re stealing? What if someone is hurt because of it? What if someone dies?” She turned to look at him.

  He glanced at her, waiting for the light to flip to green.

  “One thing at a time.” That’s what he had to focus on.

  He couldn’t think about sliding down the slope. He couldn’t entertain the idea that he’d slip up. They were doing a good thing, though right now he had to agree, it didn’t look very good.

  10.

  Shelby peered up and down the street.

  She couldn’t fault Kade’s choice in parking spot. It was out of the way. Not in direct sight of the building. The chances of the license plates getting caught on camera were slim.

  Was he lying to her about his part in his brother’s youthful schemes? If he was, she couldn’t blame him. If she’d gotten away like he had, she wouldn’t want to ‘fess up to who or what she’d been either. Except, here she was, pulling him right back in.

  “Okay, night shift is probably in their last hour.” Kade peered at his clock. “Just stay behind me and let me do the good ‘ol boy routine, okay?”

  “I hate the boys club.” She sighed and popped her seatbelt. “Security entrance is on the side of the building.”

  “Any idea how many guards are on duty?”

  “Just two.”

  “One to watch the cameras and one to escort us.” Kade frowned. “Any idea what to do about the cameras?”

  “Gil gave me a toy for that, but I have no idea how to tell if it’s working or not. He said secure it to a cable or something.” She couldn’t shake the feeling that Gil would hang her out to dry in an instant.

  “Show me?” Kade held out his hand.

  Shelby dug the device out of her messenger bag and handed it over.

  Kade examined what was basically a box with a switch, as if he could understand its inner workings.

  “If I had to guess, it’s a signal jammer. Short range. I’ve seen guys use stuff like this in the field, but it’s hard to say without testing it.” He handed it back to her.

  “What do we do?”

  “Put it into place and flip the switch. We should see…something happen. Then one of us can go back up to the security desk to check it out.”

  “I hate this. I hate not knowing what I’m doing or if this is going to work,” Shel
by muttered. When she’d been operating a heist, she’d had a lot more preparation.

  “We’ll wing it. It’ll be okay.” Kade hefted his bag. “Show’s on.”

  Shelby let him draw a step ahead of her. She tugged the knit cap she’d brought with her farther down on her head.

  It’d be easy enough to get downstairs under the guise of looking at the elevators. If the security guards bought Kade’s story. But how did they ensure the guards looked the other way, long enough for them to get into the server room and plug the drive in?

  This wasn’t right.

  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was wrong.

  There was no adrenaline-pumping excitement for her. Just a cold dread that she couldn’t figure out.

  The security guard at the desk stuck his head out of the door. Kade smiled and chatted away. A thirty-second Google search on the building management had yielded a few names to throw around.

  She watched Kade. His words didn’t matter, it was how he spoke. That friendly smile. No one would imagine a guy so nice could be up to anything bad at all.

  He’d be good at this sort of stuff.

  Better than his brothers, if he wanted to be. And therein lay the problem. It wasn’t his brothers pulling him into this one, it was her.

  “Say, Jenny, do you have that work order on you?” Kade turned toward her.

  “Uh…” Shit. They hadn’t practiced this part.

  Shelby flipped through the pages on the clipboard. What was she looking for?

  “I couldn’t find the paper order this morning.” Kade sighed. “I was hoping Jenny found it. All I got is this email telling me to be here bright and early.”

  “I really want number three fixed.” The guard glanced over his shoulder. “How long do you think it’ll take?”

  “Well, first I’ve got to see what’s wrong.” Kade shrugged. He was playing the aw shucks card hard. “Could be it just needs a little tune up. Worst case, it’ll need a part, and I’ll have to come back later.”

  “I’m tired of hearing people bitch, but the other guy’s an old stick in the mud.” The guard glanced once more over his shoulder. “You think you can get down there on your own and take a look? I’m tired, and the last thing I want is to deal with another one of these uppity bitches gripe about not being able to use the elevator they want to. Use one of the other ones.”

  “People are funny, man.” Kade shook his head and laughed. “Yeah, I can take a look. Box is on the first floor?”

  “Downstairs. Straight through there.” The guard held the glass door for them and gestured at a stairwell tucked away in a corner. “Down and around to the right.”

  “Got it. Appreciate it, man.” Kade slapped the security guard on the shoulder.

  Shelby kept her head down and stayed on Kade’s heels.

  How the heck had he made that look so easy?

  Kade paused at the bottom to peer up behind them.

  “How did you know they’d have a janky elevator?” she asked.

  “Just a guess. Almost every building over five years old has elevator issues. You wouldn’t believe the number of times the fire department gets called out to deal with these things. We’re good. Come on.”

  This wasn’t her kind of gig, it wasn’t what she did, but she still felt as though she should be the one excelling at it. Instead, Kade was showing her up.

  “Hey.” Kade gripped her arm, staring down at her.

  “Sorry, I’m not used to feeling off my game.”

  “You’re doing great. The rest is all you.” He settled his hand on her lower back. “Thanks for letting me tag along.”

  “You’re the one doing all the work.” She shrugged.

  Ouch.

  She hit that nail on the head.

  “Hey—what’s wrong?” Kade frowned at her.

  “Nothing, can we just do this already?” The last thing Shelby wanted to do was lay herself bare for him to see.

  Kade stepped in front of her. The good ol’ boy routine was gone, and he was just—Kade.

  Kade who saw too deeply.

  Kade who could do better than her.

  Because she needed that reminder.

  “We’re a team.” He bent his head and for half a second, she thought he might kiss her, but instead, he whispered, “Don’t forget that.”

  She felt his warm breath across her lips, could remember the way he tasted. Her stomach tightened, and her gaze went a little fuzzy until she realized he was walking away from her.

  Damn that man.

  She hustled after him, torn between putting a boot up his ass or yanking him down for a real kiss.

  Kade was already unscrewing the elevator panel by the time she caught up to him. He was fast with his hands.

  Why did that fact make her stomach all fluttery?

  “If I had to guess, that one.” Kade pointed at one of many cables.

  “Why?” To her, it was just another black cable in the bunch.

  “I’ve just got a feeling.” He shrugged.

  “Do you get them often? Should you see a doctor for that?”

  “Ha. Ha. You’re funny. Do it.”

  “Do you get your bossiness from your mother’s side of the family? Or your father’s?”

  “Who says it’s genetic?”

  “Your brothers like to boss people around. Especially Sasha.”

  Kade’s hands splayed on the wall on either side of her. She tried not to, but she swallowed anyway. Once more, she felt the phantom touch of his lips on her neck and mouth. Memories from the other night, from what could have been.

  “What did he do?” Kade’s voice had gone rough, more like a growl.

  Shelby very slowly looked over her shoulder. What was between the brothers wasn’t simple. It was complicated and fraught with baggage covered in blood. She’d have to remember that.

  “It was just a joke, Kade. Sasha’s never done anything.”

  “I’d kill him.” His face was rigid, his eyes cold.

  “Kade? Kade, look at me.” Shelby cupped Kade’s face.

  Right, never joke about the brothers again.

  “I’m nothing like Sasha,” Kade whispered.

  “I know that.” She stroked his cheek.

  “I wouldn’t do the things he’d do.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. You’re right.” Shelby turned in the cage of his arms and slid her hand along his cheek. The comparison to his brother, the genetic joke, it’d triggered something in him, and she needed him to come back to her.

  She leaned in slowly, setting her lips to his in a gentle kiss. His mouth was hard, but he tilted his head. A little bit.

  God damn it, they could not be doing this now.

  He acted like none of this bothered him, but it had to. She’d been doing this for half her life, and it wasn’t normal to her.

  “Kade?” She whispered his name against his lips.

  He leaned against her, pinning her to the wall with his body. His tongue swiped across her lips, the heat of him searing her flesh, sinking into her. The first inklings of heist adrenaline pumped into her, mixed with lust.

  One of his hands cupped the back of her head, pulling her closer. His thigh pressed between her legs.

  She bit his lower lip and his body tensed.

  These next words were going to kill her.

  “We have a job to do, Kade.”

  Iestyn Ogden flipped the switch once the device was in place, looping the security cameras as the tryst continued on his screen.

  He’d known about this man. Seen them together, thanks to the cameras he’d installed in her loft. And yet, watching them in real time was different.

  Shelby thought she was so smart. That she’d capture him.

  She was the spitting image of her mother, but there wasn’t much of the Amos look to her. Which meant Shelby could, in theory, be Iestyn’s child.

  It wasn’t an appealing option. Not when Iestyn had plans for Shelby, but he’d need to make certain. />
  Who the hell was this new man in Sharon’s life?

  No—this was Shelby.

  Sharon was dead, because she’d chosen the wrong man.

  Who—was—he? Was he the other Tsaplin brother? The one Gil had told him about?

  He was touching his Sharon.

  Iestyn clenched his fist and leaned closer. He only had a glimpse of Sharon—no, Shelby—from the single camera down the hall. The man was still a mystery.

  Iestyn didn’t like someone else’s hands on his Sharon. Shelby—damn it.

  But this was his chance.

  To do it right again.

  From the start.

  In a more complete fashion than he’d planned. Because the man added another factor, one they’d been missing.

  Iestyn hadn’t been able to win Sharon over because he hadn’t been able to bring himself to be forceful with her. To do what was in her best interest. He’d thought that if he let her go, she’d come back to him.

  It would be different with Shelby.

  It had to be.

  Which meant this man had a part to play. Because this was Iestyn’s world and he got what he wanted.

  Kade walked through his front door at a little after eight o’ clock. The last four hours didn’t even feel real.

  He saw his walls, his kitchen, the mail gathering in the bin. His brothers weren’t there, which was about the only thing right so far. It was as if he were viewing it all through a fog, a haze. He wasn’t himself—and yet he was.

  “Here. Drink this.” Shelby held a shot glass.

  That was the vodka from his freezer. While he’d like nothing more than to forget what they’d done, he couldn’t lose sight of his responsibility.

  “I work in a couple of hours.” He stared at her lips, remembering all too well the feel of her. How she’d kissed him, not the other way around. At least not at first.

  “It’s one shot. Take it.”

  He bent his head, wrapped his lips around the glass and tipped his head back. The cold liquor hit his throat and went down, and it felt like it stripped a layer of skin off with it. He shook his head and slammed the miniature red Solo cup down in the sink.