by Liliana Hart
Cat shook her head. “Thomas—”
“No, hear me out. Please.” She nodded and he felt like he’d been given a reprieve. “I knew as soon as I walked into my office that day that it wasn’t me that had put that look in your eye. I used it as an excuse to blame you for what’s been happening between us. When I really should have been blaming myself for not doing anything to keep what we had going. I’m sorry for that.”
The knife clattered to the counter and she dropped her head down. Silent sobs shook her shoulders and tears dripped from her cheeks onto the cutting block. He couldn’t help but go to her and put his arms around her. The touch was awkward at first, and he realized it was the first time they’d touched at all in two weeks.
The feel of her in his arms was like taking a long drink of water after a drought. She relaxed into him and put her arms around his waist. Her touch had him breathing out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t too late to fix this.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was working again.” Her voice was muffled against his chest. “I thought you didn’t love me anymore because I’d stopped being exciting, so I wanted to test you. We both just stood back and watched instead of getting involved. There were plenty of times we had crazy sex without me going on a job first.”
He laughed and squeezed her tighter. “Yeah. Plenty of times. I do love you. I hope you know that. And I honestly don’t mind if you want to start doing work for the FBI again. I just want you to be honest with me. I’m actually surprised you lasted as long as you did going without. It’s part of who you are, love. I’d never ask you to change that for me.”
She pulled out of his arms and scrubbed her hands over her face. “I’ve only done a couple of jobs for MacKenzie Security. Declan needed me for some easy security tests, so there wasn’t even a real risk.”
His eyebrows rose at that admission and his conversation with Declan became a little clearer.
“We never did get to celebrate our anniversary,” he said. “But I’ve got a surprise for you I think you’re going to like. Wait right here.”
He left her in the kitchen and went to retrieve the package from his office that Declan had sent. When he came back she was back at the chopping block, only this time she wasn’t using quite as much force with the potatoes.
“Here you go.” He didn’t know why he was so nervous. It was a gift. An unusual gift, yes, but still just a gift. It was also a peace offering. A way to reunite them and close the distance that had been growing between them.
He sat the package on the counter and watched as her eyebrows rose when she saw the insignia on the front. Obviously, she knew where and who it was from.
“Where’d you get this?” She wiped her hands off on the towel tucked into her waistband and pulled the package closer.
“Declan sent it to me yesterday.”
“To you?” She looked surprised and a little disbelieving. “Why to you?”
“Just open it. Geez, woman.”
She carefully removed the file and the box wrapped in a soft cloth. She sat the box aside and went straight to the file. It was interesting. He would’ve opened the box first out of curiosity.
“What is it?”
“It looks like Dec has a job for me.”
“For us,” Thomas corrected.
“No, I’m pretty sure I’m the thief in this relationship.”
“Except for this once. We’re doing this one together. Declan said he’d find something we could do together, though I’m amazed he didn’t strangle himself trying to hold back his laughter. Happy anniversary, love.”
He grinned at the mutinous look on her face. This was going to be fun.
“You can’t be serious. You don’t know the first thing about breaking and entering.”
“I know you have to be quiet. And I know Declan would never send us on a job with real danger. I also know enough to follow directions from someone with more experience.”
“If you followed directions you’d listen to me when I told you this will go much smoother if I go in myself. Even if you did hatch this plan with Dec. For all I know, he’s booby-trapped the whole thing and we’ll end up spending the night in jail.”
He kept smiling and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, rubbing it off on the sleeve of his shirt before he took a bite.
“Nope. Still going with you. It’s an anniversary present. Which means we have to do it together.”
Her eyes narrowed and he looked nervously at the knife in her hand. He was probably safe. Probably.
“So where are we going?” he asked.
“You haven’t looked yet?”
“This is your anniversary gift. I thought you should do the honors.”
“I think you’ve lost your mind in your old age.”
“Bite your tongue, woman. I’m in the prime of my life.”
Her dimples fluttered as she gave him a coy look. “Yes, I remember.”
The fit of his jeans was becoming decidedly uncomfortable, and he occupied himself by heading to the coffee pot to refill his cup while she looked through the file.
“It looks like the job is in New York. He’s sent the flash drive with the blueprints and information on the security. It looks fairly straightforward.”
“New York on Valentine’s Day. That could be romantic.”
“If we’re not spending it in jail.”
“I’ve always had a fantasy about borrowing some of Cooper’s handcuffs—”
She interrupted him with a look that made his balls shrivel. “In my line of work, you never joke about handcuffs.”
He cleared his throat and took a drink. “Right. Sorry. So what are we stealing?”
“This isn’t a retrieval,” she said, moving her attention to the wrapped box. “It’s a replacement.”
“I don’t understand.”
“According to Declan’s notes, this item was stolen from the original owners more than a year ago. A Jack and Judy Drake of London, though the theft occurred from their New York residence.”
She unwrapped the cloth and then cut through a layer of bubble wrap, revealing a wooden box. When she opened the box she let out a low whistle.
“What is it?”
“A Fabergé Egg. I remember when this was taken. It went for almost ten million pounds at auction and they barely had it a month before it was stolen.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“Certainly enough to steal for. Dec discovered it while doing another job and retrieved it, but that wasn’t the goal of
the job he was on, so it’s not like he can advertise that he randomly came across a stolen Fabergé Egg. So our job will be to break in and put the piece back where it belongs.”
“Lovely. So this is like a good deed.”
“Yes. A very good deed.”
“Well, then. I guess we need to make plans to head to New York.”
CHAPTER SIX
Surrender was like an old woman—set in her ways and slow to change—but appreciative of the beauty around her and with an inner wisdom of what was most important in life.
New York was younger and more aggressive—a businesswoman in icepick thin heels, bustling in quick shapes and fast motions, but with a coordinated grace that was oftentimes overlooked.
Both had their strengths and weaknesses, their own beauty and ugliness, but Thomas had never cared much for the city. There was certainly a uniqueness about the lights and fast pace that was mesmerizing in their blatancy, but he’d take a snow-capped mountain or his boat out on the lake any day.
The top of the Empire State Building glowed red for the holiday and the flashing billboards in Times Square advertised last minute gifts of chocolate and expensive jewelry.
He and Cat had worked out their personas before they’d set out for their romantic night on the town. He was supposed to play the reluctant husband who’d rather be back at the hotel rather than braving the city on Valentine’s Day.
Cat had thought the cover was hilarious. He wa
sn’t so sure he’d be able to pull it off. Especially considering the fact that as soon as she’d stepped out in the little black dress she was barely wearing he’d been hard enough to drive nails. It had been a very uncomfortable evening so far.
Their driver had taken them to dinner and then to do some shopping. And he’d discreetly turned the rearview mirror when Thomas hadn’t been able to help himself and started to nibble at the base of her neck.
The limo had gotten very warm as his hand worked its way up her thigh, rubbing slow circles on the inside of her leg. Her breathing deepened as his fingers moved a little higher, and he almost swallowed his tongue when he brushed the soft curls of her sex. She wasn’t wearing underwear. And all of a sudden it was imperative he get out of the limo and into the cold air, otherwise the driver was going to get an eyeful.
Cat must have had the same thought. “Stop here, please,” she called out to their driver. “It’s a nice night for a walk.”
“If you like being stabbed in the face with icicles,” he complained. “Why don’t we go back to the hotel so I can see what you’re wearing under that dress?”
“You already know what I’m wearing under this dress,” she winked saucily.
The driver opened the door and Thomas got out first, so the rest of the world wouldn’t be able to see what she had on under the dress, and then he waited while she put her long black coat on and took his hand so he could help her out.
Thomas leaned down to kiss her just below the ear. “If you hadn’t stopped the limo I’d already be inside you right now.”
“I know. But the night’s still young.” She turned to the driver. “We’ll meet you back here in twenty minutes.” She dazzled him with a smile and he tripped over his own feet on his way back to the driver’s seat.
Cat took Thomas’s hand and started walking in the opposite direction. He either had to go with her or be dragged. So he started walking.
“Not that I don’t like taking a stroll in the freezing cold with my beautiful wife, but I’m not sure you heard me back there. We could be making love right now. In a limo.”
“This will be almost as good. I promise.”
“I think I’m offended,” he said, quirking a brow.
“Put your hand in the pocket of my coat.”
“Darling, we’re in public.”
“Idiot. Just do it.”
So he sighed and did as she asked, and he felt the carefully wrapped package of the box that held the egg. And then he felt a nervous excitement he hadn’t felt since he’d been fifteen and had broken into Duffey’s Bar to steal a case of beer.
“Jesus, we’re doing it now?”
“No time like the present. And Mr. and Mrs. Drake are out for their own very lovely evening to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This is our best chance.”
“How do you know? That they’re out, I mean.”
“I hacked into Mr. Drake’s computer to download a copy of his schedule. They’ve got a dinner reservation at eight, followed by a small party given by a friend of theirs on the East Side. We’ve got plenty of time to get the job done.”
They walked a couple of blocks before they came to a row of lovely brownstones that each stood three stories tall.
“The great thing about these old buildings is that they have fire escapes,” she whispered, leading him to the backside of the houses.
“You’re going to climb a fire escape without underwear on?”
“You seem to be strangely fixated on the fact that I’m not wearing underwear. “
“Considering an important part of my body is very unbendable at the moment, it’s not exactly going to be easy for me to do a lot of climbing.”
Cat snickered and shrugged out of her coat, peeling off a utility belt that had been Velcroed to the inside lining. She handed him the coat while she strapped it around her waist and then she tied her hair back with a black band and pulled a black cap over it.
“Gloves for you,” she said, handing him a pair while she slipped on her own.
He took them and put them on, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She looked like a female Rambo, and the image definitely wasn’t helping his libido.
“Hold onto the egg and put my coat and shoes in that patch of shadow over there. No need to call unnecessary attention to our things.”
“Because no one will notice you climbing up the fire escape.”
“They won’t. I’ll release the fire escape ladder for you so you can follow me up. Unless you’ve changed your mind and want to wait here for me. You don’t have to come up.”
“We talked about this. I’m coming. Though I have to say the thought of getting caught isn’t at all appealing.”
“Then let’s not get caught. Declan’s little gizmo here will help with that.” She pulled out silver remote that was barely as thick as a few sheets of paper stacked together and hit a button. “It’s a scrambler for the alarm,” she explained. “He designed this specific system, so he knows how to bypass it.”
“That’s handy.”
“Dec’s a handy kind of guy.”
The light on the remote blinked green, and then as quick as he could blink Cat had some kind of tool that look like a mini harpoon in her hand. She aimed and fired and there was a whoosh of air and a clank as it buried into the side of the building.
She attached it to her belt and then hit a switch and she literally flew right up the side of the building.
“That’s pretty damn cool,” Thomas said, unable to avoid looking up her skirt as she rose above him. “You’d think the cold air would be helping right about now, and yet, it’s not.”
“Stop mumbling,” she hissed down at him.
He looked around to see if anyone had noticed them, but the coast was clear. The streets were vacant because of the weather, and only the occasional car passed by since it was so late.
Cat released the fire escape ladder, and he winced at the squeaks as it came to the ground.
“Hurry,” she called out.
By the time he climbed up the fire escape, she’d already taped off the window and was cutting a hole just above the lock. While she finished that up he took his handkerchief and unscrewed the outside light attached to the side of the building. She had a penlight in her mouth and the window open before he could replace his handkerchief. And then they were inside.
The box holding the egg was beginning to feel like lead in his hands, and his stomach was turning in knots as he walked through another person’s home and looked at their belongings. It was a surreal feeling, and not completely pleasant.
He knew if there was trouble that Declan would fix it for them, but that fear of the unknown danger that might be lurking around the corner was both a rush and terrifying at the same time. He could see why she loved it. But he personally had rather deal with an entire room of patients with the flu.
She held her finger to her lips as she opened the door of the upstairs bedroom they’d broken into and looked out into the hall. He’d looked over the plans with her on the computer and knew they only had to go down the hall two doors and they’d be in the master bedroom.
A light flicked on somewhere on the floor below them and they both froze, time suspended. Footsteps shuffled against the hardwood floors as someone went into the bathroom and then flushed the toilet less than a minute later.
Thomas gripped Cat’s hand and tried to nudge her back toward the window where they came in, but she looked unbothered by the threat.
“The housekeeper,” she whispered, closing the bedroom door without a sound.
“I don’t remember there being any mention of a housekeeper in the files Dec sent.”
“She’s a temp since they live in London most of the year. She’s deaf as a post and will head back to bed. We’ll give her a few minutes to get settled.”
“You’re insane. This is nuts.”
“This was your idea,” she reminded him.
“Then I’m insane.”
“You ready?”<
br />
“Sure. What the hell.”
Cat opened the door again and they listened for signs of the housekeeper. The light below had been turned off and there was no sound other than the central heat kicking on. She squeezed his hand once before nodding for him to follow, and then she slipped down the hall like a ghost. If he hadn’t been three inches behind her he never would’ve known she was there at all. She moved with a lithe grace and athleticism that never ceased to stir his blood.
By the time they reached the Drakes’ bedroom, Thomas was starting to get into it a little more. His senses were more aware in the quiet and the dark, and his blood pumped in excitement. He saw the gleam in Cat’s eyes and knew she had a similar feeling.
The Drakes’ bedroom was large and ornate. The furnishings were fussy and decidedly female. There were multiple closets, a door to a separate sitting room, and a door to a private bathroom. He didn’t know how she did it, but she found the right door and went directly to the safe that sat in the large walk-in closet. Within a few seconds the safe door was swinging wide open.
“That makes me really hot, Mrs. MacKenzie.”
Cat grinned over her shoulder and held out her hand for the box that the egg was contained in. She unwrapped it, and the egg shimmered and sparkled beneath her penlight. She sighed once in appreciation, running a gloved finger over the delicate array of diamonds, and then she set it carefully inside the safe. She shut the door and spun the dial.
“Let’s go,” she mouthed.
He nodded, and as quickly as the entered, they were back on the ground and she had her shoes and coat back on. Then they were just another couple in love, strolling hand in hand down the streets of New York.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Jesus, it’s like being drunk,” Thomas said as they blended back into sidewalk traffic on a busier side street. He felt light headed and the adrenaline pumping through his system made him want to take risks he normally wouldn’t have dreamed of.
“Twenty minutes on the dot,” Cat said proudly as the limo pulled up beside them.