It Takes a Thief--A Heist Romance

by Sloane Steele

  Audrey continued to stare at the painting and suddenly was smacked in the head with clothes.

  “I think those will fit you enough and make you look like you are a cable guy. I thought I had a hat, but I can’t find it. We’ll have to stop on the way.”

  “Do I really need a hat?”

  “Cameras, babe. A hat will obscure your face.”

  And this was why she worked behind a computer and not out where she would have to interact with the world.

  By lunchtime, they had procured a cap and were rolling down Lake Shore Drive toward the north suburbs.

  Nikki parked down the block and Audrey headed to the Scotts’ house, ball cap strategically covering most of her face and avoiding the cameras. She walked up the long driveway and swallowed her awe at the house. It was more impressive in person. The side yard was bigger than any she’d ever seen, a four-car garage stood farther back, and she knew more land continued out back even though she couldn’t see the yard. The front of the house had flowers and bushes and a perfectly manicured bright green lawn. She climbed the concrete steps and rang the bell. Keeping her head ducked, she glanced at the expansive bay window beside the front porch.

  A slew of scenarios ran through her head. When a pretty blonde open the door, Audrey was surprised. She hadn’t thought Scott’s young trophy wife would answer her own door.

  “Hi, I’m from Avox Cable. I’d love to tell you about the specials we have going on right now.”

  “I don’t have time. I’m on my way out.”

  Audrey looked her up and down. The woman wore a cute white tennis outfit with a gym bag slung over one shoulder.

  “Can I ask who your current provider is?”

  “I really don’t know. My husband handles all of that. I don’t watch much TV.”

  Crap. She was losing her window of opportunity. “Can I leave some information about our specials and you can have him call us?”

  “Sure,” the woman said with a heavy sigh.

  Audrey flipped open her portfolio and all of her forms and papers shot out into the house all over the floor. “Oh, my gosh. I am so sorry.” She bent and began picking up papers, scooting closer in the doorway as she did.

  Mrs. Scott bent and picked up a few pages. Audrey crawled across the floor. “I am so sorry.”

  “Connie,” Mrs. Scott called. A moment later a maid came from the other room. “Connie, when this young woman retrieves her papers, please take the information she has and put it on Mr. Scott’s desk. I’m late for my lesson.” Then she walked out.

  Connie bent down and helped to gather the papers. As Audrey straightened the pages, she looked at the keypad. When she stood, she glanced around to find the sensors for the motion detector. She accepted the pile Connie handed her.

  “I’m really sorry about this. This is my first day out on my own.” Looking at the papers, she asked, “Can I set this down for a minute to reorganize? I’m such a mess and I can’t afford to lose this job.”

  Connie nodded and led her to a side table in the foyer. Audrey shuffled the papers, taking a cable flyer out and setting it aside. Without looking at the pages, she stacked them with care, as if the order mattered, while she shifted her gaze around the room. From her spot, she couldn’t see the painting. She saw no sensors pointed toward the stairs.

  She turned and handed Connie the flyer. “I’m sorry. Thank you for being so patient.” As she hustled out the door, she called, “Have a good day.”

  Head down, she walked back to the car, where Nikki sat playing on her phone. When Audrey climbed in, she said, “How’d it go?”

  “I think I have the information we need.”

  “No one suspected anything?”

  “Nope. Mrs. Scott was on her way out for a tennis lesson. When I spilled my papers all over the floor, she couldn’t leave fast enough. She left the maid to watch me clean it up.”

  As they pulled away, Audrey’s phone lit up with texts from Jay wondering where she was. She responded to let him know she and Nikki were together. They hit a drive-thru on the way back to the apartment but didn’t talk. Nikki had the radio turned up loud and that was enough to let Audrey know conversation wasn’t needed.

  Jay was already in the apartment when they got there, messing with her computer. Okay, so it wasn’t hers yet, since they bought it, but still. It was her domain. She hadn’t quite figured out exactly what his role was, but it wasn’t hacker.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Checking what you accomplished yesterday.”

  “A lot of information gathering.”

  He looked up from the desk and scanned her body. “What were you two doing?”

  “Recon,” Nikki answered.

  “What?”

  Audrey set their food on the table. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I went in as a cable salesperson. I got as far as the foyer.” She made sure to pronounce it foy-ay. “From what I could see, no motion sensors are directed at the painting. I couldn’t see the painting, so obviously I couldn’t see if there was a trip wire behind it. But I did get the new model of the alarm.”

  He sat quietly listening to everything she said. She couldn’t read his face. Nikki had been sure they’d be pissed that she and Nikki had gone, but he didn’t look mad. He looked almost...impressed.

  “And where were you this morning?” Nikki asked.

  “Working.”

  Audrey sat at the table but turned to face him. “So we aren’t allowed to continue working, but you are? Doesn’t seem quite fair.”

  “My job not only affords you, but it also gives me the names of people who might want to buy this particular painting.”

  “What exactly do you do?” Nikki asked.

  He leaned back in the desk chair, and Audrey didn’t think he was going to answer.

  “I negotiate things.”

  “Like?” Nikki prodded.

  “Whatever my clients need.”

  “You’re a fixer,” Audrey said. Suddenly pieces were falling into place. The variety of jobs he’d hired her to do, the amount of money he was willing to spend. But this job, stealing a painting and replacing it with a forgery, didn’t sound like a fixer job. So while some things made more sense, this job made less.

  * * *

  Fixer. He hated that word. It oversimplified everything he did and it carried a connotation of someone who only accomplished negotiations through illegal means, like a con man. While he wasn’t averse to dabbling on the dark side, he didn’t see himself as a criminal. He wasn’t like his father.

  “You could say that.” He pasted on his best smile, hiding his irritation. If Data knew how much the difference in terms bothered him, she might make use of it.

  Data studied him as if checking to see if she could spot a lie. He almost wished she had turned out to be a man. Then he wouldn’t be attracted to her.

  His answer seemed to satisfy their curiosity enough to stop them asking questions. He sat back and watched them eat their lunch. He didn’t need to be here, but he’d told Mia he’d keep an eye on them. When Mia found out about their little field trip this morning, she’d be pissed, but he couldn’t help but be impressed by their initiative.

  He must’ve zoned out while thinking about the team and their plans because he suddenly found Data standing in front of him waiting. His gaze met hers.

  “You’re in my way. I have things to do.”

  He slid over, pulling the other chair to where he’d been. She slid past, careful to not let any part of her touch him. She took off the cap she wore and sailed it across the room at Nikki.

  “Thanks for that.”

  Nikki picked it up and twirled it on her finger. “I’ll add it to my collection.”

  “You collect ball caps?”

  “Costumes. You never know when you’ll need to be someone else.”
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br />   Jared watched the interaction with the realization that the women were becoming friends and wondered how that might develop into a problem later.

  Data tapped away on the keyboard. He watched as her fingers flew over the keys. Then the monitor had his attention. Since Nikki was lounging and watching TV, Data hadn’t bothered using the big screen. She was downloading specs for an alarm. Then she switched over to familiar-looking forums. The place they had met.

  “Do you have to do that?” she asked without looking at him.

  “What?”

  “Stare at me.”

  “I’m fascinated by your work. You should know that by now. Plus, you’re pretty.”

  Her cheeks grew pink, but she didn’t say anything.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “A shortcut. If this system has a back door, someone will know about it.” Now she did glance over her shoulder. “I assume you’re willing to pay if someone has the information?”

  “If they’re reasonable, yes.”

  She chuckled. “I have a feeling your idea of reasonable and mine are completely different, so we’ll be fine.”

  She opened a chat box and talked with her dark web friends.

  “You’re doing it again,” she said from between clenched teeth.

  “Get used to it. I like to watch.”

  “Sorry, that’s not my kink,” she said with a straight face.

  He didn’t know if she was joking or if she meant to imply she had a different kink.

  Before he could ask, she reached over and pulled on her headphones. She pursed her lips and he was pretty sure she was holding back a smile. He wondered what she listened to. Was it classical music? White noise? No, she was a hard rock girl.

  He took out his phone to take care of some texts and emails so she couldn’t tell him he was being creepy. But she was fascinating. Just like yesterday, she fell into her own rhythm, her own world, and the rest of them ceased to exist.

  After a while, Nikki became restless and went for a run. Jared moved through the apartment. Although Nikki lived there, she left few signs of her presence. Some clothes thrown haphazardly across one bedroom. Nothing personal. He knew she traveled a lot, going wherever her next job took her. But to his knowledge, Chicago was her home base. What did her real home look like?

  A glance at Data had him wondering the same thing. Who is she outside these walls?

  Suddenly she slid back from the desk with a loud clap and threw her arms in the air. “Yes!”

  He returned to the chair beside her and studied the screen. A long list of meaningless code.

  She stood and tossed her headphones next to the keyboard. She shimmied and danced to the music still blaring from the headphones. Joan Jett?

  “What?” he asked.

  “I got it. I have the way in.”

  The look on her face was sheer joy. A victor in battle. She held both hands up, palms facing him. “Hello? High five?”

  He dropped his phone and raised his hands to meet hers. Her excitement was contagious and he couldn’t help but smile. Tugging her arm, he said, “Now tell me what you have.”

  She pulled back. “Can’t just let me enjoy the moment, huh? Always on my back to check my work.”

  He took a breath. “I’m not checking up. I’m genuinely interested. I want to know how you do what you do.”

  “If I give you all my trade secrets, I lose my edge, devalue my contributions, and make myself replaceable.”

  “Not likely.”

  Her cheeks flushed pink again and she ducked her head. “Well, no one single person had a way in, but based on a few conversations I’ve found, I think I can overload the system and force a reboot. If I can make that happen, Nikki has time to get in.”

  He nodded. Sounded good. “Enough time to get the painting and get back out, too?”

  “Sheesh,” she said with an eye roll. “Give me time. I’ve only been at this a couple of days.”

  For the next hour, they worked side by side, bouncing ideas and trying to figure out how they could do a test run.

  Then Nikki strode back in. “Here.” She tossed a package at Data.

  “Oreos,” she said reverently. “How’d you know?”

  “You dumped like five wrappers from individual packs out of your sweatshirt when you changed. I figured as hard as you’re working, you deserve a reward. And if you’re going to indulge, I say go all the way,” she said, pointing at the full package of cookies. Then she smiled at him and winked. “Don’t you agree, Jay?”

  Nikki’s constant teasing was tough to get used to. He hadn’t grown up with siblings, just Mia, and she wasn’t the poking-fun type. “And what type of reward do you suggest?”

  “I’m thinking the girl probably gets stiff and sore being all hunched over like that for hours on end. You know how it is to get all stiff, don’tcha?”

  He cleared his throat. “We’re all a little old for your junior-high double entendres.”

  Data shot a look at Nikki as she peeled back the top of the package on the cookies.

  He reached across and plucked one out. He hadn’t had one since his childhood.

  “Do you bite or lick?” Nikki called.

  He paused with the cookie in his hand.

  Data twisted to separate the sides of the sandwich. “I am all about the licking.”

  Then while maintaining complete eye contact, she swiped her tongue over the white paste, and Jared’s dick thickened in his pants. He knew better, normally had more control, but these women were killing him.

  To counter, he bit through the cookie.

  Nikki snickered. “Back to our plan?”

  He had never been so grateful for someone to push them to work.

  “About a trial run. Why not have the same system installed here? Then I can play with it and learn the ins and outs,” Data said.

  “That’s not feasible.” He’d considered the same thing, but they couldn’t afford to buy every system they might encounter. Of course, Data and Nikki weren’t yet aware that there would be other jobs. Jared and Mia wanted to see how successful they would be on this first one.

  “How risky would it be to do it on Scott’s house?” Nikki asked. “Like in the middle of the night.”

  “The system might send a signal to the monitoring company,” Data said.

  “Let’s do this old school. Make a list of questions. I’ll call the alarm company.” He held up his burner phone.

  Chapter Six

  Audrey made a list of questions, some of which she had no idea how Jay would ask without sounding like a thief trying to hack the system. He got on the phone with yet another phony name. Smooth as melted chocolate, he spoke like the man she suspected him to be: someone rich enough to need a top-notch security system. She wondered what kind he had on his house.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Her phone, not the one Ms. Green had given her. The only person who ever called her phone was the assisted living facility. She ducked into the spare bedroom to answer. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Abbott?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is Mrs. Merriweather at Horizons.”

  “What’s wrong? Is my grandma okay?”

  “She is, but she’s had a very bad day. Is there any way you could visit? Seeing a familiar face might help.”

  Familiar. Sure. At this point it was hit or miss if Gram recognized her at all. She peeked through the door and saw Jay still on the phone. “Yeah. I’ll be there soon.”

  She stuffed her things in her bag. In the living room, she told Nikki she had to go take care of something and left without saying anything to Jay. Knowing him, he’d probably try to tell her she wasn’t allowed to leave. She ran to the corner and hopped on a bus. If she timed it right, she could be back here within a couple hours.

  Th
e sun was lowering, but the air remained warm. Inside Horizons, the air felt slightly cool and stale, like being in a hospital. At the front desk, she signed in. Rather than ask for Mrs. Merriweather, Audrey went straight to Gram’s room.

  She knocked.

  When Gram opened the door, she looked at Audrey blankly. It was one of those days.

  “Hi, Gram. How are you today?”

  “I’m fine. How many times are you people going to ask me that?” She turned and walked into the apartment, leaving the door open for Audrey to follow. She wore her favorite light blue tracksuit. On good days, she sometimes walked around the park with a group of residents. On bad days, she still dressed like it was a possibility.

  As she neared the living room, she turned back to Audrey. “Audrey?”

  “Yeah, Gram.”

  “When did you get here?”

  “Just now.”

  “Come in and tell me what’s going on in your life.”

  Audrey made her way into the room, taking note of the magazines and newspapers on the floor. A quick glance at the kitchen let her know that at least someone had been by to make sure dishes were clean. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine. I want to hear about you.” Gram eased into a recliner that had seen better days. It was one of the few items they’d kept from their place. A small piece of home. Then she studied Audrey as she always did. “You look so much like her. I can’t get over it.”

  Being told she looked like her mother was far from the worst thing Gram could’ve said. Some days, Gram thought she was Tina and yelled and threatened her to make her stay away. Audrey didn’t have many fond memories of her mother. Tina was an addict who never had the desire or ability to get clean. She also hadn’t had the desire or ability to care for Audrey. Men, however, she always had a fresh desire for.

  “Tell me about your boyfriend. What’s his name again? Michael?”

  Audrey smiled. Sometimes she made up stories to tell Gram about her life. As far as Ruth Abbott knew, Audrey was a successful computer engineer who left a trail of broken hearts as she looked for the perfect man. With a wave of her hand, she said, “Oh, I broke up with him. He wanted me to scale back on my career for him.”