It Takes a Thief--A Heist Romance

by Sloane Steele

  Having her leap out of bed instead of enjoying the afterglow stung his ego, but it had been his idea for her to switch gears to find a solution. It had worked. Now, however, he couldn’t stop thinking about when he could get her back in bed for an extended period of time.

  He drove to his office to attempt to get some work done. Of course, Mia, being Mia, arrived within minutes of him. To her on time was late, so as usual, she was early. Why had he thought he’d have some time to do anything else?

  “What’s wrong?” she asked as soon as she whisked into his office.

  “Nothing.”

  “You don’t ask me to meet you here unless something is going on.” She closed and locked the door behind her.

  “Data has a plan to get more time for Nikki, but you’re not going to like it.” Although he wanted to pat himself on the back for remembering not to use Audrey’s real name, he braced for Mia’s scathing comments.

  Her eyes were cool, no sign of irritation, which was different these days. “Go on.”

  “They plan to go there today—”

  “Absolutely not. They’ve already been in Scott’s neighborhood twice. People will get suspicious. Especially if even the slightest thing goes wrong next Saturday.”

  Jared took a deep breath and waited patiently until she quieted. “I know they aren’t doing things the way you would, or even the way you prefer, but it’s not a bad plan. It will buy Nikki the time she needs next week. She’s run drills over and over. The frame is a problem. And we’re running out of time.”

  Mia massaged the space between her eyebrows, but said nothing.

  “The thing is, with the plan they’ve devised, they could theoretically get the painting out today.”

  “What? No,” Mia said, dropping her hand from her face.

  With a raised hand, he tried to reassure her. “I told them there were other things at play, nothing specific. But I can’t help but think it might make sense.”

  “It’s too risky. We have to have airtight alibis.”

  “We could.”

  She paused for a moment and he thought she might go for it. He also knew, though, that Mia hated people messing with her plans.

  “You know it’s more than that. I want to be with him, knowing that we’re ripping him off.”

  “Don’t you think all of that is riskier than letting Data and Nikki grab it today?”

  “I know it’s petty, but I want this. They need to pay.” When she looked up, the cold confidence she usually exuded was missing. She looked like the devastated young woman who’d just learned her father was a thief and a majority of her life was a lie.

  “They will pay. Don’t do anything rash. Let’s get through this first job and see how it goes.”

  Mia narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the right. “No one plans and avoids pitfalls as much as I do. We’re only in this mess with the painting right now because you insisted we hire people and let them run the show. Hands off, you said.” She took a step closer and stared him down. “Are you still hands off?”

  A grin cracked across his face. He didn’t even try to hide it. “Mostly.”

  She threw her hands up. “I told you no screwing the help.”

  “Really? You’re seriously calling Data and Nikki ‘the help’? No wonder they don’t like you.”

  “What do you mean, they don’t like me? They don’t know me. I’ve only interacted with them a handful of times.”

  “They haven’t said anything. Just the impression I’ve gotten. Maybe you should spend some time getting to know them.”

  “That defeats the purpose of keeping us separate and away from the thefts.” Her face tightened with disapproval.

  “You can’t have it both ways—hands-off and in charge.”

  “You shouldn’t underestimate me. This is not going to end well.”

  “Nothing’s ending yet. Data and I are enjoying each other, taking a much-needed break from scheming. Everyone needs some stress relief on occasion.” He winked. “You should try it.”

  Another slight shake of her head and a minor eye roll. “Tell me what they want to do.”

  Jared laid out the plan, from the mice to the exterminators to Nikki loosening the painting. While he spoke, Mia sat in one of the armchairs across from his desk. She slid back and crossed one leg over the other, hands folded primly in her lap.

  When he finished, he said, “What do you think?”

  “I think there is too much that can go terribly wrong.”

  “I’ve seen them in action. They know what they’re doing. This is why we chose them.”

  The reminder seemed to do the trick, gaining her acceptance.

  “All right, then. Keep an eye on them, especially Nikki. The girl has stickier fingers than a three-year-old eating cotton candy. I don’t want our timeline blown.” She stood. “And you should make sure you are nowhere near the Scotts’ house. Make dinner reservations with a client or friend. Very public.”

  He nodded. He knew she wanted him to be clear if the women were caught. They said their good-byes and Jared stretched his feet out onto the corner of his desk. He had emails to handle and clients to collect from, but he wanted a few minutes to revel in his night with Audrey, short as it was.

  Tonight would be a different story.

  * * *

  Audrey didn’t need to visit Gram today but she needed distance. When she was in the middle of a job, she would sometimes skip a visit, but today the break was necessary. Jay was invading her space a bit too much. Sure, she’d wanted to have sex with him. That was no secret. But playing video games and sharing coffee and...sleeping together? Even though he hadn’t said it, she knew that was what he’d been expecting. As if she should automatically want to snuggle up to him.

  What the hell is he thinking?

  And like a typical man, once he played with her body, he acted as if he owned it. Telling her when to sleep and what she should and shouldn’t risk. She had a mind of her own. She’d been doing fine by herself for years. Who needed his input? Definitely not her.

  Gram reached over and laid her wrinkled hand over Audrey’s. “Where is your mind today?”

  Audrey suppressed a laugh. Gram’s mind was gone more than half the time they visited, but today of all days, she was lucid enough to notice Audrey being distracted.

  “I have a lot going on, that’s all.”

  Gram closed one eye and tapped her head. “I know that look. It’s man trouble. I thought you said you found a good one.”

  Audrey blinked a few times before remembering the tale she told Gram about Jay. Of course, the old woman would remember that. “You know how it is. I’m busy and he wants more of my time.”

  Her go-to reason for keeping anyone at arm’s distance.

  “Sometimes it’s worth giving up a little of your time and space. Make room for other people. You wouldn’t be so alone.”

  She opened her mouth to argue and realized it wouldn’t have any effect. Why would she want to fight during the few precious minutes she had Gram back?

  Gram fell silent as she focused on the TV again. Audrey liked to come here to be with Gram whenever she had to sort things out. If her grandmother was lucid, she might offer advice. More often than not, though, Audrey could think without the pressure of outside forces.

  Like Jay.

  The chemistry between them sizzled. He was the perfect reason why she never mixed business with pleasure. Everything muddied and she couldn’t afford to lose focus. She needed his job to pay for Gram’s care.

  At some point, she dozed off in the chair beside Gram and woke suddenly when applause for a game show blared on the TV. She jolted up and rubbed a hand over her face. Gram was snoring away. Audrey checked her phone. She had to hurry to go find some mice and get back to the apartment.

  She’d missed a text from Nikki
. London’s in!

  Audrey kissed her grandmother’s papery cheek and left without waking her. She grabbed some more equipment from her apartment. Then she went to two different pet shops to find the mice. She chose the fattest, ugliest ones she could. If Connie thought they were cute, she might try to catch and release them herself.

  By the time she made it back, it was late afternoon, and she needed more coffee. The positive effects of her miniscule nap on the chair were fading fast. After being buzzed in—really, when would they think to give her a key?—she entered a scene of chaos. London was bouncing around rambling and Nikki was laughing hysterically.

  And no sign of Jay. Maybe he decided to leave them to handle it.

  She greeted the other women, who from what Audrey could discern were attempting to come up with some kind of SWAT-level silent hand movements to communicate. As she made her way toward the coffeemaker, she called over her shoulder, “I have some comms we can use. Small earpieces with wireless connectivity.”

  “Ooo,” London cooed. “This is so cool. I’ve never been part of a team before. Not since I was a cheerleader in high school anyway.”

  Audrey leaned against the kitchen counter and looked at London. She could totally see the artist as a cheerleader. “We never would’ve been friends in high school.”

  “Why not? I like you.”

  Nikki fell over in a peal of laughter.

  “We like you, too,” Audrey reassured her. She turned to make her cup of coffee when the front door opened again. She knew it had to be Jay. Ms. Green only showed up when she wanted to check up on them, and since everyone knew she wouldn’t like this plan, no one informed her. Except Jay probably had.

  The thought had Audrey spinning back around to make sure Ms. Green wasn’t there. Audrey was having a hard enough time without having to listen to her snippy attitude. Luckily, Jay came through the door alone bearing bags that smelled wonderful.

  “Food!” Nikki called and jumped over the back of the couch.

  Jay set the bags on the table and backed away. He looked up and when his eyes met hers, the chemistry she’d been thinking about earlier zipped right through her. He left Nikki and London to rifle through the bags and he joined her in the kitchen.

  “Did you get some rest?” he asked, trailing his thumb across her cheek in a gesture that made her want to lean in.

  “I napped.”

  “You got the mice?”

  He stood so close that she was having a hard time focusing, so she took a sidestep along the counter.

  “Of course.” She sipped her coffee. “London is going to lure the dog, Nikki is going to be lookout, and I’ll get the mice in the house. Then we’ll stand by to eavesdrop on the call so we know who to expect and when.” She winked at him. “I told you, we got this covered.”

  He inched closer and lowered his head. “I hope you’ll meet me back here afterwards. I’ve been thinking about the many ways I want to have you.”

  Her blood warmed and she tightened her grip on her mug. She focused on being casual, borderline flippant. “You had me last night.”

  “And you ran from the bed.”

  “Is your ego bruised?”

  “Of course not. My performance was so good that you were inspired.” He brushed his lips over the shell of her ear. “I plan on inspiring you a whole lot more tonight.”

  Her pulse jumped and all her girly bits throbbed. Yeah, his performance had been pretty damn good, and she wouldn’t mind a repeat.

  “Hey, get a room,” Nikki called from the table.

  Jay eased back and Audrey took a deep breath, releasing the tension her body held.

  Nikki snickered. “I guess technically you have a room.” Pointing toward the bedroom, she added, “But you better make it a quickie. We have to leave soon.”

  Audrey’s whole body flushed. She felt stuck in a spotlight. And she didn’t like it.

  “Just working off some stress,” Audrey said as she carried her coffee away from Jay and toward the women. At the table, she scooped up some French fries from Nikki’s pile and dragged them through ketchup.

  From over the top of her burger, Nikki watched her with questioning eyes. She didn’t need to explain herself. Or what she was doing with Jay. She wasn’t even sure what was happening with Jay.

  He kept his distance, remaining at the kitchen counter while she took her spot beside Nikki.

  “I feel bad for these guys. They’re going to die and they haven’t done anything wrong.” London dropped a few fries into the cage of mice.

  “They might get out before the exterminators show. They’re pretty smart,” Audrey offered.

  “When the maid starts yelling and screaming about the mice, she might just scare them right back out the door. She’ll still assume there’s a whole pack living somewhere in the house,” Nikki added.

  Audrey didn’t have the heart to tell her that Connie didn’t strike her as the kind of woman to scream over seeing a mouse.

  “Wait a minute,” London said. “We don’t need to be mice killers. You said yourself you just need a distraction to get in. Instead of going tonight, what if we wait until the Scotts are gone tomorrow. Then I start running through the yard, causing the commotion you need, chasing my dog that got away after being startled by the neighbor’s dog? The maid comes out to yell at me and I keep her engaged. Nikki goes in and does her thing.”

  Audrey dropped her burger. It was simple. But beautiful in its simplicity. London was likely to be exposed no matter what, so this might work.

  “It saves us an extra trip.” Looking at Nikki, she said, “Can you get in without notice while London has Connie occupied?”

  Nikki scoffed. “I’ve walked out of a house with a bag full of jewelry while a whole family sat at the dinner table. Sneaking past one maid? Easy.”

  London clapped. “I’ll borrow my neighbor’s dog.”

  “I thought you were just going to pretend to have a runaway dog.” Audrey picked up her burger and resumed eating.

  “I have to make it plausible. Won’t she get suspicious if she doesn’t see a dog?”

  “What if it runs away for real?”

  She waved a hand. “She’s well trained. Offer a snack and she’ll come running.”

  “Then how will you get her to run away from you?” Jay asked from his post in the kitchen.

  London’s brow furrowed and she rested her chin on her fist.

  “What if I call her from the neighbor’s property? She’d come even if a stranger called her?” Audrey asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Then I’ll stay out of sight and call her, offering a treat. Then you come yelling through the yard.”

  “But then the dog goes straight to you. No chase,” Jay said.

  The dude was a total party pooper, but he had a point.

  Nikki waved. “Then I call her from the edge of the house. Then Data calls her again—before she actually gets to me. By then, I’m sure Connie will be out.”

  Audrey held out her hand for a high five. Over her shoulder, she said to Jay, “I told you, we got this.”

  “That’s at least as much exposure as your other plan. Maybe more.”

  “But these poor mice won’t have to die for the cause,” London said. “Should we go tonight? It’s still early. I can go get the dog now.”

  “Too risky,” Nikki said. “The Scotts are almost always home for dinner. Connie won’t let dinner burn to help you. Tomorrow late morning when Mrs. Scott goes to whatever crap she does, we go in.”

  Audrey polished off her food. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. “We have a plan.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jay watched, speechless, as the women worked out the kinks in their plan. Not that there were many. He’d been right—they’d created a team. Audrey, Nikki, and London bounced ideas and joked
around while he remained on the perimeter. He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t interfere.

  His job was to make sure they didn’t take too many risks or get caught.

  “Hey,” Nikki called. “Aren’t you eating?”

  “No,” he responded. “I have dinner reservations in a bit.”

  Audrey twisted slowly in her chair. “We were supposed to go release the mice soon. Does that mean you hadn’t planned on joining us?”

  “No. As you’ve said repeatedly, you’ve got this.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Were you leaving us alone because you trusted us or because you thought it was likely that we’d get busted?”

  He didn’t know how to answer honestly. Of course he trusted them not to get caught, but the dinner reservations were his protection in case they did. “I have other business to conduct besides taking care of the three of you.”

  Nikki snorted. “I don’t remember being taken care of like Data.”

  Audrey blushed and closed her eyes. She really hated being the center of attention.

  “I’m sure you know how to take care of yourself,” he said.

  “Okay.” London stood. “This conversation is starting to make me uncomfortable. I’m going home. I’ll be here in the morning with Daisy.”

  “Daisy?” Audrey asked.

  “The dog. That’s her name. Daisy.”

  Audrey gathered her trash.

  “Wait,” Nikki said, reaching for Audrey. “You’re not leaving, too, are you?”

  “Uh, yeah. We’re not doing anything tonight and I’m tired.”

  “Stay. I’ll be bored.”

  “You’ll be asleep as soon as we’re all gone.”

  “Come on. We can have a girls’ night.”

  He cleared his throat, reminding them of his presence.

  Nikki leaned around Audrey. “I’m sorry. Were you planning on coming back?”

  “Yes, I am.” He neared Audrey and placed a hand on her hip. “We have plans.”

  The pink on her cheeks deepened. He flexed his fingers, pressing into the soft flesh. Her swallow was audible. “I don’t have a change of clothes for tomorrow. I have to go home.”