Thief: The Dove in the Darkness

by Katlynn Rose

  The blonde reclined in her car, bored. She had been there for at least an hour when a white Ford Taurus pulled up. Ashley and her little boy toy. She wasn't surprised but still impressed they had made it so quickly. She had honestly expected to be gone before they showed up. Rolling her eyes, she watched the little twat leave the car and enter the building.

  "Why did you have to be so much trouble?" she muttered. Glancing back to the Taurus, she saw that Lance had moved to the driver's side, and she smirked. "You're still an accomplice, Lover-boy."

  She pulled down the visor, checked her platinum blonde bangs to make sure all was in place, and winked at the sparkling baby blues staring back at her. She even went so far as to toss herself a flirtatious smile. That smile dropped as quickly as it came as she turned her attention back to Lance. "Let's get this over with."

  She stepped out of the car and stretched her muscles. Reaching high over her head, she clasped her hands together and brought them down behind her head. Her huge breasts stretched the fabric taut across her chest and created quite the display. Unfortunately, no one was around to gawk. Her efforts were wasted, but practice made perfect!

  She shrugged, running her fingers through the platinum strands that flowed to the middle of her back and tossed it out to add some life to it. Her black leather boots clacked against the cement as she strode purposefully to the Taurus. As she approached, Lance didn't even notice her. He was staring so intently at the entrance that she thought he might be trying to pull Ashley out of the building by strength of will alone. She rolled her eyes before assuming a pleasant smile and rapping two knuckles on his window.

  Lance jumped and turned a glare on her. A finely trimmed eyebrow rose appreciatively as she saw his sparkling green eyes for the first time, and she thought to herself, Not bad, little one. Not bad.

  She stepped away from the door, waiting expectantly for him to either roll down the window or exit the car. After she harrumphed loudly, he opted for the window. She smirked to herself, knowing he was probably so nervous he could piss his pants.

  "Lance Walker, I presume."

  "Uh..." he faltered, and she chuckled to herself. "Colline?" he finally got out.

  She nodded her assent. "I got your message. Barely made it here on time it seems."

  "I never expected you to come out here," he stammered, clearly unprepared for this. She was eating up every moment of it. "I was just giving you an update."

  "Thank you, Lance. I appreciate your thoughtfulness," she purred politely. He never gave her any indication that he was bringing Ashley to Baltimore, but she didn't get to where she was without being resourceful. She was more than ready to get this thorn out of her side.

  The silence grew as she waited. She was curious to see what Lance was going to do without her prompting. Folding her arms under her breasts, they bunched together and bulged against the button that was holding her shirt closed. Her cleavage was absolutely stunning, and she never ceased to use it to her advantage whenever possible. This was not one of those times, though. Lance completely ignored her display as he finally stepped out of the car.

  "Why are you here?" he demanded, straightening to his full height. He was a good few inches taller than her even in her heeled boots. Her lips curved into a wicked smile as her eyes roved over his delicious body. All tan and firm, and oh, so young and tempting... She shook her head slightly as if shaking out the distracting thoughts.

  "Promises, promises," she muttered to herself as she started to the door. "Follow me, Lover-boy."

  She didn't even look back, positive he would follow.

  "I'd wager your damsel is in distress by now. That car over there," she motioned to a black impala while casually tossing her hair over her shoulder to see that Lance had, in fact, followed her quite closely. "That belongs to Hal's partner. Just thought you'd like to know."

  "What?" It was a choked whisper, as if he was short of breath. She smirked to herself again as she opened the door to let him pass her. He rushed into the building and halted abruptly when it occurred to him he had no idea which way to go.

  "I hope you didn't lose that key," she said as he spun on her. She turned to the stairwell, never pausing, and he fell in line behind her again. "That would just make things more... difficult."

  Once again she held the door open for him after pressing in a key code and he pushed past her. She frowned at his back. "I've already lost more time on this than I ever intended."

  He took the steps two at a time as she walked behind him at a leisurely pace, enjoying his athletic display. When he saw that there was a key code on the next door, he huffed and started pressing buttons.

  "I wouldn't advise that, sweetheart," she called up. He turned a frustrated look down on her, his strong jaw clenched and twitching, and she smiled sweetly. "You're going to want me to go in first. Trust me on this."

  "Why are you here, Colline?" he snapped, and she bit back a laugh. The man was ridiculous! Yummy, but too high-strung. She raised a finger to her lips in response, motioning for him to be quiet. Not that quiet was needed, really. She just wasn't in the mood to answer questions.

  He waited impatiently, pacing back and forth like a caged cat as she took her time coming up the steps. She flashed her blue eyes at him a couple times, but he remained unmoved. She had known it was a lost cause to flirt with him after their many business calls, but she couldn't resist the attempt. He was hopeless, though.

  "Stay behind me," she commanded as she brushed past him and pressed in her entry code. The door opened, and she cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting for his concession before moving forward. His eyes narrowed briefly before he nodded. This time, she led through the door and immediately started down the row nearest her. She wasn't fazed by the layout. She knew where she was going.

  When she rounded the corner of aisle B, the first thing noticeable was a few boxes stacked outside an open storage room. Then a tall man was being thrown out of the open door to collide with the wall on the other side. He growled, not noticing them and rushed back into the room.

  As soon as she saw the man fly backwards, she knew Lance wasn't going to be held back. She slid a beautiful, booted leg out to the side, tripping him. She dropped on top of him and pressed a knee into his spine so he couldn't rise.

  "Wait," she bit the word off angrily and severely. "I've got this. You keep that cute ass right here."

  And with that, she was up and running down the hall. She winced as she heard Ashley scream.

  Chapter 13 – Foiled