by Nana Malone
“Oh, I think you and I have already established that she’s out of my league. I’m the one who’s not good enough.”
“You are, mate. You just need to believe it.”
Would he still believe it if he knew what I was going to do to him, to the trust? “You believe in me too much. Maybe you shouldn’t.”
He chuckled again. “Yeah, but you're my brother. Literally cut from the same cloth. If shit comes up ready to drag you back to that old place, I know you're smart enough to ask for help. It’s like we used to talk about. You would never do anything to jeopardize your new life. You’re too smart for that.”
No, I wasn’t, but thankfully Sebastian might have just put me on the right path. “That remains to be seen. But, thanks man. I guess I never really had anyone to call for shit before.”
“Well, I’m happy to be number one on the speed dial. Unless of course I’m busy making my wife—”
“La, La, La, La.” I cut him off. The last thing I wanted to hear about was him and Penny.
“Hey man, you could learn a thing or two. I have stellar technique—”
“Nope, got to go. Thanks and all that.” I could still hear him laughing to himself as I hung up. He knew how to get rid of me.
He also had helped me without even knowing it. It was time to call in reinforcements. As for Bryna, she might be better off not knowing who I really was.
Lucas
“You want us to help you rob a charity event?” Noah Blake’s gaze narrowed. “I thought you were retired.”
“Not exactly right. I am planning on robbing a charity event. I want your guys to stop me.”
Jonas Castillo slid a glance between me and Noah. “You guys know I used to be a cop, right? I can’t casually sit by while you guys chat about a jewelry heist.”
“Oh, come on, Jonas,” said the tall blond guy at the end. He spoke with a slight German accent. “We all heard you and JJ playing cops and robbers the other night, and I’m pretty sure from what I heard that you were the robber.”
Castillo’s face flamed, and he launched himself at the gigantic German. Seriously, the guy looked like a Viking. Or like one of those Norse vampire dudes from that TV show. But luckily, it didn’t come to blows, because Weller planted a hand on Castillo’s chest easily.
Despite looking evenly matched, there was something way the hell deadlier about Weller. Castillo backed down even as the German cackled to himself.
Blake just rolled his eyes. “Ignore the animals. And you know we can’t help you rob the event. It’s for charity.”
I shook my head. “My stepfather is back. He says this one last job and he’ll be gone. But I know him. He’ll never be gone. He’s threatening Lady Bryna Tressel if I don't comply.”
Noah sat straighter. “Protecting people is something we actually do. We can put a man on her for now.”
She’d hate that. But she’d be safe. “I think that’s a good idea. I also suggest you make that tail discrete. She’s prickly.”
“Can do. Delaney blends into the background.”
The dark-haired guy in the corner rolled his eyes. “Not another debutante watch!”
Noah grinned. “But you’re so good at them.”
Delaney flipped him off but settled back in his seat. “The robbery is happening. There will be other members of the crew that I don't know. At this point, we’re better off trying to catch them in the act than we would be trying to stop them this close to the event.”
Despite himself, Jonas sat forward. “Who are the targets?”
I pulled out the plans. Tony had threatened to kill everyone I loved if I tried to double cross him. But I had to get him out of everyone’s lives. Bryna would be safe. I needed to be strong enough to do this. “These are mine. There will be drops and couriers throughout the party, I’ll have to mark the live targets as we go. The number one thing you want is to find the drops. That way you can make sure Tony never gets the jewels. If he does get any of them, he’ll be in the wind.”
Noah scanned his conference room full of badasses. Several of them were obviously keen on the idea of a good old-fashioned jewelry heist. “Okay, Matthias, Oskar, you’re on.”
The German dude stood and pumped his fist. Weller just nodded as if he’d expected it. Man, that guy was a cool customer. Nothing fazed him. Or at least it appeared that way.
I prayed the two of them were up for the challenge, because there was no way in hell I’d risk Bryna.
“All right then. Let me walk you through the set up.” As I popped everyone’s jewelry-heist cherry, I tried to shut down the hum of excited electricity rolling through my body. I was not that person anymore. After this, that Lucas would be gone forever.
At least I hoped so.
32
Lucas
It was time.
All I had to do to walk away from my old life scot-free was forget who I’d become in the last year.
It’s not forever. It’s just for one night. Just forget. You can do it.
For one night, I had to betray my brother.
If the knowledge of that wasn’t enough, I also had to evade my Royal Guard. I would have brought at least Roone in on this, but as it was a significant risk to my safety, he’d have to report back.
And then in addition to the evasion of my security detail, I needed to make sure Blake Security caught my fucker of a step-dad. I sure liked to make shit easy.
But all in all, I didn’t mind as much as I should. A part of me felt like I was stretching after a long sleep.
But the thought of what this would do to Sebastian… that burned. He trusted me.
Never trust a con man.
Tony had made a targets list. He knew exactly who and what they would be wearing, and we had a series of drop points throughout the venue.
Each of us was responsible for several individual targets. I was pretty sure that Tony had a scout watching my drop point. I didn’t care. He would do everything to make sure that I didn’t run off with his cash again. I got that. Fool me once, and all that good shit. I understood his world. I knew what to do. I looked the part. I was a philanthropist seeing after the king and queen’s interests. But deep inside, I was who I’d always been. A thief. A liar.
But a damn good one. Even I’d managed to believe I was different now. The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world he didn’t exist, right?
With a quick survey of the room, I was ready. Willing. And then the hairs at the back of my neck stood in attention.
I sensed her before I saw her. When I turned, my breath caught.
Bryna.
She didn’t see me right away. My heart raced at the sight of her, but years of training kept me on course. So what if she was here? All I had to do was what I’d done every day from the time I was six years old. Bryna didn’t matter.
What about you being in love with her? Does that not matter?
As a waiter passed by with champagne, I took a glass and sipped. It wasn’t so much that I wanted the champagne, but I wanted something to do with my hands. Plus, it made other people much more comfortable if you appeared to be having a good time.
In the far corner of the room, I saw my mother. For a moment she looked younger than I remembered. Her smile was bright. She was on the arm of some older guy. He looked like old money, probably a new mark for access to this charity event, or maybe they were working on some bigger con.
News flash. You don’t give a fuck.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tony. He was alone, and his gaze was pinned on me. Suddenly, he smiled. But it was more like an evil baring of the teeth, really.
Yeah, I don’t like you either, asshole. Then I realized he wasn’t really looking at me, but instead, at something just beyond my shoulder. I turned, and that champagne lodged down the wrong pipe. Oh fuck.
Bryna. She was watching me, her eyes pools of melted chocolate. I was so fucked. But I had a mask on. It would take her a minute to recognize me.
In my ear piece, I could hear Tony’s chuckle. “Easy does it now. No running off to warn your girlfriend. It’s about to be show time. Do you understand? Remember your targets. You will only have a sixty-minute window when Emily Lorraine shows up. She’s the event organizer and host. There will be sixty minutes of mingling, and then there will be a sit-down dinner. By the time the dinner comes, we want to be out. You got the plan?”
Did I understand? I wasn’t the one who always had to change the plan at the last minute. “I understand. I’m not a newbie.”
He chuckled. “So you think. I have to say, your roommate looks none the worse for wear after her little mugging incident. I’ll bet you anything she ran into your arms afterward. You’re welcome, you little shit.”
Tony knew. He’d been behind it. I turned to find him in the crowd, but he’d vanished. “Tsk, tsk, kid. Don't’ lose focus. You can try and kick my ass later. Once you’ve paid me what you owe.”
Maybe not today, but someday soon, I was going to make that bastard pay. As much as I wanted to tear the room up looking for him, I had a different task ahead of me. I had to do what I was doing, avoid Bryna, and figure out where the hell Tony’s drop point was because the egress route they’d given me wasn’t the real one, obviously. If I wanted any shot at Tony going down for any of this, I had to figure that out and tell the police where to go.
What Tony didn’t know was that I had a little help from Blake Security in the crowd. Weller was some kind of an avenging angel. I had no idea what his plan was, but I knew he’d brought the German. The guy didn’t blend in. How could he when he looked like Thor’s brother?
I had to find Tony’s drop points, alert them, and walk away. But if I fucked up, Tony would be in the wind. I kept my back to my sexy, beautiful roommate and kept my gaze trained on the door. When I saw Emily, I hit that little button on my watch. It synced immediately. She was here. It was show time.
First target, Jane Avis. Brunette, tits on display, gigantic pendant. Sixty minutes. That was all I had. I just had to be the old me for sixty minutes. Then I could be the new Lucas again.
Lucas
Her pendant was off limits. As beautiful as it was, and it was gorgeous, what I wanted was her bracelet. But it wasn’t just about a slip-and-grab. No. I had to replace it with what I had in my sleeve. Nobody who got robbed tonight was supposed to be the wiser, at least for the time being. Those were the most difficult kinds of con jobs because time was limited. Some would be simple slip jobs, slight of hands, that sort of thing. But some of them were far more complex. We knew exactly who was wearing what and which jewels needed to be taken and replaced. But time was the enemy. As long as I stayed out of sight of Bryna, I could do it. As a matter of fact, it was almost fun. You like the old you. I missed me.
Julie Weaving was easy. When I told her how much I appreciated her brooch, she’d sidled up to me and flirted. Within seconds, I had her bracelet replaced and in my inside pouch, but it required up close and personal “attention.” At one point she slid her hands into my jacket and tried to drag me somewhere, but I made some feeble excuse.
Maria De Luca was the next target. She was slightly more difficult. It was her ring I was after. I had the custom replacement all ready to go. Working on her was going to be tricky because she was pissed I’d turned down her offer for drinks the last time Sebastian was in town.
“Ms. De Luca, you look stunning as always.”
Her sharp gaze narrowed on me. “Do I know you?”
“Maria, don’t be like that. You’re one of my dearest friends.” Lies. All lies.
She sniffed. “Are you sure? I feel like I would absolutely remember you.”
I chuckled softly. “I have missed your sass.”
“You look well, Lucas. You think you’ll have time to drink with me now?”
“For a beautiful woman? Always.” I rubbed her knuckles gently. When I kissed her hand, I pulled her fondly against me, still holding her hand. “A woman as beautiful as you is completely unforgettable.”
She chuckled.
It was easy because I’d been watching her already. She’d already had two glasses of wine. I kissed her fingers again and made the swap while she was laughing and grabbing more champagne. When I made an effort to admire the ring, I simply asked if I could see it in better light, and she nodded. “Just be careful. I declined the body guards that came with the thing, so I’ll owe half-a-million dollars to them if anything happens to it.” I held it up to the light and turned around, said something about clarity and cut, and then slid the replacement right back on her finger. She beamed at me. “Thank you for flirting with an old lady. You have made my night. Wait until I tell my husband.”
“Well, it’s my pleasure. I always love talking to beautiful women.”
Yup, she would have a fascinating conversation with her husband once they realized it was a fake.
And on it went. What was really frightening was the ease with which I did this. As if the old me was always there all along. It didn’t matter how much I’d dressed him up. I was still a grifter.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Tony’s scout. It was quick, but I caught their exchange, and I signaled to Oskar Mueller who he should tail. From the bar, Roone kept a narrow-eyed glare pinned to me. Did he know what I was up to?
I checked my watch. Fifteen minutes. In about no time, I’d be free.
I don’t know what it was that kept me so focused, but I didn’t even notice when Bryna came up next to me. “Do you want to tell me what the hell you think you’re doing?”
My smile fell, and the bottom turned out of my gut.
“Bryna? What are you doing here?”
Her voice was flat. “I told you I was coming here tonight. And mask or not, I’d recognize you anywhere.”
I swallowed hard. “Same here. You look astounding.”
“Don’t flatter me. I saw you make the switch with that woman’s ring.”
I lifted my brows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you lie to me. What’s happening?”
She’d caught me, but the grifter’s code is never admit defeat. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You’re mistaken.”
But Bryna wasn’t stopping. There was no way she was letting this go. “Come here, let’s talk about this.” She grabbed my arm. She was going to ruin everything if I wasn’t careful.
“I’m a bit busy now, Bryna. Let’s talk at home, okay?” I eased out of her grasp.
I had five more targets to hit. Just keep grifting. Just keep grifting.
“You will talk to me now.”
And then I saw Tony. He was working his mark. He palmed the cufflinks so easily. He was so good, it was disturbing. And just like that, Bryna’s gaze shifted over. But I didn’t want her knowing about him, about who I really was, so I let her pull me away. “Fine, come on. I’ll explain, okay? And then maybe you can let me get back to it?” What would I say? But there was no way I could let her see Tony.
“Whatever you have to say, that explanation had better be fucking good.”
Bryna
What the hell was happening?
“You can’t be here. You have to go.”
I crossed my arms. “I’m not going anywhere. What the hell are you doing?” I could only stare at Lucas as he paced and ran his hand through his hair.
“If you stay here, something bad is going to happen.”
“What? What in the world could happen? You’re freaking me out.” He was always so charmingly calm. Nothing rattled him, but he was rattled now.
“You should be freaked out. That part of me I told you about, that part of me that was awful, you’re interfering with it right now.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about. “What’s happening? Why did you take that woman’s ring?”
33
Lucas
It was a no-brainer. I’d always choose to protect Bryna, no matter what. But I was out of options. Not telling her could get her hurt.
Over the crowd, my eyes connected with Roone’s. I inclined my head to let him know where I was taking Bryna. His nod told me he’d seen me. His lips barely moved, but I could assume where ever Marcus was, he had me in his sights. How much had they seen? Anything? Did Weller or Mueller have their targets?
I turned my attention to the more pressing problem. “You are not supposed to be here.” How was I supposed to tell her? How the hell was I supposed to explain what the hell was going on?
“I’m waiting, Lucas.”
“This is so fucked. How do you even know how to do that? Most people can’t see it. Most people can’t see what’s happening right in front of them. They never notice. Why are you so bloody shrewd? Why did my charm not work on you? This would have been a whole lot easier if you would just be like everybody else.” Fuck me. I was losing it.
She threw up her hands. “I’m sorry if that makes your life harder. But come on, talk to me. I thought you and I had a rule. We’re going to be honest with each other.”
Why the hell had I made her that promise?
That had seemed like such an easy thing to promise at the time because I got all caught up. “Look, I wasn’t kidding when I said my family was all fucked up. I came from a family of grifters, liars, con men. It wasn’t always like that. There was a point when my mother was a good person. I remember her singing these songs to me when I was sad, sitting up with me all night when I was sick. But she got caught up with my stepfather, and that changed. By the time I was six, we were running scams. Some as simple as getting a group of kids to steal fruit from vendors on the streets, to complicated Ponzi schemes, car theft rings, you name it, we’ve done it. But I specialized in long cons. I am what you call a con man. My face, my charm, all designed to work against people. They see me as trustworthy. Mom called my charisma my ‘superpower.’ It makes people want to tell me things. They want to share things. And in the case of women, they want to fall in love with me.”
