The Cunning Thief

by Mallory Crowe

  “It’s a party, Shae. Relax.”

  She was so sure he was joking, she half expected him to burst into laughter. “We’re taking down an evil empire, but we can just walk right into their party?”

  “Not everyone is evil. This is a casual office appreciation event. Getting in isn’t hard. They’re not exactly going to be exchanging company secrets here. Besides, the plan is to get kicked out, remember? As soon as someone sees us who knows we don’t belong, we’re only going to have a few minutes to get our work done and get out.”

  She didn’t know whether his words were comforting or disturbing. Who was she kidding? Nothing was comforting at this point.

  The hostess reached a pair of French doors and pushed one of them open, holding it for them as they walked through. The patio was surrounded by lush gardens that went right up to the iron fence that went around the property. She thought the suit might be out of place for a party, but everyone else seemed to be businessmen and women mingling around the standing tables, all sipping from long-stemmed wine glasses. It was one fancy office appreciation day. Whatever happened to something like laser tag?

  Shae glanced around, scanning the crowd and looking for Damask.

  “Do you see him?” asked Tristan in her ear.

  “I’m looking,” she assured him.

  “Are you sure you’ll recognize him? I mean, how long did you actually talk to him for?”

  “A few minutes.”

  “A few minutes? Do you mean that literally, or do you mean just a few seconds?”

  “I mean a few minutes.”

  “And you saw him in person, right? Not over the phone or anything? I know you wouldn’t lie about something that important just so you’d be included, right?” he asked pointedly.

  “It was in person, okay? Maybe through a car window but it was in person.”

  Tristan groaned but thankfully didn’t say anything. Probably not because he wasn’t upset, but because he didn’t want to make a scene.

  “Try to look like you belong.” Tristan handed her a glass of wine.

  “Is this a good idea?” She motioned to the wine.

  He frowned at her. “Now you’re worried about something being dangerous? About time you showed some interest in self-preservation.”

  Shae rolled her eyes and took a decent size sip of the wine. She didn’t down the whole glass, but enough so that people would know she was drinking. She was still confused as to whether she was supposed to try to stand out or fade into the background. Tristan seemed to be giving her contradictory advice just to annoy her. She thought back to what she remembered about Damask. He’d been sitting down, so she wasn’t sure about height. But he’d had a weathered face. A face that looked as though it had seen things and hadn’t been affected by any of it. His dark eyes had been shrouded with crow’s feet and thick, unruly brows. His clean-shaven face had so many wrinkles that it had her questioning how he even managed to shave. Not wrinkles from age, but wrinkles from a stressful life.

  Shae glanced over at Tristan. His face was the exact opposite. Bright, beaming blue eyes; smooth, perfect complexion. Everything about him was perfectly groomed. The perfect picture to present to the public. She wondered whether he would eventually have stress lines. He was a thief for a living. That wasn’t exactly a relaxing job. But somehow he seemed to handle everything so smoothly. As though he planned each detail and was three steps ahead. Even during that shootout, he barely broke a sweat. The only time he seemed to be flustered at all was... well, around her. She decided not to read too much into that.

  He looked as though he fit right into this world. Funny, considering she’d been born into it, and she felt completely out of place. It didn’t matter what she was wearing or how handsome the man on her arm was, but she’d always feel slightly different from these people. They all seem so... at ease. As though they were meant to be here and knew exactly what to do and how to act. She remembered the last time she’d been to a party with her father. He’d been so excited to show her off. His perfect, polished daughter who was acing business school and was ready to take on the world. That was the day everything had gone wrong.

  Shae kept on looking over the crowd for any sign of Damask when she saw the last thing she expected to see. She twisted around and leaned in closer to Tristan, hoping his body would cover her as much as possible. The motion was hardly subtle, and Tristan leaned in closer, as though instinctively protecting her. “What’s wrong? Do you see him?”

  “No. So much worse. My father. What the hell is my father doing here?”

  She felt every hair on the back of her neck stand up and cursed her delayed instincts. Why couldn’t her body have given her those warning signs before she walked in? Or maybe it had, and she’d been so determined to be of some use to Tristan and his people that she ignored all of these warning signs.

  “Which one’s your father?” asked Tristan softly.

  “The imposing-looking one with the crowd of admirers around him.”

  She’d always admired and feared parts of her father. He had an uncanny ability to get people to listen to him and, most importantly, agree with him. He’d been able to work the same magic on her for years. Telling her wild stories about everything they’d achieve together and that she’d be his equal partner. That was the trick. No one was really his equal. Even when it came to his family, he always put himself first. Come to think of it, that was probably the biggest reason she kept herself alone. The unwavering belief that everyone put themselves first eventually.

  “Do you think he’ll hurt you?” asked Tristan.

  Shae stiffened and glanced up to look at him, still carefully keeping her face averted from Manuel Grant. “No. Of course he wouldn’t hurt me.” At least not physically....

  “Maybe we should go say hi.”

  “Say hi? Are you crazy?”

  “It would be a good way to shake up Damask,” said Toni.

  Shae blinked at the voice and then realized it was coming from the earpiece. Good Lord, it sounded as if she were right next to her. Then she was filled with a fresh mortification that everyone on the team was probably listening to her freak out at seeing her own family right now.

  “This is a good thing,” said Toni. “If Damask sees you in front of your father, he’s not going to have you kicked out. At least not immediately. Go say hello and make yourself known.”

  Shae shook her head. This was crazy. “This is an office appreciation event. What the hell is my father doing at an office appreciation event? He doesn’t work in offices. He owns them.”

  “We’re figuring this out as we go along,” said Scott in her ear. “Take it one step at a time, and know that we’re going to be with you every step of the way. Are you scared?”

  Shae stared up into Tristan’s crystal-blue eyes. Scared? She was terrified. But she knew that Gage and Hunter were somewhere nearby. She had a feeling no one would hurt her with Tristan by her side. But her father could hurt her in plenty of ways, none of them physical. Not even Tristan could protect her from that. “I’m good,” said Shae reluctantly.

  “You don’t have to be,” said Tristan. “If you want to call it quits and head out, now is the time to say it. No one is going to judge you.”

  Shae scoffed. “I’ll judge me. Let’s get this over with.” She lifted the glass of wine to her lips and threw her head back as she quickly downed the rest of the contents. Now or never, she told herself as she turned away from the warm protection of Tristan and walked across the grounds until she stood at the edge of the crowd gathered around Manuel. He was currently going on about how he had mastered the Six Sigma management style when he met her eyes and stopped. She had to give him credit. He barely showed any surprise before the smile covered his face and he held his hand out to her. “My darling Shae! It’s so good to see you!”

  She was sure her own smile looked far more tense, but she wiggled through the parting crowd and gave him a quick hug. “Hello, Daddy,” she said, using her old endear
ment for him, not sure whether he’d take it as an insult or a compliment. “I didn’t realize I’d see you here today.”

  “If you’ll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen.” He grabbed her upper arm a tad too tightly and started to pull her away. She was sure the motion looked totally natural, and almost comforting, but the sudden pressure on her arm was anything but. Nonetheless, she went along with it until they were out of earshot of the nearby guests. Tristan stood where she’d left him, but he pointed to his ear, reminding her that he was listening to everything that was happening and would be there if she needed him. She averted her gaze from Tristan, not wanting to let her father know they were together. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded in a harsh tone.

  There was the father she knew and remembered. “Taking care of some big business. What are you doing here?”

  “I’m here to announce a new, and very profitable, business deal,” he said through clenched teeth. “And I know you’re not going to fuck anything up for me. I raised you better than that.”

  Shae laughed, bemused by the irony of that statement. “That’s odd. You love to tell me exactly how many ways I’ve let you down over the years. I can’t imagine that’s changed recently.” But the both of them knew exactly all the reasons she had to mess things up for him. Neither one had forgotten their sordid past.

  “Is there a problem here?”

  Shae stiffened at the voice. “Damask.” She turned around to face him. Now that she looked at him, for the first time truly speaking face-to-face, she realized he and her father had a lot in common: a stubborn set to the jaw, frown lines that had etched in wrinkles that no cream would fix, and a hardened glint to their eyes. The kind of glint that told her either one would do anything to get what they wanted.

  “I’m on the move,” said Hunter in her ear.

  When she had turned to face Damask, she was now looking directly at Tristan over his shoulder. Tristan, for his part, didn’t seem as though his demeanor changed at all. She had to assume his earbud was working, but he gave no indication that he was interested in anything happening between her and the two men. “Hello,” she said with a confident smile. She couldn’t even tell whether she was faking it at this point. Knowing there was so much backup around her listening to every word did give her an odd confidence boost. Yet, this was the man who tried to kill her. He’d thrown her in a closet and shot at her. Maybe not him directly, but as a direct result of his orders. This was the man who wanted her dead, and now she was looking directly in those cold eyes. “I was thinking it was time we talked again.”

  “I didn’t realize the two of you had business together.” Manuel’s eyes darted between the two, and his obvious discomfort radiated off him.

  Shae wasn’t proud of it, but making her father uncomfortable was oddly thrilling. She didn’t remember the last time he’d shown any vulnerability at all.

  “Small potatoes business,” said Damask.

  “Well, this sack of small potatoes is on to you.” She was supposed to be getting him to tell her why he wanted Seaside Escape, but this wasn’t exactly her area of expertise. As she struggled to think of what to say, she saw the familiar dirty-blond head in the background. Gage. If he was there, then Hunter must be.... Oh crap, he was right behind Damask. Shae floundered, trying to think of what to say to distract Damask. “I was wondering if you want to tell me what exactly is so important about my property that you sent people there to kill me.”

  Just then, Hunter made his move. But he didn’t just pick Damask’s pocket as she was expecting. Instead, he smoothly bumped into a waitress, and she was the one who ran into Damask. He turned around to look accusingly at the woman, and during that distraction was when Hunter swooped in and grabbed the phone. Shae held her breath. She was sure someone was going to see what happened, or point Hunter out and scream for the authorities. But instead, everyone seemed solely focused on Damask and the waitress, as though they were expecting him to blow up in rage.

  “Good job, Shae,” said Toni in her ear. “Now keep Damask distracted a little bit longer. We’re going to clone the phone and return it to him so he’ll never know anything happened.”

  Shae didn’t think they really needed help keeping him distracted. He looked over the young woman and opened his mouth before abruptly closing it. She had a feeling the real Damask was about to slip out before he remembered he was at a posh party he was throwing. Instead, he bent down to help her pick up the spilled glasses before patting her on the shoulder. “Why don’t you be more careful next time?”

  The sweet words were belied by the obvious threat in the tone. Shae wondered whether everyone around them was immune to it, or whether they could hear his true voice too. Before she could think of how she could distract him again as the waitress started to walk away, her father reached and grabbed her arm. “I think it’s time the two of us have a word.”

  Shae tried to pull her arm free from his. When she first tugged, he gripped harder, but she made eye contact with him and silently told him she wasn’t afraid of making a scene. It was only then that he let her go. “I’m done talking to you.” She turned back to Damask, who watched their exchange with interest. “I asked you a question. What are you planning to do with the property?”

  “Well, seeing as how you haven’t sold it to me, I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

  “How can I know if I want to sell it to you if I don’t know what you’re going to do with it?”

  He leaned closer. “A sentimental attitude like that is exactly why you’ll never succeed in business.”

  “I think you vastly overestimate how sentimental I am.”

  He shook his head. “Oh no, Miss Grant. I’ve had you pegged from the moment I first ran a background check on you. You’re weak. You’re inexperienced and think you know more than you do. You’re the kind of person who was made to be steamrolled, and I’m the steamroller. Now I’ve made it very clear what I want from you, and I’ve made it very clear how determined I am to get it. I’m not sure what you thought you’d accomplish by coming here, but I’m not one to take threats. I give them. Now, have you changed your mind about selling the property?”

  “Not a chance in hell.”

  “Then I guess you can be sure you’ll be seeing me very soon.”

  Damask started to walk away, and she realized she’d failed. Toni had said they were going to return the cell phone to him, but she’d been watching carefully enough to know that no one had even come near him. And then, to confirm her self-doubts, Toni came through the earpiece. “Can you get him back for just a few more seconds? We’re done. We just need to make the drop.”

  “How?” she said between clenched teeth so no one would see her speaking to herself.

  “Don’t worry about it. Tristan is coming up with something.”

  That was it. The competitive side of her kicked in, and she raced toward Damask. Before she knew what she was doing, she swiped a drink off a nearby tray and threw liquid through the air, where it crashed into the back of Damask’s head and jacket. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what she did. She wasn’t sure who was more shocked, her or Damask, who had pivoted around to stare at her with a rage that she was a hundred percent certain everyone around them could read. She could only imagine the thoughts he wanted to spew at her right now. Considering the entire room had gone silent, everyone would hear what he said. So the seething silent rage would have to do. Shae swallowed down her own fear and squared her shoulders as she met his rage with her own silent threat. And as an army of waitstaff ran to start to dab off his now ruined jacket, Shae finally saw Hunter approach and the drop was seamless.

  Her father was once again coming to grab her, and Shae knew she should be running. She should be getting the hell out of there now that she’d shaken as much information as she was going to get out of him, but she found herself frozen. Was she supposed to be running? Was she supposed to be playing it cool and confronting her father? It wasn’t as if
she could go to jail for spilling a drink on someone, but the trespassing was another issue....

  All things she probably should’ve thought of before she picked up the drink and threw it. Suddenly, a warm hand touched hers and strong fingers intertwined with hers. “I think it’s time to go.” Tristan led her out.

  Shae looked over her shoulder, where her father rushed to Damask’s side and uttered what must’ve been a whole stream of apologies. But Damask looked straight at her still. She’d had an enemy before; now things had gotten real. He’d already sent guys to kill her. How much more real could they get? She didn’t want to contemplate the answer to that question. And then they were out the door, and she could no longer see him. She finally snapped out of whatever daze she’d been in and looked around. “Where’s the car?”

  “Damask is going to have eyes on us. We don’t want to leave with any company. It’s better for as many people as possible to stay off-camera, you know?”

  She was starting to think she really didn’t know. Before she could ask how exactly he planned to get out of here without Gage and Hunter, he walked right up to a sharp little black Mustang as though he owned it. It really did seem like he owned it as he took the keys out and unlocked it. Shae got into the front seat without asking any questions, and with a screech of burning rubber, Tristan drove off. She glanced behind them to make sure they weren’t being followed. It appeared as though they really did make a clean break. It was only then that she realized her hands were shaking.

  Tristan must’ve noticed too. “Are you okay?”

  Shae opened her mouth to answer, but a little voice in her head said, “Okay guys, good job. I’m working on getting full access to his phone. I’m going to dig around and see what I can find. There’s a chance he has an alarm system that will let him know that I’m here, but for now I have free access to his emails, text messages, schedules, and websites he’s been to. Take a break and take your time getting back. Make sure you’re not being followed, and call if you have any questions. Okay?”