There it was.
“That’s very kind,” Cash said, hoping he was letting her down gently. “But I’m moving here for work. The job is demanding, so I won’t have much time for the local nightlife. Thank you, though.”
“Right, of course.” She dropped her hand from his forearm. “Well, I’ll be in the kitchen organizing the paperwork because I’ve been watching your son. He likes the house, so it seems we have a winner on our hands. I’ll give you a minute to discuss it.”
“Thank you.” Cash smiled as the agent disappeared inside. “Well, what do you think, buddy?”
“I think she likes you,” Clover said.
“About the house.” Cash rolled his eyes.
“You know, it’s okay to like her back,” Clover continued. “I’m not a little kid anymore. I know about kissing. It would be okay with me if you got a girlfriend.”
“Oh, it would, would it?”
“Yeah.” Clover nodded seriously. “It’s cool if you want to go out with her. I know you don’t date because of me, but I’m grown up now. My ears are starting to show.” He turned so his father could see his elongated Faeears,as if Cash hadn’t been studying their points sincethe momenthe laid eyes on his infant son. “I want you to be happy.”
“What makes you think I’m not happy?” Cash asked. “I have you, and you’re my best friend. What? Are you sick of me?” he teased.
“No.” The boy playfully shoved his dad. “I just love you, that’s all. You can have a girlfriend if you want.”
“Are you saying this now so that when you get to high school and ask for a girlfriend, I have to say yes?”
“Duh,” Clover giggled.
“I’ll make you a deal, okay? If I meet a woman I like, I’ll ask herout ona date. I’m glad you want me to be happy, but moving and getting a new jobarea lot to balance. I don’t need to start dating my real estate agent on top of that.”
“So you don’t like her?”
“It’s not that I don’t like her,” Cash said. “I just don’t think she’s the right fit for me.”
“Oh, okay.”
“So, can we get back to the house?” Cash ruffled his son’s hair. “It’s close to the museum and your new school. It’s in my price range, and it has plenty of bedrooms. What do you think? Is this the one?”
Clover scanned the backyard with a smile. “Yeah. This is the one.”
“All right then.” Cash hugged his son. “Let’s buy a house!”
Sable lugged the last box up the three flights of stairs and dropped it on the kitchen table of her new and hopefully temporary apartment. Every thief competing in this year’s hunt would take a different approach to stealing the egg. Some would come with firepower and bravado. Some would slip inside with the newest gadgets on the market. Some would fail, but one would win, and she intended it to be her. It’s why she’d rented this seemingly unimportant apartment close to the Merveille De L’art. She had no intention of barging into town and drawing attention. Stealing the Precieux wouldn’t be like any other job. It wasn’t a heist you could plan and execute in a few days. One team already tried that, and they hadn’t even made it past the front door. This theft required a long con.Sable would have to watchandwait and listen,andhow better to fly under the radar than by renting a modest space and becoming just another citizen?
The spring weather was mild, but lugging boxes of belongings up three flights of stairs had her sweating through her shirt, and Sable tugged off her wig as she walked to the kitchen sink. Her bunny ears sprang free as she turned on the faucet, and she drank straight from the tap until her throat no longer felt like black asphalt on a ninety-degree day. Wearing a wig often made her unbearably hot, but the goal was to blend in. Foot-tall ears sprouting from the top of her head would make that impossible, even in a city that acknowledged the existence of supernaturals. The Merveille De L’art was a Fae museum, after all, and the security guards were all Fae soldiers. The artifacts they protected belong to every race known to the planet, from humans to vampires to Krampuses to the Fae. No onewould question an Easter Bunny’s presence in this city, but they might get suspicious if one started hanging around the golden egg. Easteregg hunt stereotypes and all.
All of her siblings had followed the family traditions. They got married, had kids, and worked to make Easter magical. Childrenaround the worldloved the Easter Bunny, but something about Sable broke the mold. She couldn’t be the person her kind expected her to be, and her transformation had been so subtle that she hadn’t noticed it until the day she stood with a half-a-million-dollar bracelet clutched in her hand because she’d slipped it off a mark’s wrist.
Becoming a thief wasn’t entirely unexpected, though. Her large family had practically trained her for this profession. She was the youngest sibling of ten, and her older brothers hogged everything.It was hard to even eat with them around, so from a young age, she stolejustto havestuff of her own.She loved her brothers with all her heart. They didn’t do it to be mean. They were just big and hungry and loud, and they’ddefinitelytaught her to take what wasn’t hers.
Her phone chimed, and Sable turned off the water and scanned Peter’s text message.
Peter
So… how’s the new place?
She smirked as she snapped a quick photo to send him.
Sable
Crappy.
