“This is it.” She breathes out slowly, taking in the old-fashioned safe. The combination dial and simple handle I’ve cracked too many times to count.
“Now we’re fucking talking.”
Adrenaline drips through my veins, filling my body with the high that comes from a job almost done. The last stretch before the finish line, the last few seconds before we hit the mark.
I run into the closet and grab my tools. Calista is vibrating, almost shaking as I screw the drill bit on and approach the safe.
“Wait.”
Trepidation ripples across her features, unexpected anxiety radiating off the woman in front of me.
“Yes?”
“I... never mind.” Swallowing thickly, she nods, “Do your thing.”
“Do you want to try a combination?”
“No.” A faint smile brushes her lips, “I want you to be the one to open it.”
Words that only mean something to a thief, I feel the jolt of pleasure seep into my system like a hit of fucking dopamine.
Pressing my bit to the side of the safe, I start drilling.
Metal shavings go flying as I pierce the surface, busting through the side of the box until it’s deep enough that I can see the glint from the mechanism within.
Threading a cord through the opening, I keep my eyes trained on the screen of my borescope, tilting and shifting the camera until I can get a good shot of the three wheels.
“Don’t fail me now.”
Muttering beneath my breath, I turn the dial all the way to the right, picking up each wheel on the way. Once I’ve got them all lined up, I start cranking the dial left, watching the notch hit each mark.
“Seven.”
My mouth feels fucking dry as I move to the second wheel, twisting the dial until the wheel notch comes back into view.
“Seventeen.”
Another rotation and suddenly I’m seeing the holy grail.
“Three.”
A click rings out and the door shifts open.
Holy fucking shit.
Stacks of files and miscellaneous papers line the top two rows of the safe. Pictures and handwritten notes flutter to the floor as I grab the first file and read off the names of the town's board members.
“...and Ursela Seaborn. Darling, we’ve found the keys to Wolf Hollow.”
Letting out a whoop, I toss it to the side and grab the next few folders.
“She’s got a million documents in here. Where do you think the offshore accounts will be?”
Glancing over my shoulder, I find Calista busy riffling through the mounds of paper I tossed aside. Her look of concentration is downright scary, so I turn my attention back to the open safe.
“What is it you’re looking for?”
Tugging another stack into my arms, I let out a curse when half of them slip out and fall onto the floor. I lower myself down and start picking them up randomly, sending paperclips flying everywhere as a stack of photographs tumbles out.
