My words sound hollow, coarse to even my own ears. Doug shuffles further into the room, his expression grimmer than I’ve ever seen it.
“Not the devil, son. That’s the Dragon’s daughter.”
Chapter 1
CHRISTOPHER
Present Day…
Glass shatters against the roof of my car.
“Oh, shit!” Jasper’s shriek echoes through my earpiece, the front end of his bumper grazing the drop-off ramp we set up earlier today.
“Did you clench your cheeks this time, mate?”
Mae’s laughter rings from her position in my passenger seat, her motorcycle helmet bumping soundlessly against the smooth leather.
“Fuck yeah, I did. And you better believe you’re washing the brown streak from my pants tonight.”
“Don’t tease me with a good time.”
Jasper groans loud enough to wake the dead and Mae laughs again.
A grin splits my lips as I punch the gas, checking my rearview mirror for the third car that should be right behind Jasper’s blue beauty.
Corvette Stingray. 6.2L V8 engine. Eight-speed dual-clutch transmission of pure bliss.
It’s the kind of car that screams fuck me nice and slow, baby. We’re going to enjoy the ride.
Not my particular style but it suits the driver well. The boy-turned-genius swerving in the lane behind me finally had enough of the geek stereotype and traded it in for something sleek and sexy.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him the nerd status never really goes away.
“Where’s Horace?” The last member of our crew remains suspiciously absent from my rearview mirror. Alarms and sirens meld together as the jewellery shop gets further from view, but Horace’s ridiculous punch buggy is nowhere to be found.
“I thought he was right behind me.” A drop of panic leaks into Jasper’s voice.
Mae turns and looks at me, her eyes masked by the dark tint of her helmet. I don’t have to see her face to know what expression is hiding under there.
“Horace!” Craning my neck, I blindly check over my shoulder, “Where the fuck are you?”
“Twenty seconds.”
Shit.
I hit the brakes hard, causing Mae to jerk wildly against her safety harness. Cranking the steering wheel, my tires skid all over the road as I swing my car around.
“Meet us at the warehouse.” Barking the directions to Jasper, I start heading back to the scene of the crime we just committed.
The countdown reaches its mark and explosives start to go off in a string of beautifully timed distractions. We were supposed to be halfway to freedom by now, not using our insurance policy to drive backtowards the emergency vehicles swarming the jewellery store.
Fucking Horace.
“Do you think he’s okay?” Concern bleeds through my earpiece, and it comes as no surprise to see a blue Corvette pull up beside me.
A job isn’t complete until every crew member is out of the line of fire. Call it pack mentality or sheer stupidity, we never leave anyone behind.
Especially not the idiot who has become an integral part of our family.
