“It’s under the desk.” Ash was barely audible, but the two of us headed to the desk and very quietly rolled the office chair back. “We need to lift it,” he told me, and we both hesitated.
Was it worth being caught?
“You got this?” I asked him as we considered the options.
With a terse nod, we looked at Gray. He held up his hand and flashed his fingers. Ash and I glanced at each other, and then, with a nod, we moved the desk, but then we followed Gray’s instructions and waited.
The headboard banging stopped, we heard the shout of pleasure, we heard the answering groan, and still we waited. Gray stayed at the door, and all three of us dropped when we heard footsteps in the hall.
“You want anything?” the guy called out.
“Only you,” came the answering call from the other man.
Ash pretended to put his fingers down his throat at the cliché reply. We waited as we heard him move downstairs, and we waited more when he came back up the stairs, never once coming near the study. That didn’t mean we weren’t anxious at the thought of it, though.
“I got strawberries, cream, and . . . a banana.”
Gray choked on his laughter, pressing his hands to his mouth to stop the giggle. Ash was bent over, his body shaking, and I could only hope that my own fit of hysteria would stay silent as my shoulders shook with laughter.
As we strained to hear the low murmuring of voices, I nudged Ash, and he uncovered the floor, pulling the rug back, which hid the safe underneath.
Quietly, we lifted the hatch, and with a look to my brother, I saw he was fully focused on the door.
“Does this beep?” I suddenly whispered to Ash.
“No, it’s the latest model, only installed two weeks ago,” came his low reply.
“Still default code?” I said with surprise.
“Fucker deserves to be robbed,” Ash said quietly. “Actuallyrobbed.” He sat back on his haunches as we heard another moan. “Was hoping they’d sleep,” he admitted.
With a grin for my cousin, I opened the safe. Ash pointed his phone into the safe, and we both stared as he took a quick photo. Money was stacked neatly in one corner. A folder of documents, which Ash pulled out and quickly started to go through. A long jewelry box, which I opened and nudged Ash when I saw the black memory stick nestled between a gaudy diamond ring and diamond stud earrings.
Gray jerked suddenly, knocking the seat by the door, and we all froze, waiting to see if the bedroom gymnasts had heard us. I saw the reason my brother reacted — a black and white cat moved slowly across the floor, looking as confused at our presence as we were by it.
“Meow.” It looked straight at me as it stopped in the center of the room.
Gray glared at it, then me. He wasn’t fond of cats.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Ash murmured as he handed me a piece of paper.
Reading it, I looked up at him in alarm. He shook his head, and I carefully folded the document, slipping it under my hoodie.
With another shake of his head, he let me know there was nothing else of interest. Quickly, we reassembled the safe, and as I closed the hatch, the cat brushed against me. It stood at my feet and then began to weave in and out of my legs. I thought they only did that in cat food commercials. Was it hungry? It could fuck off.
I stared at it. It stared back. Neither of us moved.
“Meeeow.”
Ash gave out a sigh as he bent down, picked the furball up, and placed it to the side. Swiftly, the desk was put back, and then the stupid cat meowed again.
“It’s the bitch’s cat.”
Gray was pressed against the door, ready to burst through it if he needed to.
“Should we see where it is?”
I think all three of us held our breath for what seemed like eternity.
