“She’s got plenty of guts,” I murmur, my heart swelling with affection and nerves. This is why she’s my girl. And now she’s stepping into my madness with no hesitation, no questions. Just trust.
God, I hope she won’t regret it.
“All right.” Annabelle sets her cup down with a decisive clink. “When do we start this wholesaving-the-world-one-bad-guy-at-a-timemission?”
Sylus grins, letting his chair drop back to all four legs with a thud. “Patience, Blondie. First, we scope things out here, then we head home and fill you in on the rest.”
He waves down the server and pulls out a card, casually handing it over to pay for our coffees.
“Thanks,” I say, meeting his gaze.
“Anything for you, Sparkle baby,” he replies smoothly, his grin wide enough to make my heart stumble.
“Yeah, thanks, Sy,” Ace mutters dryly.
Sylus shrugs, unbothered. “You can thank Ezra later. I swiped his card to pay.”
“You did what?” I ask, staring at him in disbelief.
“He won’t even notice,” Sylus says with a casual wave of his hand as if this isn’t the first time.
Annabelle snorts into her empty cup, and Ace shakes his head while my laughter carries over the rooftop as we gather our things and start toward the far end of the bar, where the Lamborghini glints like a prize waiting to be claimed.
Sylus and Annabelle hang back, positioning themselves on our backs to avoid drawing attention, while Ace and I move closer to the Lambo, where I notice the lock is an electric panel.
“This…” Ace points to it, “… is an RFID-based system. The glass doors swing outward, but only after the key card signal is verified. We were going to use an RFID skimmer,” he explains. “But thanks to you, we don’t have to mess with timing or risk the skimmer glitching. We can simply use the key card.”
“Key card?”
“Belmont’s master key. You saved us a lot of guesswork and potential screwups.” Ace lips curve into a faint smile. “One less thing to stress about.”
“And no alarms?” I ask as Annabelle steps a little closer, careful not to attract attention. To everyone else, we look like tourists admiring the Lambo.
“No alarms,” Ace confirms. “Not as long as the card’s signal is clean and the doors open smoothly.”
“And the car?” I glance up at Ace. “How do we get it out of there without setting anything off?”
“We’ve got a bypass module for that. It’ll override the keyless entry system long enough to start the engine.”
Behind us, Sylus snickers. “A little digital magic goes a long way.”
Annabelle leans closer, crossing her arms as she whispers to me. “Am I hearing this right? You guys are planning to steal this car?”
I let a sly smile tug at my lips. “Pretty much.”
She lets out a low whistle, shaking her head. “The shit you get yourself into. Girl, I’ve been moved out of our place for not even a month, and now you’re out here planning grand theft auto?”
I chuckle. “It’s for a good cause.”
“Uh-huh. Sure it is,” she mutters, her expression caught somewhere between disbelief and begrudging admiration.
We make our way toward the opposite end of the rooftop, leaving the gleaming Lamborghini behind for now. The wind picks up as we approach the edge, carrying a faint chill that prickles against my skin. My breath catches as I glance across the yawning gap between rooftops, and my stomach twists as the sheer scale of what we’re planning hits me. This isn’t just ambition.It’s madness.
“This is madness,” I mutter my thought, gripping the railing tightly. “There’s no way he can make that.”
“Koen can do it,” Ace replies without hesitation. He rests a hand on the railing beside mine, shaking only slightly, his gaze fixed on the far rooftop.
“I’ll take your word for it.”
