“And, while we were there, we… found someone,” Koen says, and Levi chuckles, clearly more entertained by the memory than he is. “She could help us with a new plan.”
“She?” Sylus perks up, leaning forward. “And what new plan?”
Koen doesn’t indulge Sylus’s questions and continues, “She’s a thief. A good one.”
“A thief?” Sylus repeats, intrigued but cautious when he looks at me.
My eyes shift to Ezra, and sure enough, he looks completely unfazed. He probably knew all about this already.Of course he did.
My stomach knots, a sinking feeling growing as I realize where this conversation is heading.
I’m the thief here.
“She stole my watch,” Koen says calmly, looking straight at me. “Clean off my wrist. And I didn’t notice.”
Sylus lets out a low whistle. “No shit. That’s… impressive.”
I scoff, unable to stop myself. “Impressive? She stole a damn watch, and you think that’s impressive?”
It’s not only impressive, it’s borderline impossible. Koen is always so damn tuned in to his surroundings. It’s like he’s got eyes in the back of his head. I keep my face neutral, refusing to give this mystery woman any credit.
Especially if they intend to have her replace me.
Koen meets my eyes, unfazed by my tone. “It wasn’t a bad lift, especially considering she was tipsy. If she can do that when she’s not at her best, imagine what she could do sober. She might need some training.”
Training.The word grates on my nerves, and I feel a bitter laugh bubbling up, but I swallow it. They could just ask me. I don’t need any training, and I damn sure don’t need anyone stepping in to do what I do. Maybe I fucked up. Maybe three months of hiding in my room convinced them I’m no longer capable of doing what I was brought here to do.
The thought makes anger flare hot and unreasonable in my chest.
“You want to train her? For what, exactly?” I snap. “What does she have that I don’t?”
Fuck, did I really just ask that?
Koen and Ezra exchange glances, and the silent communication between them grates me. They’ve always acted like the group’s parents, probably because they’re older. Ezra is thirty-three, and the twins are going to be thirty in a few days. But Levi is…Levi, and Sylus is twenty-five, while I’m the youngest at twenty-four.
Levi chimes in, “Well, for starters, she’s got tits, a banging body, and her face card is giving.” He grins at me. “Not that you’re not pretty,blue eyes, but Nicholas Harrington? Not exactly into guys.”
Which he’d learned the hard way fifteen years ago.
“So what? You want her to cozy up with that dickhead?”
“Exactly.” Levi nods enthusiastically. “She’s got the skills, the looks, and if she can get close to him… she’ll have the access we need.”
The air in the room shifts, the weight of what they’re suggesting sinking in.
They want to use her as bait.
A tool to get close to Harrington’s son.
I see the logic behind it. If she has the kind of charm and skill that could get her close, that’s something I could never do. And yet, it feels like a slap in the face, like I’m being sidelined, cast aside for something I can’t control.
“She could get into Veronica’s office and swipe her laptop,” Koen says simply as if he’s already mapped out the whole plan in his head.
Ezra shakes his head, crossing his arms. “I don’t think taking anything is a good idea.”
“No, we leave everything exactly where it is,” Sylus cuts in smoothly, his voice calm but carrying that spark of excitement he gets when something risky is on the table. “But I like the idea. She could get into their private rooms, give me access to their network.”
“And she could probably get close to Belmont, too,” Levi adds, leaning back in his chair with an easy grin. “If she can snag his master key card to the hotel, that would make our lives a hell of a lot easier.”
