You’re being a brat.
Yes, but I’m your brat.
Penelope’s heart skipped a beat, and despite rolling her eyes—at Lucia or herself, she wasn’t sure—she still responded with a heart emoji.
Warmth bloomed in her chest, and, with a smile, she went back to work.
Chapter 38
Pivoting
Lucia panted as she finished her yoga workout and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She was supposed to meet Francesca later for an “afternoon sweet,” as Francesca had called it—which usually meant espresso and, if she was lucky, tiramisu or cannoli.
She’d just sat down to read when the doorbell rang.
Expecting a delivery, Lucia raised an eyebrow when instead, Skye stood in front of her, arms crossed. “Hi. What’s up?”
“Can we talk? I stopped by your studio first. Thought you’d be holed up in there now that you quit.”
Suppressing a sigh, Lucia stepped aside and ushered her inside. She closed the door and followed her into the living room.
Skye flopped onto the couch, staring straight ahead.
“So?” Lucia joined her, settling in the armchair across from her.
“I wanna blame you, but I’m not gonna do that.”
Lucia straightened. “Blame me for what, exactly?”
“For the end of the Collective! Not enough that you left, but now Francesca’s shutting everything down.”
“I was as surprised as you are.” She wouldn’t feel guilty for refusing to choose a life that all too often made her miserable, nostalgia be damned.
“Yeah, but you’re not getting the rug pulled out from under you. We’ve been there for way over a decade, and now what?”
“You’ll find something else.”
“Right. Lemme just throw ‘sixteen years in an art crime collective’ on my resume and see who bites.”
Lucia winced. “That’s…a challenge,” she acknowledged, “and likely will involve some research and creativity.” She knew how Skye felt—there was a reason it had taken her years to work up the courage for this step, but Skye was smart and talented. She’d find something. Lucia understood the panic beneath her words, though, the quiet terror of becoming obsolete after years of purpose, even a dangerous one.
“I could always ask Varnelli if she’s hiring. At least she’s not torching her empire because of one dumb accident,” Skye muttered bitterly.
Lucia blinked.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m venting. I’d never take that snake’s side.” Skye ran a hand across her face.
“It’s not just the accident. That was the final straw.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
Lucia nodded slightly. “I suppose not.”
“And she’s not just quitting—she’sguttingthe whole thing. Why tear down all the infrastructure? Fine, maybe she doesn’t want to deal in forgeries anymore. But why notrepurposethe Collective?”
“Into what?”
“I don’t know. We could recover stolen art, help restore it. Legally. Support underfunded museums. Use the network to lift up smaller places, not just rob the big ones.”
