Thief (17 page)

If I’d known she was out there, maybe I could’ve built a better life. Done things a little differently. Not gotten mixed up in the things I did when I was living on the streets as a kid. But back then it was mostly just about eating. I might not have been as dirty as some of the other criminals, but I still broke the law. Played by my own rules.

I hold her for a little longer before I pull myself from the bed, knowing Dimitri is probably waiting for me. I lean down and press a kiss to her lips.

“Love you, baby,” I tell her, as she rolls to her side and reaches out for something. A little furrow appears between her brows when she comes up with nothing. It makes my breath catch. That’s gotta be something. In her sleep she’s still looking for me, reaching out to grab a hold of me.

I take one last look at her before heading out of the room to find Dimitri, who’s still sitting in the same chair I left him in. I take the one across from him as he takes a sip of some brown liquor from his glass.

A tall blonde flight attendant appears. “Can I get you something to drink?” She bends over a little, trying to give me a shot of her cleavage, but I just turn my head and shaking it, dismissing her.

She tries again, making her voice drop a little, like I didn't understand what she was offering me. I want her to step back. I can smell her perfume, and it's eating away at the sweet smell of my little fox that I still have in my nose. “Are you sure I can’t get you—”

“He’s not interested,” Dimitri pauses for a second, “Cindy.” He’d clearly forgotten her name.

She huffs a little as she walks away.

“I don’t know where the agency gets some of these women, but next time I’m requesting a man. My Laura would be raising hell right now if she was here.” He says it with a smile on his face. Yeah, I think I’d get off on the idea of my woman being jealous over me, too, because right now I think she probably just wants to smack me again.

“You got it?” he finally asks.

I reach into my back pocket, retrieving the small package and my phone, and toss them on the table.

Curiosity gets the best of me. “What comes in such a small package that a man will willing to pay over a hundred million for?”

Dimitri opens the envelope and pulls out a small box. He opens it gingerly.

A simple ring sits inside. I raise my eyebrows. The ring is nothing to write home about, just a gold band with an emerald. Only a carat by the looks of it, if that—nowhere near the price he paid for it.

I look at Dimitri with a question in my eyes.

“It was my mother’s. I want to ask Laura to marry me.” He pulls the ring out of the box, admiring it, the smile stretching across his face as he looks at it with such love.

“The first time I asked Laura to marry me, I gave her a giant ring. The thing almost cost more than this plane. She told me to drop dead.”

A burst of laughter escapes my mouth.

“She said I was trying to buy her. Maybe I was in a way. I wanted to impress her.” His eyes lock on mine. “I just wanted her to be mine.”

“You think that will do it?” I ask, leaning back in my chair.

“God, I hope so, or I’ll have to take a page from your book and do a little kidnapping.”

I shake my head at the reminder. “Wasn’t there an easier way to get into that safety deposit box? Or a cheaper one?”

“Maybe. But I didn’t want to risk falling into one of the FBI’s traps, and I wanted to make sure I got it safely to me. If someone knew how much it meant to me, they could use it against me. I’ve got more money than I’ll ever need, and I would have paid ten times what I paid you for it.”

His hand locks around the ring, gripping it in a fierce hold.

“I hope she says yes,” I tell him. Meaning it.

“Me, too.” He puts the ring back in the box, then stores it inside his suit jacket. He picks up a folder sitting on the seat next to him and tosses it on the table between us. I look down at it.

“You are now Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal. I thought an ornithological last name still seemed appropriate.”

I flip open the folder and thumb through the new passports. “And I didn’t even have to ask her,” I joke, thinking about our now-married status.

“Everything you need is in there. All your documents and bank codes. I also moved your old bank accounts to your new name and a new bank.”

I raise my eyebrows at that because I never asked him to do that.

“You’re welcome,” he says cockily, before shooting back the rest of his drink. No wonder the FBI wants their hands on him.

“It’s a long flight to the South Pacific. Get some sleep and kill that phone.” He nods to the cellphone sitting in front of me.

“I hope you win your girl over, too. It hurts when they push away.”

“We’re criminals,” I remind him. No wonder our women are pushing us away.

“Then do what you do best, Sparrow. You’re a thief, after all. Steal her heart.” With that little bit of wisdom, he stands and leaves.

I pick up the phone, ready to smash it, when I see all the missed text messages. They must have come before we got in the air. I skip all of them and go straight to Tessa’s.

Tessa:
I love you.

Maybe there’s more hope than I thought.

Chapter 20

Tessa

I
t’s all in pieces.

I remember everything from the bank robbery. The panic at first seeing the men with guns, then my training kicked in, and I did what they asked. I remember lying on the floor, my heartbeat in my throat as the men walked around like they knew exactly what was where.
This was planned
. That was the only thought that kept running through my mind.

Harper’s crying was making me nervous, and I wanted her to be quiet. I just closed my eyes tightly and prayed for it to be over soon.

I remember my hair being pulled so hard I thought it had been ripped out. The gun pressed to my temple, and then thoughts of dying flashed through my mind.

Words were exchanged, but all I could do was wish I could see Sean one last time. One final time to say goodbye and tell him I love him.

Right before the gun went off, my wish came true. He was there. Only betrayal was the only thing I could see.

Once the gun went off, I thought I was dead. My ears were ringing so loud, I couldn’t think. I may have blacked out, but I remember Sean’s eyes. I remember him coming to catch me.

Even with his treachery, I felt safe in his arms.

But seeing the dead body of Nick beside me would be burned into my brain for the rest of my life. And after that sight, things went fuzzy.

I was in the car with Sean, and my hand was stinging. I hit him with more anger than I’d ever felt before. Then there was a pinch on my arm, and it all went black.

There was a glimpse of a plane, and the feeling of Sean picking me up. There was a flash of someone else—a man named Dimitri? I don’t know if that’s real or a dream.

There was a bed that moved, and Sean was holding me.

But then he was gone.

I remember crying and kicking my legs, then another pinch on my arm. Sean was holding me down while I screamed, and then it all went black again.

My body aches. I feel like I’ve been in the same position too long, and I roll over to stretch. I can’t remember what day it is, but it’s warm all around me, so I must be with Sean.

I reach for him, but there’s nothing beside me.

Sitting up, I see that I’m in a big, white fluffy bed surrounded by tons of pillows. There’s a canopy over the top of it with pretty gauzy material hanging from it, which rustles in the breeze.

I look down and see I’m completely naked, but I smell Sean all over me. I don’t feel like I had sex, so he must have just slept on top of me.

Looking beyond the bed, I see the room is white and bathed in light, courtesy of giant windows and two huge glass doors that lead out onto a balcony.

I wrap the bedsheet around myself and get out of bed.

The cool tile feels nice against my feet, and my legs wobble a little as I take a few steps.

When I’m at the balcony, I can finally see everything clearly. There’s sand and palm trees and an ocean that stretches out as far as the eye can see. It’s utterly beautiful and looks like something out of one of my fantasies.

Standing there looking at paradise, everything comes crashing back to me. This isn’t the place of my dreams, it’s a lie from a thief.

Chapter 21

Sean

^“
S
he refuses to eat. She won’t talk to me. Hell, she won’t even fucking look at me. But I don’t want to push her. Not yet.”

“She’ll get there. It won’t happen overnight, Sean. You’ll have to earn it from her.”

Sal’s words offer me comfort and remind me that I’ll have to fight for what I want. I reach out and hug him, needing his support.

When Dimitri first offered me the job, I set my plan into place. I knew that I would need a location that was isolated, and I knew Sal would have to come with me. Until Tessa, I’d never had any family besides him.

I bought the island in the South Pacific through a private sale.

Laura's father, a reclusive billionaire, had owned it. When he died, she didn't want the place, but she knew it could be of use. I’d never met her, but if Dimitri said she could be trusted, then I knew she could. Now that I know just how much he cares for her, I understand that she’s probably the most trustworthy person in the world. Especially after all he’s done.

The name of the island is Veilig. It means ‘safe’ in Dutch.

The island is only accessible by boat, but luckily it’s only a short ride to the mainland. Sal hired a couple of people willing to work and live here full time—a few who keep the grounds and a couple who maintain the inside of the home.

Two of the women he hired are certified midwives, so when the time comes, they can monitor Tessa while she’s pregnant. Seems you can get anything set up if you have the money.

When I told Sal my plan to live on Veilig and cut all ties, he was more than willing to agree. He’d spent his whole life digging snow in Chicago and trying to keep safe from street thugs. An isolated paradise was just what he was looking for.