Page 126 of The Thief

He scratched the side of his head. “I understand. When you break trust, it’s hard to earn it back. But in this case, you never betrayed them. They don’t realize it, but they’d feel the same if I’d put Virgil in charge.”

I chuckled.

“People worry over money, as they should. Wealth is what sustains us through the centuries. We Shifters were dealt a bad hand. Many of us had no freedom for centuries, and we’re starting over with nothing. My tribe has been fortunate. We have our land, our business, and our practices that have kept us alive for longer than my grandfather, but most don’t have these luxuries. Land and hunting will ensure our survival during difficult times. As will trading.” Tak clasped his hands. “I only have one question of you, one that I’ve been thinking about for a long time.”

“What’s that?”

“When Catcher was hurt that night of the fire, you left the house and returned with an oxygen tank. I said I didn’t care where you got it, and I still feel that way. But…”

“Did I steal it?” I crossed one foot over the other. “No. That first day I came here, I got lost and asked a stranger for directions. He was outside his house, and there was junk everywhere.”

“I’ve seen him. He’s a collector.”

“He gave me his business card. The slogan said: If You Need It, I’ve Got It. So I figured if he didn’t have an oxygen tank, he might know how to help.” I pushed away from the wall. “If you want the truth, I would have stolen anything to help Catcher. Does that make me a bad person? Stealing’s wrong, but where do you draw the line? That’s hard for me because of the way my parents raised me. I’d never hurt my packmates or anyone who put their trust in me. But shouldn’t you want to do whatever it takes to help the people you love?”

He gave me a subtle nod. “I’ve been in your shoes, only it was a reverse situation. We all struggle with those feelings of uncertainty when it comes to what’s right. It shows you have a conscience. I wouldn’t trust anyone with our money who lacked one. I wanted to bring you down here to talk to you about the money.”

“What about it?”

“Finances are a private matter. What everyone has in their account is their business, not mine. Only you are privy to that knowledge. That means as the accountant, you make important decisions on your own, and I’ll support you. But if a packmate’s in trouble or making bad choices that could harm the pack or themselves, confide in me. This is the only time I want to be involved with finances. Well, unless they want to borrow money from the pack. That always requires my approval.”

“Sure thing. Can I ask you something?”

Tak studied me as if trying to read my mind. “Go on.”

“Will you give me the diamond back?”

“For the Mage?”

I took a few steps toward the opposite wall, avoiding eye contact. “Argento won’t be a problem anymore.” I peered at him over my shoulder.

Tak rose to his feet. “I meant to compliment Bear on his new hairstyle. Silver seems to be in fashion these days.”

Bear attributed his silver patch to the stress of his first day in the kitchen and his age, even though he was too young to be silvering. I wasn’t sure if everyone bought it, but they let it go. Few things slipped past Tak, aside from his mate’s pregnancy. His tribe must have seen all types of Mage gifts, so maybe he had put the pieces together.

“I want to return the diamond to its rightful owner,” I confessed. “Bear and I plan on taking a trip together. Let’s call it a honeymoon.”

Tak leaned against the doorjamb. “You aren’t tempted to keep it?”

“For what?” I played with my earring. “It could obviously support the pack for the next millennium, but that thing has been nothing but a curse. Selling something that isn’t even mine is no different than stealing. The owner would never get it back, and I’d have to sell it on the black market to avoid him finding out it was me who took it. I don’t know who else I hurt in my previous life, but this is the one thing I can fix.” I stood in front of the safe and faced Tak, who filled the doorway like a giant.

“And you’re going to walk up to this person’s doorstep and hand it over?”

“I have the location and code where he stores his valuables. If he changed the code, I’ll have to come up with another plan to return it. But I don’t want this thing in my life. The only reason I stole it in the first place was to keep it from a power-hungry maniac.”

“Good.” He jerked his head for me to follow him. “My father’s a gemstone dealer by trade, but he also believes in spirits attaching themselves to stones. Some good and some bad. They all look like rocks to me,” he said with a chuckle. We reached the steps. “If there is bad energy, I don’t want it in my house. Maybe if we get rid of it, our luck will change. We’ve already had too much drama.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Have you decided which room you’ll sleep in?” Tak stopped and glanced down at me from the top step. “I can’t help but notice you two have been going back and forth between rooms.”

“It makes more sense to sleep downstairs. Bear wants me to paint his wall, so I’m going to do that before I move in permanently. In the meantime, it’s kind of nice having two places. Except for Virgil.”

Tak stepped into the storage room. “What about him?”

I moved aside so he could close the hatch doors. “Let’s just say that Virgil likes to be right in the middle of things. If he hears us talking, he’s gotta come in and see what’s going on.”

Tak’s braid flipped forward when he bent down to close the doors. “I’ll speak to him about privacy.”

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