Page 30 of The More the Merrier

The Thief That Stole Christmas by Leslie Ayla

Chapter 1

Zanya

My heartbeat picks up as I jog on silent feet towards the large imposing brick wall. The skin exposed to the cold night air will be flushed and a rosy pink so unflattering, I’ve made a habit of never working out in front of anyone. When I finally reach the exposed brick, I say a quick prayer of thanks to whichever deity still listened to me that the wall is covered in long, thick viney ropes of green leaves. Digging in, I slowly make my way over the wall and jump down the other side, rolling onto my knees in a somersault to lessen the impact.

The large lawn is highlighted with huge spotlights, and the house itself with strings upon strings of Christmas lights, leaving very few spots for a thief to sneak in unexposed, but I’ve done ample research and a couple of dry runs, and I’ve yet to be discovered. Another quick peek at my watch confirms the time as nine pm. Andre Parker and his new wife will have left more than an hour ago for the Christmas function I had Rainbow Haven invite them to. They will be out until well after midnight, giving me plenty of time to slip in.

If Momma could see me now, she’d have a heart attack. She was a firm believer in you had to work for what you wanted, but I’ve tried that. And still, Rainbow Haven wasn’t coping with all the expenses. Pushing down the guilt caused by thoughts of Momma—even if I was doing this for a good cause—I bring my focus back to the task at hand.

I’m not doing anything wrong. Andre is not a good man. He might have a reputation for not hurting women and kids, but that doesn’t mean he made his money the good, clean way. And there is no way I can pass up this opportunity.

I finally make it to the gutter I’m using as an ingress point, completely undetected, as with each of my practice runs. Scaling up is a breeze. Soon I’m at the little window the cook always forgets to close in her scullery. I once again thank my lucky stars that I’m small enough to fit as I squeeze through the window frame. I have a brief moment of panic when I’m halfway through, awkwardly hovering, when my hips get stuck. But with a quick wiggle, I fall through and land with a soft thud.

I hold my breath because even though the Parkers left, doesn’t mean the house is deserted; any number of the servants could be lurking in the halls. When no one comes storming into my little hiding place, I can finally take a breath again. I quickly dig out a little pen light and slowly push open the door.

I snag a sugar cookie on my way out of the storeroom, nibbling on it as I sneak through the maze of hallways, making my way to where Andre and Amanda sleep.

I’ve got some insider info from the cook's new assistant that Andre splurged on his new wife’s Christmas present. The beautiful necklace is made up of many precious stones that apparently have quite a story attached to them and are valued over the millions. My fence assured me he can get rid of it, and with the money I make, I can create a kick-ass Christmas doandkeep the home running for a good few months.

Soft mood lighting guides me, and my silent footsteps eat up the distance in no time. The bedroom door is open, as is the door to the walk-in closet.

According to the assistant, as they were informed by one of the maids, there is a safe in the closet. A very fancy, expensive safe. One Ishouldhave no issues with, as it’s another one of those things that I’ve done more times than I’m comfortable admitting.

Using skills I’d learnt as a kid from my biologicals to steal from rich assholes has never been part of the plan, especially not after being adopted by a rich couple of my own. But needs must be met, and this is the only way I know how.

I shake off yet another wave of guilt and head into the closet. And right there, as promised, is a state-of-the-art safe built into the wall. I pull my tools out of the pouch strapped to my stomach and get to work. In no time I have the door open and not only the famous necklace in my hands, but also a couple of stacks of cash. Even more important though, are the documents. I flick through them quickly and am surprised that Andre is keeping this kind of stuff in his home safe.

I place everything into my pack and retrace my steps. Walking back into the store room, I’m almost convinced I hear something, but when I turn around to look there’s nothing there. I grab a few more cookies—this time, chocolate chip—and squeeze back out the window.

A mere hour later, I’m back in my little flat in Islington, giggling at another successful heist. I dress in my fluffy rubber ducky pyjamas and curl into my twin bed, cuddling my rag doll, Petunia.

I dropped off the necklace at my fence on the way home and mailed the cash to Rainbow Haven with instructions to use it for the children’s home. From an anonymous donor, of course. Once Billy sells off the gems, he’ll send the cash to the charity too.

I’m about to nod off when I notice a dark figure stepping from the shadows.

Johannes

Wat de fok?

Here I thought staying at home would make for an uneventful night. I didn’t feel like getting dressed in one of Andre’s ridiculous suits and sitting pretty while they schmooze with a bunch of rich assholes with way too much money and very little sense. So I sent Barry along with Cameron to watch him and the missus instead.

I’m quietly enjoying one of the beers that Andre imports for me, reading one of Amanda’s books—not that I’d ever admit it—when the silent alarm to their master bedroom gets tripped. I place the beer on the table next to me, grabbing my phone to check the cameras on my app.

And just about fall over.

The tiny creature—because I can’t describe her as anything but tiny—currently skulking through Andre’s master suite is so small, a stiff wind will knock her over. I get up from my La-Z-Boy and start making my way to the secret passage that runs to the main house from my cottage. It opens up to his study, which has another hidden door connected to their bedroom. He had these built in should one of his enemies ever attack at night so he had a quick escape, undetectable to anyone but me and the rest of his personal security team.

The little mouse is now busy working on the safe, and to my bloody amazement, she has it open much quicker than I like. Going straight for the necklace Andre had made for Amanda as a gift, she packs it away ,along with all the cash and a bunch of files he had stashed in there. I send a quick text to the boss, informing him of the break-in and our tiny thief. I’m about to step through the hidden door when his response comes in:

Bossman: Follow her. Find out who she works for and then notify Cameron so he can have her arrested.

Sending an acknowledgement, I lock the screen and put away the phone. Little Mouse is on her way out the door. As I know the route she took to get in, I let her go and rush back to the secret passage. I stop in my bedroom to grab what I need, and head out into the yard whilst checking the camera feed again. It’s still clear, so I find a spot to hide.

And just in time, too. The second I move back into the shadows she makes her way over the fifteen-foot high wall. If I wasn’t so pissed at her audacity, I’d probably admit to being impressed. Following her through a small security gate, I stick to the shadows and follow her to a white van. It’s got a large colourful logo on the side, but in the dark it’s hard to make out. When she’s in, I dart out and plug a GPS tracker under the back bumper on the passenger side.

She pulls away and I run back to my own truck. With the GPS plugged into my tablet display, I follow after her, leaving plenty of distance between us, trusting my gadget to keep track of my prey.

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