Page 13 of Knot a Thief

She leans in, pressing a quick kiss to my lips before pulling away. I grab the back of her neck and slam my lips on hers, my tongue invading her mouth, devouring her taste, like I’m scared I’ll never get to do it again.

She kisses me back.

We are heat, love, and the only two people in the world right now. And that’s the way I want it to stay.

She smiles against my mouth. “Love you forever.”

God, I hope so.

“Love you in every life.” I press my head on hers, and I’m thankful for yet another day with her.

“Keep the engine running, and we’ll be back in Majorca by morning.” She turns before heading for the yacht’s exit.

I watch her go.

She’s so confident, ready to take on the world. So different from two years ago when she sought my services. She was fearless, but so irrational in her plans.

Not anymore.

Between us, we’ve learned everything there is to know about stealing from the rich and making ourselves very wealthy in return.

We don’t only work for ourselves. Our services are sought on the dark web. When a painting needs stealing from an art gallery, or the one occasion where a child needed returning to her mother.

The right money—or cause, in the child’s case—we can do it all.

As the door closes behind her, I turn to my array of monitors and computers. My part in the plan is about to begin.

“Comms check,” I say into the microphone.

“Loud and clear,” Ava’s voice comes through, crisp and professional.

I take a deep breath, pushing down my worries. “Time to focus, sweetheart. Let’s go tweeting.”

“Okay, my love.”

I smile. She never makes me feel anything, but that she is mine and I am hers.

These insecurities I have are all mine.

“Well done. The coast is clear for you to move.”

My fingers fly over the keyboard, eyes darting between multiple screens showing security camera feeds from all over the hotel.

“Third floor is clear.” Ava’s voice comes through the comm, steady and focused. And I’m happy to see her heart rate is normal as she slips into the emergency exit and makes her way up to the stairs. “Moving to the fourth.”

“Roger that,” I respond, switching camera views. “Coast is clear for the next two minutes. Hit room four one three first.”

I watch through Ava’s headset camera as she places the deactivating device on the card reader. A couple of seconds of listening before the red light changes to green, and she slips inside.

Through the hotel cameras I see her movements are fluid, practiced. Not that anyone else would recognize her.

Her black leggings are now pulled all the way down over her feet. And with the hood attached at the neck of her top now hiding her face and hair, only her eyes are seen.

With gloves on her hands, she’s covered from head to toe in black. We do everything to prevent her from leaving her fingerprints or DNA.

Within minutes, she cracks the safe and pockets a fortune in diamonds.

This job was the one we were paid to do. To steal the 20 CT pink diamond sitting atop the most expensive engagement ring in the world.