Page 116 of Brazen Deceits

RJ bursts out laughing again, his exhaustion less noticeable when he’s grinning. “She’s got you there, Jay.”

Jansen presses a chaste kiss to my lips. “I might not sleep like the dead tonight, but I’ll have both celebratory sex and delayed gratification sex to look forward to. There’s probably even going to be some rage sex mixed in there. And oh boy, am I looking forward to that one.”

I push him away, feeling a flush rush up from my toes to my face. At least I know for sure he doesn’t begrudge that decision of mine. I stomp to the safety of the doorway. “You guys are the absolute worst.”

And I’m so glad that they’re mine.

Chapter 50

RJ

The hum of everyone in the van is both soothing and disruptive. I already have access to the entire museum’s telecommunications and IT systems. It took months, and the last two weeks were a close thing, but I’m hiding in every nook and cranny of their security and so far, they haven’t found me.

Thank goodness their head of IT security has a thing for anime girls with big swords and even bigger boobs. That was the exact fish I needed to spear to get maximum access.

The warmth of Clara brushes against my back the second before her arm slides around my shoulders, her floral scent making my heart race while my breath calms. Being by her is like standing in the eye of a hurricane, and she doesn’t even know her own power. But it’s breathtaking. “How’s it going?” she asks.

Idrag her onto my lap, careful to avoid excessively petting her bare legs while ignoring Trips’ glare. Her hands come around my neck, the touch of her fingers lightning. “I’ve done all the prep work. But I don’t want to take over until right before Jansen begins. They have a complete system lockdown that can’t be overridden by computer, only by a physical onsite phone call from the security company to a private blocked line that can’t be spoofed. So I’m waiting. If the alarm gets triggered? We’re fucked.”

Her body relaxes against mine, the way we fit together distracting in the best way possible. God. I want to savor every moment with this woman. “But we’re not going to get close to triggering the lockdown, right?” she asks.

I press a kiss to the side of her head, and the urge to scoop her up and carry her off to some shack in the woods where no one could ever find us is almost overwhelming. Only the knowledge that I’d be breaking her heart keeps me seated. Instead, I clear my throat, answering her. “My code is quiet, and Jansen is a ghost. For added security, I’ve also hacked into about half of the security cameras from the surrounding buildings.”

“Why only half?”

I huff out a laugh. “You’d be surprised how many places haven’t updated their security since the dawn of the internet of things. I can only access cameras that exist on the web.”

“Then I guess half is pretty good, right?” The mischief in her eyes forces me to grin.

“The best.”

“Perfect.” She presses a kiss to my lips before sliding off my lap. She slips back between Jansen and Walker, her fakeclubbing dress falling to just above her knees, her snow boots covering her calves. Add the long sleeves, and it’s not as hot as her last clubbing outfit, not even close, but I understand enough about women’s clothes to get that this is peak versatile. Trips moves to guard my shoulder, telling me without words that he doesn’t want any more distractions.

Makes me wish we could have brought our phones, if just to give Trips something else to do besides silently nag me for watching Clara.

Well, too late, man. We all agreed to let that fox into our hen house, and we like her brand of distraction too much to give her up.

I keep an eye on our girl as she pulls the sketchbook from Walker’s hand, a photo-realistic drawing of a crowd of people catching my attention. Walker is such a fucking talent, and it was pure serendipity that he lived down the hall from Trips and me freshman year. Add the luck of Jansen and me having a semester-long group project that same fall? We’re probably the luckiest bastards on campus. And that was before Clara stumbled into our midst.

I mean, I’d be hacking no matter what, but hacking to protect a first-rate thief while he’s exchanging a world-class forgery of a small, mostly forgotten Rubens sketch? This is the best high-octane, victimless crime I could imagine pulling off. And I have a beautiful girl on top of it? I’m seriously one lucky bastard.

We’re going to rob the Art Institute of Chicago. We’ll be in and out in under fifteen minutes.

Digging out one of my bottles of Mountain Dew and taking a sip, I know I’m high on victory already.

Chapter 51

Jansen

Trips, being the nanny he is, insisted on all of us having earbuds this time around. That means the whole time I’ve been leisurely walking to the museum, I’ve had to listen to him shushing side conversations. He’s lucky I’m a professional.

I’m not listening to anyone besides RJ. So hopefully, he’ll be able to direct me if anything goes haywire.

As I slink around the side of the main building, I check in with RJ, an itch between my shoulder blades insistent. “Checking in. Is there anyone in this park with me?”

I hear the clicking of RJ’s keys and I know he’s pulling up cameras all around my position.

“I mean, it’s a park, so not a lot of coverage. But I did a rewind of the last twenty minutes and there hasn’t been anyone in or out. I think you’re clear, Jansen. Guard 2 justfinished his walk-by in the Prints & Drawings room, so we should be good for about an hour.”

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