Page 45 of Love Over Time

“That was a dead end. First Rule of Con—know when to cut your losses. Move on quickly.”

I placed both hands on my hips. “There are rules to thieving?”

“Yeah. Second Rule of Con—improvise to save the con.” She flashed me a sexy grin, dangling a key in front of me. “The security box requires two keys. Your mom’s key and Mr. Paredes’s key. Now we have both. All we have to do is go in the back where they keep the boxes.” She shrugged. “Simple.”

“The back? You mean the vault. No. We’re not doing that.” I crossed my arms.

She did the same, standing tall and looking so fucking sexy. “You know, you look very hot when you do that. Bulging arms, scowling look.” She licked her lips and snaked her arms behind my waist.

I cupped her face. As usual, my cock reacted to her touch. I wanted to go home. I wanted her out of that dress. “I’m serious, Nikki. If we get caught and my uncle gets wind of it, he’ll have the two of us killed. You know I’m not exaggerating.” Jonathan was capable of horrible things. Stealing from an eleven-year-old wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever done. I knew that now.

“And he won’t. Mr. Paredes said no, and we accepted his answer graciously. Like the dumb-ass kids your uncle thinks we are.”

“I have Mom’s key. And I’m saying no.”

She grinned, fingers tapping on her hip bone, one eyebrow raised. “I’m gonna give you a minute, darling.”

I hadn’t noticed she was up to something. She was getting better at bluffing. Or maybe I was just another poor sap in her hands, like everyone else. I checked the back pocket of my jeans. My wallet was gone, and so was Mom’s key. “You have both keys.”

“I’m going in. You coming?”

Chapter Seventeen

Second Rule of Con

Nikki

Henry pressed me against the bathroom door. “Nikki, this isn’t a game.”

“I know that.” I pushed at him. “Lisa’s hearing is tomorrow, and she may or may not stay in that hell of hers for another fifteen years. This isn’t a game. It’s the rest of my sister’s life.”

Wincing, he cradled the nape of my neck and held me against his chest, his lips pressed against my temple. “I’m sorry. Do you really think this box has the answer we’ve been looking for?” I nodded. Brow furrowed, he cocked his head, placing a finger under my chin. “What made you look for it in Mom’s bathroom? Did you remember something?”

“Not really. I just figured if she kept an emergency fund, maybe she also kept some kind of insurance policy there too.” I met his gaze, and my chest tightened. The pain in his eyes hurt me more than I’d thought possible. “If your uncle killed your dad, there’s a reason he didn’t come after you and your mom. Don’t you think?”

He nodded. “What’s your plan? I’m such an asshole. I should’ve asked that from the beginning. I just don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

“I’m in this knee-deep, Henry. And that has nothing to do with you. Okay. Maybe a little.” I gave him a weak smile. “Lisa’s life depends on it.”

He pressed his lips to mine, and my legs went weak. A quiet pang spread to my core. The way it did every time we touched.

“No more of that. I need to focus.” I pushed him away.

He breathed out. “That’s probably a good idea.”

My watch beeped. It was time. “Okay. Mr. Paredes is leaving for lunch right now.”

“How do you know?”

“It was on his desk calendar.Lunch with the wife.We need to make sure his key is found before he comes back from his date. He can’t know we accessed Tessa’s box. Who knows who your uncle has in his pocket.”

“Wait. Don’t we need a badge to get in the vault?”

“Right.” I paced the length of the bathroom. “How about the security guard? Would he have access?”

“So that’s why you were sizing him up.” He shook his head. “If you lifted a key off Mr. Paredes, why not his badge?”

“He didn’t have it on him.” I shrugged. I’d expected to have something to show Lisa tomorrow, bring her a bit of hope. “We’ll have to come back some other day. We can’t do much without a badge.”

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