Page 32 of The Twilight Theft

I’d already left. I’d told them I was finished. How was I supposed to go in without making anyone suspicious? I wandered around the edge of the fountain, toward the river. From there, I watched Gideon in my peripheral vision.

He was pacing on the patio’s mid-tier, voice growing louder with each word—not enough I could make anything out, but it was obvious something had displeased him.

I could approach him and explain I needed more information about the sculpture if we were going to protect it. Maybe he’d laugh about his artsy wife and agree to tell me. Maybe he didn’t know what she was planning.

Gideon fell silent and shoved his phone into a pocket, shaking his head as he did. He called through the open door into the banquet room, “Liana!”

Her response was too quiet for me to hear.

“I need to go. There’s a problem for Saturday.” He marched into the restaurant, removing most of my options. Other than accosting him on his way to his car—wherever that would be.

Not a smart plan. What were my options?

I texted Scarlett back,He’s leaving. Will Liana’s do?

She responded,If that’s the only play, give it a shot.

That meant going in and facing Drew. No matter what reason I gave, he’d silently judge me, wondering why I honestly came back. Looking at me with that frowny face. Throwing my brain off kilter.

You’re a professional, Jayce. You can do this.I’d worked with Drew before. Hell, I’d even stolen his phone and watch. I was getting too in my head.

I climbed over the patio’s railing and jogged its length, past wooden tables and chairs, huge potted plants, and under the twenty-foot metal sculpture of… a cross between a bird and a giant letter T? Up the wide, shallow stairs, to the door into the banquet room.

Drew stood alone in the middle of the room, between the four taped Xs on the floor, with his back to me. He dragged both hands through his hair, the subtle wave fanning into place perfectly when he was done. He clasped his hands at the nape of his neck, taking slow breaths. Stress wafted off him.

If I tiptoed backward, he’d never know I was there. Ignoring my better judgment, I said, “Where’s Liana?”

He turned to face me, and my heart skipped a few beats. He’d loosened his tie and undone the top buttons of his dress shirt. “I thought you were meeting me at the coffee shop.”

“I forgot I wanted…” What did I want? What was my plan?You don’t have plans, remember?Nothing came to mind, other than his open collar—open low enough to show off a hint of chest hair. I should have tiptoed away.

“Gideon and Liana left.” He stripped off his suit jacket and held it over his arm while he unbuttoned his shirt cuffs. “There was a customs issue with one of the items coming in for the gala, and they need to deal with it.”

“They didn’t pass me on their way out.”

He rolled the cuffs up as he spoke, sending the ants skittering over my skin again. “Staff entrance at the back of the kitchen.”

“Right.”

“How did you get up to the roof?” He walked closer, the veins and light hair on his forearms on full display. He always wore suits or fully buttoned dress shirts, so I’d never seen them before. How did Mr. Grumpy have such muscular arms?

Because they go well with that muscular chest, Jayce.And those broad shoulders.

“Skills.” I shrugged and gestured to his clothes. “You overheating?”

“I needed to breathe.”

I needed something to eat. “If she’s not here anymore, I’m going to—”

“How do you do it?”

What were we talking about now? The fifth floor still?

“Go through life without caring what anyone thinks.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Crawling around inspecting the edge of the carpet like one of the world’s richest men wasn’t standing right there?”

“That’s what they’re paying us for.”

He stopped less than a foot away from me. In this huge room, just the two of us, we didn’t need to be so close. His jaw flexed as he looked down at me, his intense brown eyes roaming over my face, searching for something. For what?

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