Page 104 of The Love Bandits

She gives me a doubting look and scratches her head under the hat. “When a man tells you his identical twin did it, Lainey, you should absolutely punch him in the face.”

“I saw photos of Ryan,” I tell her, since ‘I believe him,’ won’t wash. “He exists. That’s why this guy doesn’t want to lose them. They’re the perfect thieves.”

Her eyes light up. “Holy shit, seriously? Twins wig me out, but we need to get the other one and make a pair.”

“We’re not going to use them,” I say tightly, moving slowly through the neighborhood. “They’ve already been used enough.”

“No, no.” She waves a hand, grimacing when someone outside the car waves back. “We’re not going to use them. They’re going to use other people for us. For a good cause, obviously.”

I decide not to object. If this is the motivation she needs to find and help Ryan, I’m all for it.

I quickly tell her about what we found, from the blond guy’s dick pic to the stash of Mrs. Rosings’s jewels.

Nicole whistles, her eyes glimmering in the dark. “You still got a boner for saving Nina?”

I sigh. “Fine, I’ll admit it, I was projecting. She’s a jerk. Jake actually thinks we should help Anthony once this is all settled.”

She laughs softly in the dark. “Well, all right. Hiring someone who’s willing to marry a hot millionaire will probably be the easiest gig we can get.”

“Famous last words,” I say. “Did you get anything else out of Emma?”

She puckers her mouth. “She’s a worthy adversary, but I don’t think she has the necklace. She’s got plenty of money, and when I brought up the documentary, she seemed annoyed. Didn’t get amy preciousvibe. But…” She shrugs. “Worthy adversary. It’s possible. Right now, my money’s on the old lady. Maybe she snatched it to set up Nina, and now she’s wondering if dementia has set in because she’s got an exact copy sitting in her case.”

I nod, but I’m not convinced. There’s still a chance Nina stole it and hid it somewhere other than the suitcase—or even gave it to blond dick guy.

When I pull up to the cabin, Jake’s already parked in the driveway, next to Nicole’s car. He’s standing by the driver’s side door, leaning against it as he watches us pull in, and relief travels through me as quickly as the growth cycle of an invasive plant. Part of me worried he wouldn’t come back—that he’d freak out after telling me about Ryan and Roark, especially knowing that Nicole was in the car with me.

“Something’s different between you,” Nicole comments as I turn off the engine. “And it’s not just the power of the peen.”

I roll my eyes at her, and she shocks me by saying, “You know, the reason I didn’t pull the trigger on Todd was because I knew you’d do it yourself when the time came.”

“You did?”

She pats my arm. “My sister needed help getting revenge. You didn’t.” She pulls a face. “Then again, all you really did was ruin his most prized possession and send it back to him in splinters.”

“You know about that?”

“You used the Love Fixers’ mailing account.”

I nod, because that was a rookie move, then tell her, “I’m sure it emotionally destroyed him. He cares about that bat more than he does about any living person.”

She studies me in the dark. “And yet he let you take it.”

“Who says he let me? I said he knew I had it. He may be a big man in the board room, or those parties he goes to, but I don’t think anyone had ever stolen anything from him before. And when I found out he’d been cheating on me, I invited him to the park for a picnic and then set his expensive collared shirts on fire in front of him. I think he’s afraid of me.”

She grunts with amusement. “What about your parents?”

“I took away the one investment they put the most time and money into.”

“Don’t tell me you’re talking about this hideous car.”

I laugh. “No. Me. I think that’s enough revenge.”

She considers this for a second before nodding. “I’m not worried about you at all. You, Lainey Catlan, might have gotten lost for a while, but you know exactly who you are and what you’re doing. Even your fuckup with the thief ended up okay.”

In that moment, I believe her. I feel better than okay, actually. I feel like I’m on the cusp of actually being the person I’m supposed to be, living the life that suits me.

If I can prevent it all from tumbling down.

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