Page 6 of Never Enough

He dodged the question in her eyes by pulling his balaclava over his head and considering the darkness around him. His head felt sweaty from the hood and running. He ruffled his blond hair from its matted form by running his fingers through it repeatedly. “Where are we? It looks like my ouma’s attic.”

“It’s an antique store.”

“Ah. That explains it.” He shifted his attention. “Midas, what have you got?”

“I hacked into their radio frequency. You’re only slightly screwed. They’re fanned out all around the town. She’s correct. They’re definitely thinking you’ve gone back to the rooftops. No word yet on doing an internal building-to-building search.”

“Keep me updated.” He tapped his watch to mute him from his brother. Leaning back against the wall, he told her, “Midas confirmed your rooftops. Looks like we’re stuck here for a little bit.”

“Did you think I lied to you?”

“No, not really. But it’s nice to be sure.” His eyes adjusted to the room lit only by streetlamps through the window. “What is it with this town? No security force for a multimillion diamond display? No alarm system business with priceless antiques in it?”

She pulled her own balaclava from her head, her springy curls bouncing loose around her elfin face.

Damn. She’s even prettier than I remembered. Love those curls and those blue sparklers of hers.

Shrugging, she tucked the hood into her belt, then began removing her gloves. “It’s supposed to be ‘a quaint village from a time gone by,’” she quoted one of the tour brochures. “Security systems ruin the aesthetic.”

She wandered around the room in the dark, looking at the pieces she could see in the dim lighting.

“You look good, kitty cat.”

Her head turned in his direction. He couldn’t see her face in the shadows, but he knew what he’d see if he could. Wide-open blue eyes that sparkled, but right now, they’d be like prey—frozen when it senses a predator nearby.

“Thank you,” she returned reluctantly. “So do you. What’s it been? Two years?”

“Little under,” he corrected nonchalantly. “I’ve been trying to trace you. The papers say you stole the Saturn Diamond. Was it you? In Gabon?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The smile was clear in his voice. “Yeah, it was you.”

The light shifted slightly as the moon came out from behind some clouds.

Yep, definitely predicted the startled look.

They stood in silence, staring at one another.

When he couldn’t resist any longer, he pushed off the wall and headed in her direction as best he could with all the furniture in his way. She backed up three steps, so he stopped.

“You afraid of me, kitty cat?”

Her chin tilted up. “No.”

He took another step in her direction.

She backed up another step.

“If you’re not afraid, then why are you backing up?”

“Strategic retreat,” she whispered.

For every measured step he took, she backed up another until finally, she was stopped by a three-drawer bureau with an attached mirror. Her butt hit the edge of its tabletop, and she instinctively crawled up onto it in a seated position, backing into the mirror when he was finally within touching distance.

“And here I thought you liked me. You seemed to when we met last time.”

“I don’t know you enough to like you.”

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