Page 99 of Gathered Sparkle

“If we can get access to their phones, I can make it look like the message is from her, even though it’s not,” Sylus jumps in. “But to do that, we need to get their phones, alter what we need, and return them without them noticing.”

I take a sip of my drink, watching Annabelle closely. “And since we need four people to pull this off—”

“Done.” Annabelle cuts me off before I can finish. “I’m in.”

“You don’t even know—” I start, but she shakes her head.

“Babe,” she says firmly, setting her cup down. “You’ve never asked me for anything in the last six years. It’s always been me needing you. You need me now? I’m there. No questions asked.”

God, I love this girl.

But she needs to know what she’s getting herself into.

“We could mess up. This could be dangerous.”

Annabelle’s gaze flicks between Ace and Sylus, sizing them up. “You know what you’re doing?”

“Yes,” Sylus says confidently. “I wouldn’t risk her if we didn’t.”

“Agreed,” Ace adds. “This part of the plan isn’t the risky one. Your role would be pure distraction. Nothing more.”

“I can do distraction.” Annabelle smirks, leaning back in her chair. “Hell, I thrive on it.”

Ace nods, a flicker of approval crossing his face. “Good. We’ll get you the details later. We can’t discuss it all here, but I’m glad you’re in.”

Annabelle picks up her drink, raising it in a mock toast. “Thanks, Blondie.”

Sylus snickers, leaning toward me. “Your bestie’s got more guts than half the people I know.”

“She’s got plenty of guts,” I murmur, my heart swelling with affection and nerves. This is why she’s my girl. And now she’s stepping into my madness with no hesitation, no questions. Just trust.

God, I hope she won’t regret it.

“All right.” Annabelle sets her cup down with a decisive clink. “When do we start this wholesaving-the-world-one-bad-guy-at-a-timemission?”

Sylus grins, letting his chair drop back to all four legs with a thud. “Patience, Blondie. First, we scope things out here, then we head home and fill you in on the rest.”

He waves down the server and pulls out a card, casually handing it over to pay for our coffees.

“Thanks,” I say, meeting his gaze.

“Anything for you, Sparkle baby,” he replies smoothly, his grin wide enough to make my heart stumble.

“Yeah, thanks, Sy,” Ace mutters dryly.

Sylus shrugs, unbothered. “You can thank Ezra later. I swiped his card to pay.”

“You did what?” I ask, staring at him in disbelief.

“He won’t even notice,” Sylus says with a casual wave of his hand as if this isn’t the first time.

Annabelle snorts into her empty cup, and Ace shakes his head while my laughter carries over the rooftop as we gather our things and start toward the far end of the bar, where the Lamborghini glints like a prize waiting to be claimed.

Sylus and Annabelle hang back, positioning themselves on our backs to avoid drawing attention, while Ace and I move closer to the Lambo, where I notice the lock is an electric panel.

“This…” Ace points to it, “… is an RFID-based system. The glass doors swing outward, but only after the key card signal is verified. We were going to use an RFID skimmer,” he explains. “But thanks to you, we don’t have to mess with timing or risk the skimmer glitching. We can simply use the key card.”

“Key card?”

---