Page 2 of Take the Sub and Run

Dramatically rescue Colette from Landon? Improbable. Sofie looked him up when Colette mentioned him, and he was a big man. Too large for her to take down without both a weapon and the element of surprise. She might manage surprise, but she didn’t have a weapon.

Steal the necklace herself? That was her first idea, and seemed like the best one. Sofie knew how it was supposed to happen. Colette had walked her through it. Ideally, Landon would bend Colette over his arm and dramatically kiss her like he just returned from war. Everyone around them would sigh and clap like it was a movie. The whole thing would be the perfect distraction.

But tonight’s heist was a swap job. They weren’t supposed to just take the one-of-a-kind priceless pearl necklace. They were supposed to replace it with a fake.

Just taking something was so…pedestrian. There was no art, no effort, to simply stealing something. Sofie knew she was biased, since her own livelihood depended on people like Colette needing forgery copies of the world’s most valuable paintings.

There were several problems with that, first of which was that swaps were harder than straight thefts and, again, this was Sofie’s first heist. Second, Colette had the replica. It was hidden in a brooch on her dress.

Rescue wasn’t an option, nor was doing the heist herself. That left…what?

Create a distraction.

Yes, she could do that. Then Colette could either run or complete the job in the resulting chaos.

For a second, she hesitated, the sparkling, excited feeling that had filled her, now sharper with anxiety and fear.

Right now, no one was looking for her. No one knew she who she was.

No one was ever looking for her. She was a world-class forger, and for the handful of people who knew who she was, she was considered a rare talent.

Which is why those same handful of people worked so hard to protect her. To make sure no one ever came looking for her or knew who she was.

There was still time to be smart and run. Go back to her studio and wait. Wait for Colette to contact her and tell her what happened. Wait for a client to show up and demand a Rembrandt or Monet.

Wait.

Always waiting for something to happen. Waiting for life to come to her.

No.

Not tonight.

Not anymore.

Sofie was done waiting. She was ready for adventure.

Two

Interpol Agent Andrei Leonard watched as the beautiful woman in white slid behind the heavy black fabric curtain and disappeared from view. Her transition from wide-eyed excitement, her gaze unfocused to focused action would have been jarring to anyone watching her.

In fact, there had been several people watching her, but Andrei had stared at each of them long enough for their survival instincts to kick in. Whatever sense used to warn humans they were being watched by a predator activated, and one by one, they looked around, caught him staring at them, and moved on.

Meaning, no one but him saw her abrupt, not-at-all subtle, behavior shift.

With a sigh, he set his glass down and followed her, weaving through the elegantly dressed gala attendees. He needed to grab her before museum security did.

Her name was Sofie, and apparently, she was an accomplice to the infamous cat burglar Colette Beaumont. According to Andrei’s former Interpol colleague Landon Malik, Colette was here to steal a nearly priceless rare pearl necklace that was on display at this gala.

And apparently, Sofie was her accomplice.

The pipe and drape sectioned off the wide hallway that branched from the main gallery of the Rijks Museum. It was now a staging area for the caterers. Silver catering carts were pushed up against the hall wall, and a man in a tux moved with brisk efficiency to fill a tray of champagne flutes.

He startled a little when he picked up the tray and saw Andrei standing just this side of the curtain. He opened his mouth to say something, but Andrei shook his head once. Something about Andrei’s face or mannerism shut the server down, and he pushed through the curtain without a word.

Leaving Andrei alone with the woman…who apparently had no survival sense since she hadn’t once looked over at Andrei, despite how intently he’d been watching her. Even now, she didn’t turn.

She stood in the shadows, seeming to glow like an angel. He paused, struck by the image, though he knew it was just a trick of what little light there was bouncing off the fabric of her gown and the pale gold, almost white, wig she wore.

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