Page 123 of The Protégé

“May I please buy a security system to make sure my beautiful girlfriend is safe when I’m not around?” he asked with a serious expression that made me annoyed and also warm inside.

“Okay, fine. But please ask me next time. I like to know what’s going on in my home.”

“Noted.”

Of all the tools he had available, I chose the bobby pins because of the video I’d seen.

Smiling, he arched an eyebrow. “Interesting.”

“I’m an amateur, so I need an amateur tool.” I wagged the two bobby pins in front of him. “The bobby pin is a woman’s accessory—not that men can’t use it in their hair—and I want to acknowledge that it can get things done efficiently without all the bells and whistles.”

He laughed. “More power to the bobby pin.”

I spread the wavy and straight ends to a ninety-degree angle and used his razor to remove the rubber tip. I bent the other pin to look like a coffee mug handle, turning it into a tension lever. That was what the guy on the video called it.

I stuck the flat end of one pin into the top of the lock and began my process.

I could feel his eyes on me. “Stop looking at me. You’re disrupting my concentration.”

He kissed my cheek. “You’re the best partner in crime a thief could ever ask for.”

After a few minutes of struggling to get the two pins to work properly, I heard the five clicks of the lock pins settling into the barrel. Excitement swelled in me as I turned, beaming at him.

“I did it!” I said, trying my best to keep my tone down. Something was wrong with me for being excited about breaking into someone’s house. But I shoved that guilt aside for now.

Pride gleamed in his eyes. “You’ve got the thief blood in you. You’re a natural criminal.”

“Shut up.” I laughed. “If there is such a thing, it’s because I’m spending way too much time with a professional thief.”

“You’re allowed to rob me of anything, Sunshine.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s hurry before someone comes by.”

Inside Chantel’s house, Orion led me to the living room.

“How do you know where to go?”

He pointed to the cameras in her house. “After the event at the fashion show, I was curious.”

“You were curious about her?”

“No.” He smirked. “I was curious about why she hated you so much.” He brushed a finger down my face. “But the mudstacle incident was the turning point for me. There’s more than jealousy behind the hatred. I hacked into her security system. It didn’t take long for me to review the recent recordings to see where she hid the information.”

Orion pulled on a pair of gloves and gave me a pair as well. Then he walked over to the wooden coffee table and pulled a folder from the drawer and gave it to me.

I sat down on the couch and reviewed the bank statements and email printouts. I didn’t recognize the man’s name on the documents.

“Jason Dudek works for a small bank in Providence. That bank is under the Reimann Sienna Bank. She’s letting them use her warehouse to store drugs.” She scoffed. “And she accused me of working with the cartels?”

“Sometimes people accuse others ofthe very crimes they commit. It’s a defense mechanism, I guess to distract the attention from themselves.”

“Do you think her family knows?”

“Doesn’t matter. What matters is this information is already sent to the media. It’ll be her downfall.”

My chest warmed at the incredible man who was always steps ahead of me. He already had this information, but wanted me to experience the break-in while also discovering Chantel’s crimes.

“She targeted me because my show was investigating bank scams.” I looked at him, grateful for the information. “Thank you. This means a lot to me.”

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