Page 106 of Their Reckless Thief
We were grinding up on one another like nothing else mattered, like no one else was there, and in that moment, no one had been watching her drink.
The guy appeared in the frame for a split second. He wasn’t anything special to look at. He blended into the background—the kind of guy no one gave a second thought to. He moved so smoothly, slipping past, raising his hand just enough to drop something into her drink when none of us was looking.
She paused the video, her finger hovering over the screen. “That’s the guy,” she murmured. “The one who asked me to dance when we first got there.”
I nodded.
She was quiet as she stared at the screen, then, almost absentmindedly, she said, “I had fun dancing with you guys.”
Her voice was soft, vulnerable. She wasn’t just talking about the dancing, she was talking about everything. About the thrill, the fun, the way we’d all been so close, so lost in each other. She was opening up, and I couldn’t allow that. I couldn’t let her think there was anything here other than what it was.
“You had fucking fun?” I asked, my voice sharper than I’d intended. “It wasn’tfun, Celeste. You could’ve died.”
She looked up at me, her eyes widening slightly, and I saw the hurt there. For a split second, it cut through me, but I shoved it down. I needed to be firm, to make her understand this wasn’t a game. She was in danger, and the walls I had built to protect myself were the same walls I needed to protect her.
Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself, her face hardening. She nodded, closing the laptop and setting it down, her body language screaming that I’d shut her out.
The distance I’d created between us solidified into something permanent. It was better this way. Safer for her. Safer for me.
“Get some rest,” I said, turning away before I could see the expression on her face. “You’ll need it.”
I walked away from her, from the part of me that wanted nothing more than to stay. To let her in.
I couldn’t. Not now. Not ever.
Vivian had laidout the vault’s blueprints over the massive mahogany table in the center of Vincenzo’s war room. Her confidence had shifted into overdrive, and I couldn’t help but notice how every detail had been planned down to the last contingency. She was good… no, brilliant. If anyone could get us into that vault and back out without triggering every magical and physical security measure in place, it was her.
We circled around the table, a mixture of tension and determination hanging around us. Dorian leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, but I knew that look. He was dialed in. Vincenzo sat in the corner, listening but not saying anything. Camilla and Alessandro were off to the side, carefully absorbing the information so they’d be ready to support Vivian during the heist.
I’d kept my distance from Celeste whenever I could. It was safer for both of us. I didn’t trust myself around her anymore, not after what had happened. Not after I’d let my walls crack, if only for a moment.
Now, though, she was so close, it was unavoidable. She shifted beside me, her arm lightly brushing against mine, and it sent a spark through me. I stepped away, and her eyes locked with mine, something sharp and slightly playful behind them.
“Don’t worry,” she muttered under her breath, her lips barely moving. “I’m not going to infect you with a deadly disease.”
I shot her a look but said nothing, choosing instead to focus back on the plan. We couldn’t afford distractions, not with this heist. But fuck if she didn’t make it difficult.
Vivian was in full command now, pointing out the tech gear she’d meticulously assembled, laying out the network she’d set up to get us past the magical barriers. She was talking about how she’d modified the mics we’d be using, giving us all a direct line to her, Alessandro, and Camilla.
Vivian’s voice was steady, filled with that calm authority that came from knowing exactly what she was doing. “You’ll all have mics,” she said, glancing at Celeste with a small smile. “Usually, I have a two-way feed between myself and Celeste, but given the complexity of this heist, I need to hear from all of you. This is going to be a lot more coordinated than anything we’ve done before.”
She took a seat and continued. “Vincenzo secured tickets for you all to attend the auction that will be occurring on the same night. You’ll slip in as guests. This will give you easier access to the vault underneath the auction hall.”
Celeste, standing across from me now, had slipped effortlessly back into her element. She fired off questions about the vault’s security systems, the timing of the patrols, and the exact specifications of the magical wards. It was like watching an expert at work. Her intensity was palpable, her mind racing ahead, preparing for every scenario.
And, holy fuck, it was sexy as hell.
I forced myself to look away, locking my focus on the blueprint instead. I couldn’t afford to dwell on how she moved through this world so easily, how she drew me in even when I knew I had no right to feel anything for her. Not now. Not ever.
“Alessandro, you’ll be handling the network feeds for me,” Vivian said, passing him a tablet. “I’ve set up multiple feeds thatneed to be monitored at all times. If anything, even blips, you let me know immediately.”
Alessandro nodded, his face serious. He knew how high the stakes were, how much we all had to lose if this went south.
Camilla, sharp-eyed and silent, was already making notes of her own. She was always like that—focused, deadly, but never drawing attention to herself unless she had to. She’d be backing us up from the outside, helping Vivian with anything she needed during the operation. A solid team, no doubt.
Celeste was still firing off more questions. “When you say we’ll each have mics, will they all be two-way communication? What if I need to hear instructions, but it might be a distraction for Dorian?” There was an intensity to her now, a spark in her eyes.
It was messing with my head.
