Page 164 of Their Reckless Thief
He gave my hand a brief squeeze, momentarily staving off the chill that had settled in my bones.
“Tonight is not a night for mistakes,” Vincenzo said. “You all know what’s at stake.” He didn’t look back at us, but hiswords struck deeply. “We do this right. We get in and out. No deviations.”
“Understood,” Luca said. His hand brushed against mine on the seat, a silent reassurance as I felt the tension simmering beneath his composed exterior. There was a resolve in his touch, a promise that whatever happened, he wouldn’t let me face it alone.
The driver navigated through the city with practiced precision for the next hour, until Vivian’s voice crackled through the comms, sharp and clear, a familiar presence even from afar. “Final approach coming up. Everyone set?”
Dorian and Luca murmured their affirmations, and I nodded even though Vincenzo couldn’t see it. I twisted my fingers together in my lap, each beat of my pulse a silent mantra—steady, ready, prepared.
This was it.
The stray’s family estate was a marvel and a fortress. Its architecture was grand yet deceptively simple, designed to blend with the human world, though I could sense centuries embedded in each brick, each winding curve of the stone path that stretched out before us. Towering iron gates bordered the perimeter, shadowed in darkness but gleaming under the security lights that punctuated every few yards along the way. The surrounding walls rose tall, ivy creeping up their sides, an illusion of softness that barely masked the laser sensors and silent alarms woven into their design.
“Ready, sweetheart?” Luca asked softly, his voice carrying an undercurrent of intensity.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied, exhaling harshly. My fingers tingled with anticipation as I pulled out the hologram device Vivian had sent with me, a sister device to the one back at Vincenzo’s mansion. She was there, watching our every move,ready to send updates in real time. Through my earpiece, I heard her steady voice, precise and calm.
“Entry point’s coming up, Celeste. You’ll need to disable the perimeter cameras within a ten-second window. There are two patrolling guards. They’ll be out of sight for exactly three minutes. Got it?”
“Got it,” I whispered, adrenaline cutting through the calm. My heart was pounding, each beat reminding me what was at stake.
Vincenzo stepped forward, taking his position beside me, his presence solid and reassuring. He reached out, the briefest touch at my back, and I felt the quiet strength he radiated. Beside him, Dorian cast me a quick, lopsided grin, his eyes glinting with excitement. “Piece of cake, right?” he murmured, his fingers brushing against mine for a fleeting moment, offering comfort.
I nodded and focused on the hologram’s shifting red dots, which marked the estate’s weak points and represented a specific security measure. I tapped into the device strapped to my wrist, bringing up my own interface. With Vivian’s guidance in my ear, I disabled the first set of perimeter cameras, watching them flicker out one by one.
“First set down,” I whispered.
“Nice work,” Vivian said. “Now keep moving. The next camera is positioned twenty feet to your right. Disable it and the surrounding motion sensors before they recalibrate.”
I reached the designated area, fingers dancing over my device as I manipulated the security feed, redirecting the live footage to loop for the next three minutes. The second set of cameras blinked out, and I could feel the tension in my shoulders ease. Timing was critical. One wrong move, and we’d have the entire estate on high alert.
Just as we reached the outer edge of the estate, the low growl of dogs echoed from the far side of the property.
Vivian’s voice broke in, calm but with a hint of warning. “Remember the dogs. They’re trained to sense supernatural energy, so minimize any power use.”
I signaled to the guys, glancing around at them. “No magic here. We’re on our own for this one.”
Vincenzo’s eyes narrowed, understanding without question. Luca nodded, his expression resolute, though a flicker of concern passed over his face as his gaze landed on the shadowed figures prowling nearby. He and Vincenzo spread out, covering the angles as Dorian crouched low, alert for any sudden movement.
The guard dogs were close now, the deep thuds of their paws echoing through the silence. I pulled a small device out of my jacket pocket. Vivian had slipped me the sound emitter before we left. It was specifically tuned to confuse the dogs’ senses. I pressed the button, and the device emitted a barely perceptible frequency. The dogs hesitated, raising their heads as though trying to catch a scent that had suddenly vanished. The sound disoriented them, buying us a few precious seconds.
One of the dogs recovered faster than expected, its dark eyes narrowing as it growled in our direction. My heart lurched, but I didn’t hesitate. Pulling out the tranquilizer gun from my side holster, I steadied my aim, exhaling slowly before squeezing the trigger. The dart hit its mark, and within seconds, the dog’s growl faded, and it slumped to the ground.
The threat was neutralized—for now.
“Nice shot, love,” Dorian whispered, squeezing my shoulder briefly.
With the dogs dispatched, we moved quickly through the outer courtyard, reaching the stone archway that marked the entrance to the inner compound. The faint hum of security systems buzzed nearby, invisible yet crackling with energy, a warning that any misstep could spell disaster.
Vivian’s voice returned, soft but urgent. “Two guards patrolling from your left. Ten seconds to bypass and reach the entry point.”
I took a steadying breath, glancing at the others. “On my lead,” I whispered, pressing a quick sequence on my wrist device to bypass the lock on the main gate. The gates creaked open wide enough for us to slip through, and I gestured for the others to follow.
Luca moved close, covering my flank. “Keep going, Celeste. We’re right behind you.”
Together, we moved into the inner courtyard, a vast expanse surrounded by towering stone walls that loomed overhead, casting long shadows beneath the dim security lights. As we rounded the corner, a beam of light flickered nearby, the glow marking the approach of another guard. I motioned to Dorian, and without a sound, he slipped into the shadows. He knocked the guard unconscious and dragged him into the cover of the nearby hedge before rejoining us.
We pressed on until we reached the heart of the estate. Here, the air crackled with latent magic, a sign of the ancient wards that guarded the entrance to the vault. The spellwork was faint but potent, shimmering with a warning that the slightest misstep could trigger a chain reaction.
