Page 35 of Sleigh Bells and Snowstorms
She nodded, and a smile lit up her face. “Since then, we’ve just done our best. I’d already finished nursing school, and Nina became an aesthetician. We work opposite schedules so one of us is always available for Annabel. We make it work.”
I gazed at her. What about her was so intriguing? I was awed by her, but I couldn’t explain why. Her story was admirable—she’d obviously sacrificed a great deal for her family. I respectedthat. But something deeper, something behind those dark brown eyes kept me captivated.
“How did you become a thief hunter?” she asked.
I hesitated, feeling a strange sense of vulnerability. I didn’t usually share things about my life with… anyone. Especially things from my past.
“I started out as a thief.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “You did?”
“Not stealing art and antiquities, of course. I started young, nicking sweets when I was nine or ten. When I got a little older, I discovered I could steal things and sell them—cigarettes, booze, small electronics. I had quite the business going.”
“So mostly shoplifting?”
“At first, yes. Then I started targeting my father’s friends. Wealthy people had such interesting things. From there, I branched out and started breaking into other posh houses.”
“Why? For the money?”
“I suppose I liked the money. It certainly made me popular. I also liked the thrill of it. The risk. Getting in and out without being seen. Or charming my way out if I was caught. That happened more than once.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“And if I’m being honest, I was angry with my father. Adultery was not the only of his sins. He was difficult, to say the least.”
“And that was your way of getting back at him?”
“I wouldn’t have said so at the time, but yes, it was.”
“But how did you go from stealing things to this?”
“I got caught by the wrong man. Or the right man, as it were. He worked for my organization and recognized that I had amassed quite a set of skills. He made me a deal. He could turn me in, or I could work for him. I chose the latter.”
“Are you glad you made that choice?”
“Always have been. I’d matured enough by that point to realize I needed to stop. My life was heading in a dark direction, but I didn’t know how to change it. He gave me a chance. I’m grateful for that.” I took a sip of my drink. “And now, here I am.”
“And your organization is legit, right? You follow laws and everything?”
“For the most part.” I winked at her. “We have people who routinely interface with law enforcement. Especially if there are… messes to clean up.”
“But—” She stopped, as if something had caught her attention, and held up a finger. Tilting her head, she seemed to be listening.
“I heard that, too,” the man at the bar was saying. His voice was rough and gravelly. “Where do you suppose he got the money for that?”
“Probably stole it,” a man at the adjacent table grumbled.
Natalie raised her eyebrows.
“He didn’t steal that car,” the man at the bar said. “I heard he ordered it straight from the factory, and they brought it to him with a helicopter.”
“What the hell are you talking about? That’s not how they ship cars.”
“Sure they did. Brought it in hanging from a big harness.”
The man at the table waved his hand. “Bah. Don’t believe everything you hear. And I meant he stole the money to buy it, not the car.”
Another man spoke up. “I don’t trust that guy any farther than I can throw him. Never trust a man with statues outside his house. Pretentious as all hell.”
