Page 7 of The Dragon and Her Thief
“Because no one has big balls like me?” she snickered.
“You got that right.” He shook his head and pulled away from the parking spot. They drove through town in silence, with Kelsey settled back in her seat. It had been easy to get her hands on the plans of the castle. They were public record.
She would enter through an entrance in the back of the castle, which would require her to traipse through the woods near the cliff. She had been through there before when she was younger.
All the kids participated in daring each other to get as close to the castle as possible, and that’s why they went with using kids as a distraction.
The fellas would set off fireworks and gain the attention of security, allowing her to slip into the structure unseen.
It would work.
“There they are.” Jasper jerked his chin toward two extended cab pickup trucks parked along the edge of the road. Kelsey hit the button to her window and rolled it down once Jasper pulled up alongside the first one.
Harvey grinned at her. “Howdy.”
“Hey,” she replied. Harvey’s face was painted in green and brown, as if he was going off to war. From what she could see, they were all dressed in dark clothes and fatigues. “Y’all ready to go?”
“We sure are, boss,” Kevin called out from inside the truck. She prayed he was sober since they were dealing with explosives. Fireworks and alcohol did not go together.
“You haven’t been drinking, have you?” she asked.
“I’m as sober as a nun.” He laughed. “Now, after a successful gig, drinks are on me.”
“Hear, hear!” the guys cheered. Kelsey didn’t care what they got up to after they did their job. She could take it the rest of the way.
“Now remember, if you’re caught—”
“We don’t know nothin’ and was just havin’ fun,” Don said from the passenger seat. He sat forward to get a look at her and whistled. “Look at you. Our little cat burglar.”
She rolled her eyes. She wore a black tunic, leggings, sturdy boots—since she would be going through the woods—and her hair pulled up in a high bun.
Glancing at her outfit, she sighed.
Maybe he was right.
“The rendezvous point for you will be where you drop me off.” She turned to Jasper. “Give me an hour. I promise, if I don’t find it, I’ll leave.”
“One hour from the time I drop you off?”
She bit her lip. She might need a little more time. She looked down at her phone to see it was a little after ten.
“If I’m not back by midnight, leave.”
“What? No way.” Jasper shook his head furiously. “Hell no. If you don’t come out, I’m going in to get you.”
“No!” she barked, holding up her hand. “I don’t want anyone to get into trouble. I’ll be fine. What’s the worst someone could do? Call the cops on me?” She wasn’t afraid of going to jail. It’d been a while since she’d had a good ol’ conversation with the sheriff. As she’d gotten older, she’d changed her life and hadn’t been arrested since she was twenty-one, and that had been for public intoxication. They had hit the bars for her birthday, and things had gotten out of hand.
She was thirty-five now, so hopefully Sheriff Brack would go easy on her. She had become a model citizen who held down a good job at the local factory and helped her family on the farm.
Tightening his jaw, Jasper ran a hand through his thick hair.
“I don’t like this,” he said.
“I’ll be fine. We’re moving forward with the plan.” She rested a hand on the back of his. She softened slightly, because he was always looking out for her. He was the closest thing to a brother she had. “I can take care of myself.”
“Whenever you say that, the shit always hits the fan.”
She barked out a laugh and waved him off.
