Page 59 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

“Want one?” I held up an empty mug. He shook his head and closed the distance between him and Scarlett. I watched them discreetly as I finished up, noting that Scarlett looked a bit stiff, like she’d appeared with me first thing, but when he kissed her on the top of her head, she relaxed.

Good.

“Here you go, Princess, one coffee,” I stated.

She took it with a small, “Thank you. So, what is the plan now?”

Wolf groaned, rubbing his jaw in thought. Scarlett shuffled from foot to foot, as if waiting for us to be mad at her. Without saying anything, I reached out, gently tugging on the end of her robe to guide her to my lap.

“Don’t look so scared, Scar, we’ll get the job done. My searches look like they’ve found some stuff. So, let’s see what they’ve coughed up.” Working one handed, I flipped through the screens and scanned. Scarlett’s eyes were also trained on the screens while Wolf waited patiently for any information.

“Does that say he’s back in Switzerland?” She groaned. “Well, fuck. Now, what are we going to do? Break into the Prince’s normal residence?”

“It is an option,” I hedged, “if you’re up for that, but I don’t think running headlong into the lion’s den is a good idea.”

“Me either. Is there any upcoming events or functions where he’ll be?” Wolf asked.

“Not on the schedule,” I replied. “At least not for another four or five months. Could we draw him out?”

“That would require getting close enough to him to do so, or somehow trying to stage something to do so. Both of which are too close for comfort for me,” Scarlett murmured, frowning as she continued to stare at the screen. Finally, after a long pause, she whispered, “Anything about Jaxson and what he was doing there?”

“Stealing the diamond would be my assumption,” I said, glancing over. I waited a beat before asking the question that was foremost in my mind. “Do you have any idea why he’d be there?”

“I have a few guesses,” she replied. “But nothing solid. When I first saw him, I thought it was a trap—but that didn’t really make sense because why would the two of you be brought into it if Jaxson was behind this job the whole time. I thought Mr. Black was just a ruse for Jaxson to tie up loose ends, but that doesn’t make sense either.”

I had to agree with her there. “No, I think it’s safe to assume Mr. Black is, in fact, completely separate from Jaxson.” Which left a second option, and that, too, was not good. I touched her back.

“He was on a job,” she said. “And we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

I rubbed my hand down her spine, feeling the rage in my veins grow. While she was still her confident self, the hint of fear and defeat was blatant in her tone, no matter how much she tried to hide it.When we get him, I have a lot I want to do to him,I thought to myself as Wolf shifted forward to brace his forearms on his knees.

“We’ll deal with him and get the diamond. It seems the next best option is to go to Switzerland and figure out a plan there.”

“Yeah, I need to get rid of this flat after last night’s fuck up,” Scarlett agreed. As they talked about what they each needed to do to get that ready, I watched. It was subtle, the differences between the last time we’d planned for a heist and now. Wolf was still himself, and yet, seemed more forthcoming with information and communication, while Scarlett didn’t have as many snarky responses and wasn’t closed off. The change was welcome, and I felt in my gut that we’d finally reached a turning point.

“Now, how the fuck are we supposed to get to Switzerland?” Scarlett asked after outlining the things she’d do to handle the flat.

“Oh, leave that to me,” I told her, earning a skeptical glance from her and Wolf, but neither pushed when I only smiled in return.

“Okay,” she drew out the word. “Then how exactly are we going to deal with Jaxson?”

“We’ll deal with that when we get to Switzerland, alright? When we have a better idea of what Hadrian’s searches find and the lay of the land.” Wolf looked to me for confirmation and I nodded.

“He knows everything about me,” she murmured, fiddling with the now empty cup in her hands. “Work wise anyway. He knows my plans, my tricks, everything.”

“Yeah, maybe, but he doesn’t know you as part of our team. No matter what, Princess, we’ll deal with it. As a team.”

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