Page 16 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

8

Scarlett

Rome, Italy

2 weeks later...

My cell chimed as I stepped into a standard flat within the Prati District. I moved across the room, ignoring the call, and gripped the flimsy drapes that hung closed over the western facing windows, jerking them open and allowing sunlight to pour into the small but elegant living room. Just beyond the city building rooftops, the arch of the top of the Vatican could be seen.

Rome, Italy was a historic and holy city, yet there was also a world of filth that hid just beneath all of the beauty, museums, and tourism. I would know; I'd had my dealings in this part of the world on many occasions. When my cell beeped again, I rolled my eyes and lifted it from the purse dangling in the crook of my arm. Flipping the burner open, I put it to my ear.

"What?" I snapped.

"Where the hell are you?" a gruff voice asked.

A smirk crossed my lips. "Why, Wolf, how nice of you to call! Are you in Rome?"

"You know damn well that I am," he growled.What is it about a man's deep baritone making that animalistic noise that gets to me?I wondered absently. "I'm standing at the front of the fucking airport—Hadrian's here—and neither one of us have seen you."

"I've been here for hours," I replied. "I'm already set up in one of my flats. I'll send the location details to your phones and you can meet me here."

"Why didn't you give us the information before?" he demanded.

I sighed. "You're not some dumb grunt, Wolf," I said. "Neither is Hadrian; you’ll figure it out. I'm sending the details now." With that, I snapped the cell closed and pulled out another as I proceeded to send the location information they would need to reach this part of the city. I was wary of everyone, so it shouldn't have come as any surprise to either of them that I'd withhold all information until the last minute.

Once I was done sending the information, I went through the rest of the house and began to open things up. I hadn't been to Italy in months and not to Rome in even longer. The streets of Prati were noisy. It was a touristy area, and that was primarily why I'd bought this place. No one would think twice about someone coming in at odd hours of the day or night or even being gone from it for weeks or months at a time.

By the time I'd opened all of the curtains and a few windows to air out the space, I heard masculine banging and cursing from the stairwell. A hard thump hit the front door followed by several more in succession. I rolled my eyes and trailed across the flat until I reached the door and pulled it open.

"You made it," I said with a smirk as I backed up to allow Wolf and Hadrian the space to enter.

"The fucking buildings in these cities are too narrow," Wolf muttered.

While he trudged past me with two large bags, Hadrian strode in carrying nothing more than a single laptop case. "Is that all you brought?" I asked as I shut the door.

"No," he replied with a grin. "One of those is mine." He gestured to the two suitcases Wolf had dumped in the center of the living room before he took off to search the rest of the flat.

"And how'd you manage to convince him to carry your things up to the top floor?" I laughed.

"A bet," Hadrian answered with a mischievous tilt to his lips.

"Do I want to know?"

He shrugged, scanning the room. "Probably, but I promised him I wouldn't tell if he lost and as you can see…" Hadrian shot me a wink. “He lost.”

My amusement waned. “We should get to work,” I said, turning back to the room.

If Hadrian noticed my abrupt shift, he was smart enough not to say anything. Inside, turmoil began to build. I wasn’t particularly interested in starting a friendship with these men, but for some reason, it bugged me that they were already building a rapport without me. I needed them to trust me at least as much as they trusted each other, but I also had to get them under my control and fast if I wanted to ensure that this mission worked the way I needed it to. It was going to be difficult and complex to pull this job off and the thought of giving them any sort of power to run the mission made me uncomfortable.

"Do you have somewhere I can set up my equipment?" Hadrian asked. "Internet?”

"Of course," I replied. “Table is cleared for you to set up. You can use it as a desk for the time being. I doubt we’ll be here long enough for you to need anything else.”

Hadrian moved toward the dining room table and began his set up. Curious, I stepped up and watched as he pulled out several laptops and a few small square case boxes—hotspots. Even if the internet here was the fastest money could buy in Italy—it was still better to be prepared I supposed.

His smile widened and his gaze slid toward me out of the corner of his eyes. "Are you worried?”

“Worried?” I frowned. “About what?”

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