Page 34 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

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Hadrian

My fingers continued to fly over the keys, my eyes ensuring I had found every piece of information. The Prince and his wife were expected to arrive tomorrow and only be in the country for a week. The information given from Mr. Black was useless, a file so thin I couldn’t even call it a file. Ian, Archer, and Jensen on the other hand, had provided enough that my work had only taken a few hours so far and I was nearing the end of my search.

Scarlett and Wolf were both silent, Scar scanning blueprints while Wolf assessed the security layout. We may not have been a team in the traditional sense, but I could see why we were selected to work together. Hitter, hacker, and thief. All unique skill sets, very few gaps in terms of what we could do.

“Find anything?” Scarlett murmured without looking at me. “Or are you just staring for the hell of it?”

“I think you already know the answer to that.” I reveled in her annoyed glance. “The information from our mutual friends covered most of what’s out there, but I have one final search still running that should be done—” A ding sounded in the air. “Now.”

The information that popped up on my screen didn’t have anything to do with the Prince’s estate here in Italy, which was where we’d been planning to commit the heist. It was a party invitation, one sent months ago to only the Prince’s closest friends and the highest of dignitaries.

“Well, what do you know, we might have an easier way of getting our precious prize. The anniversary party for the Prince and his wife is being held at the Grand Hotel Palace on the other side of the city tomorrow night.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to take it from the vault while they’re out?” Wolf asked, but Scarlett’s eyes lit up and she shook her head, humming to herself in thought.

“It was a present for their anniversary, something she’ll want to show off. Taking it from her if she’s wearing it as a necklace or bracelet would be easy and it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what they do. There’s nothing that the rich love more than showing off their wealth.”

“So, you’re really going to risk losing the chance where they won’t be at their estate because she might be wearing it?” Wolf reiterated, emphasizing with his tone how dumb he thought that plan sounded.

“Yes, keep up, Wolf.” Her next statement was directed at me. “What do the tabloids and magazines say?”

“Why would that—” I started to ask but her brow arched sharply, and I bit the inside of my cheek. If she wanted me to look at the tabloids and papers, I would. “It looks like the Prince and his wife plan on bringing it to the party to show off.”

“Exactly.” Her eyes shifted between the two of us. “I’m here because this is what I do. What I’m good at. We’ll research and do some recon on the hotel and look into the event itself.”

“What’s the plan then?” I asked, realizing Wolf hadn’t said anything for a while.

“Go in as guests but have a backup plan if it’s in a showing room. We can look up the most likely locations for where it would be held if it’s the latter.”

“How are we supposed to get in as guests?” Wolf didn’t seem as skeptical now, but he was clearly still hesitant.

“That? Easy. I’ll be able to do that. Hack in, get you on the list, get an invitation sent to the hotel lobby under the guise that yours had been lost during travels and you require a new one at their quickest convenience. Shouldn’t take more than an hour.”

“Perfect, I’ll need your help for recon on the hotel and getting a workup of the building,” Scarlett continued. “You, sir, are going to need to get a haircut and shave.”

“What the fuck for?” Wolf spat, running a hand through his hair.

Her deep brown eyes scanned over him, for once not holding a hint of heat. Her gaze was assessing, calculating everything about him before she spoke. “You look like a lumberjack. You can’t go to an event like this looking like that.” She gestured at him with her open hand.

I snorted, loving how she’d just referred to him.

Wolf ground his teeth and glared at the two of us. I watched silently, taking mental notes of things I would need to get on the list and have the new invites delivered.

“I may enjoy the dirty bad boy soldier look, but you need to look like an upper class gentleman for this op.”

“Don’t even think about laughing, Diablo,” Wolf bit out when he saw me smash my lips together. “I will break you in half.” I rolled my eyes at his dramatics but contained my urge to chuckle. “Fine, I’ll go get a fitted tuxedo and get my hair cut. Anything else?”

“Not right now. While you do that, Hadrian and I will get recon done.”

He muttered something unintelligibly and got up from his chair. As he walked by, he slowed and leaned down to her ear. “Don’t expect arefinedgentleman for longer than it takes to get the diamond; I can and dotakewhat I want. Remember that, Scarlett.”

I half expected a snarky comeback but with the waves of pure alpha flowing from Wolf, I wasn’t surprised when she stayed silent. As he walked away, she watched him and I watched her. Everything Wolf and I had discussed earlier that morning was as obvious as the sky was blue. Her pupils dilated, her lips parted slightly; she craved what we wanted to give her.

“You’re going to drool if you keep staring,” I said, earning a scathing glare. “What’s the plan now? Other than going to the hotel. Do you want me to do this guest list first?”

“Get the guest list done and then we’ll go to the hotel,” she snapped.

Her fire made me grin but I didn’t push her further, knowing the harder I pushed the more she’d fight back. Now was not the time for that.

Don’t worry, Princess, our time will come.

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