Page 36 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

"Hmmm, no cameras in the laundry room." Hadrian's voice entered my ear. I didn't let him distract me. "That's fine, you can't hide in there. You've got to finish your review of the layout."

"I know what I'm doing," I said through gritted teeth.

"I have no doubt," he replied. A growl slipped between my lips as I turned a hard corner out of the laundry room and down another back hallway. "Ahhh, there you are, sweetheart."

He was going to be a smartass through this entire ordeal, I realized. Of course he would—it was the easiest way to throw me off my game. I worked better without his voice in my head, so I reached up and yanked the comm out of my ear and shoved it into my pocket. As the thing lowered, I could hear him protest—likely watching me on one of the cameras that lined the hallway.

There was one piece of advice I’d learned early on in my career, and here I didn’t doubt that it would serve me well. I strode into the lower kitchens, and the sharp smells of steaks being prepared and oils being poured across a heated flat grill entered my nose. No one looked my way because I did what I always did when I was walking into a place that I was not supposed to be. I strode in with my head held high, moving as if I owned the place because it wasn’t the money or even the diamond that was my target. My target was people. It was my job to blend in. To make others believe that I belonged there. I’d stolen many things with this simple method.

No one stopped me as I continued through the kitchens into the employee lounges and up a staircase. All the while, I kept my attention on a pivot—scanning the walls and corners and ceilings. The hotel had several hundred cameras throughout the building. The ‘employees only’ sections were no less well watched.

I could feel Hadrian's eyes on me as I tallied and made mental notes. Cameras in opposite corners in this hall, motion sensor on the East wall, five workers doing laundry, and so forth. Over and over, room to room until each floor was mentally categorized. I tried not to pay attention to the sensation of him watching me as I moved back to the upper floors, but it was difficult. A grin flitted across my lips as an idea popped into my head. I knew exactly what I needed to do to lose him. I glanced up as I hit the first level floor and saw a clock. Thirty-seven minutes left. That was more than enough time to lose him.

Striding through the space, I scooped up a jacket from one of the empty chairs. The woman it belonged to was walking to another area in the lobby, her eyes distracted as she moved—it was so easy to take things like this. Who would possibly steal a simple jacket right under the nose of its owner? The answer—I would. I hurried down the side hall when I heard the ding of the elevator.

Holding up a hand, I called out in English, risking that it was a tourist and not a local inside the elevator. “Hold it, please!” The man was fast enough to catch it, his hand grabbing hold of the shiny door just before it closed. “Thank you!” I offered breathlessly, purposely stumbling a bit as I stepped in. “Oof!”

“Are you alright, Miss?” the man asked, catching me as I tried to pull the jacket on. Giggling, I leaned into him, the scent of sandalwood filled my nose and his eyes warmed at the feeling of my chest pressing into his.

“Sorry ‘bout that, had got to the hotel bar for a few happy hour drinks and maybe had a teeny bit too much,” I whispered conspiratorially, giggling some more to sell my tipsy facade. “You smell amazing.”

Normally something like that would be weird, but he was an easily manipulated mark in the face of a beautiful woman. His mouth quirked up, and his hands started roaming over my curves. Easy as taking a diamond from a senator’s mistress, I thought, moaning slightly when his lips caressed my neck.

“Are you a guest here?” I murmured, running my hands over his chest and holding on to him.I wondered how Hadrian was faring … guess that’s what he gets for underestimating me.

“Two doors down on the left,” the man groaned at the end of his explanation, his quickly hardening cock pressing into my stomach.

I couldn’t have planned that better if I tried, I thought in triumph, knowing the perfect way to best Hadrian.

Our hands continued to explore, the stranger’s lips fused to my neck as we somehow scrambled down the hall and into his room. It took a couple of tries for his card to go into the slot the correct way, but as soon as it did, we practically fell into the room. Three … two … one, I counted, until the door latched shut and I was close enough to something heavy. Picking up the ice bucket, I knocked him in the side of the head, just hard enough for him to wobble and fall to the ground in a confused stupor.

As he groaned, rolling onto one side and clutching his head, I darted over to the connecting room door and pressed my ear to the wall. No noise. The lock was child’s play and I entered an empty room before the pitiful man even realized what happened.Perfect, I thought with a satisfied grin. Now that I was alone and out of the way of the cameras, I dug out my comm and pressed it back into my ear.

“You fucking … goddammit!” Hadrian cursed, pounding away at his keyboard in an attempt to locate me. All I had to do now was wait five minutes, but what fun would that be? Striding over to the balcony, I looked out, knowing the historic building had old, unused fire escapes still in place on several of the exterior walls. And just like I’d hoped, the black worn metal landing was only a foot away from the balcony I stood on. Three floors down, quite a fall, but I knew I could make the distance.

Normally, I wouldn’t risk being seen on outside cameras, but I knew the ones that this hotel had were focused only on entrances and exits. Stupid on their part, but a blessing for me. I kept the beige coat on and tied my hair into a fancy top knot, knowing these little changes would help me blend into the side of the building and avoid Hadrian’s potentially watchful gaze until I got to a place where I’d drop it somewhere it’d be found later as if the woman had dropped it on her way in.

Climbing up onto the edge of the room’s balcony, I held tight to the rough stone. I put one foot on a piece jutting out and swiftly hopped into the fire escape landing. Going down the grated rungs was a bit difficult with my heels, but I was able to read the street level by balancing just right on the balls of my feet, Hadrian cursing a blue streak all the while.

As soon as I shucked the coat, I knew I was officially over my five minute minimum. A sardonic laugh left me when Hadrian’s expletives grew more creative. “You little … I’m going to … you’re a brat.”

“I know,” was all I said, pulling out my phone and dialing the lobby. A smooth, Italian speaker answered, rattling off the hotel’s usual greeting. “Hello! I would like to book a two-night stay for my husband and I. Yes, tonight and tomorrow.” The concierge worked quickly, speaking in heavily-accented English all the while, and soon enough, we were ready for tomorrow.

Now to rub my victory in Hadrian’s face.

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