Page 46 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

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Scarlett

We ditched the van. Left it down by a river somewhere outside the city—far from where our temporary headquarters was—and torched it before hiking back to where we could catch a cab. My head was pounding, and I felt torn to shreds on the inside. Like a failure. I'd nearly gotten Wolf killed tonight. I'd shot those two men back in the hotel, but I hadn't aimed for their heads. Still, they'd been out cold when they went down. Did that mean they were dead?

"Well, tonight," Hadrian began as we trudged up the stairs and he pulled out the keys to the flat, unlocking the door and holding it open as Wolf and I ambled inside. "Was a true shit stain on my otherwise perfect record," Hadrian finished, snapping the door shut.

My limbs felt tight, pulled taut like strings. My legs ached from all of the walking. Outside, the nightlife had died down. The clock on the wall in the kitchen read a little past two a.m. Even the bars that stayed open later were closed. That explained why it'd been so hard to catch a cab.

I didn't want to turn and face them, but I forced myself to anyway, ready for whatever vitriol they were going to spit my way. I knew I deserved it. Hadrian strode across the room and lifted the lid of his laptop. The sound of our breathing and his fingers clicking over the keys were the only things that filled the silence. Wolf moved to the door and made sure the deadbolts were all locked before he took off his jacket and began to take off the weapon holsters that had been hidden beneath it.

I had fucked up tonight. Royally. I expected them to say something, but neither of them said a word as they went about their business. The tension rose in the room, but I seemed to be the only one feeling it. Wolf rolled the sleeves of his white dress shirt up before reaching up and ripping open the first button as if he needed the open collar to breathe. His shirt had a few blood spots on it. I stared down at my dress and then reached down, unbuckling the straps of my heels. I groaned as my feet were freed and I felt the hardwood beneath my toes right before I padded over to the soft sheepskin rug and slumped onto the couch, turning my gaze to the windows.

Jaxson had startled me tonight—more than startled me, he'd completely wrecked my concentration and sent me running just as he had intended to.Why do I still let him get to me?I wondered. I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the cushions of the couch, wishing I could go back in time just a few hours and replan this whole night. My eyes burned with the urge to cry, and try as I might to keep the tears from falling, a few slipped out from behind my closed lids. Relief that this hadn’t gone any worse than it did warred with the sensation of utter failure. Sooner or later I would have to face the consequences, but for that moment, I kept my eyes closed.

As I leaned back, I could hear the two of them moving around the flat. Keys continued to click beneath Hadrian's expert fingertips. The sound of a gun being taken apart and its pieces clattering on the dining room table filled my ears. It was strange, how each sound was soothing. After everything that had happened tonight, I'd expected to feel nervous, but instead, I felt … safe. With my eyes closed, I could sense Hadrian’s and Wolf's movements.

They didn't stomp or grunt or huff. They calmly removed their gear and went to work on their respective projects. No one mentioned how tonight was all my fault. It was unusual. My eyes popped open when I heard drawers and cabinets being opened in the kitchen. I turned in time to see Hadrian stride back into the room and hold up a bottle of rum as he waved it between Wolf and me.

"Since tonight was a shit show," he said, using the bottom of the bottle to close his laptop before circling the dining room table and dropping down onto the couch opposite of me. "And there's no doubt in my mind we'll have to put that much more work into getting this fucking diamond, I say we leave it to tomorrow and spend the rest of tonight drinking and commiserating." His right hand went to the lid and quickly twisted the cap off.

Wolf eyed him as Hadrian tipped his head back and took a swig straight from the bottle. "What about security?"

With a scoff, Hadrian shook his head and kicked the decorative chair that sat to the side of the couch—making it clear that he meant for Wolf to sit. "Don't worry about the fucking security," he said. "I've got more computers in the spare bedroom that scan the area at all times. Those cameras I had you put up are attached to an alarm system. We'll know if anyone gets close."

He gestured with his hand and groaned as he kicked his booted feet up on the coffee table. It was painted white wood and there would be smudge marks when he took them down, but I didn't have the energy to tell him to get his gross boots off my table. I didn't have the energy for much of anything else but to sigh as I leaned my head back again, just watching the two of them. The fact was, I'd probably get rid of this flat and everything in it after this mission. I wouldn't chance coming back to a place that might be compromised—and even if we were safe enough for now, it still made me sad to think I'd have to sell this place. It would've been nice to have some good memories of it.

"We're locked up tight, amigos," Hadrian continued. "And if anyone attempts to get in, we'll have their asses on camera and then on the ground before we put a bullet in their brains. Come on!" He took another swig of the rum and then shook it first at Wolf and then me. "It's been one fucked up night and I don't want to drink alone."

I sighed and reached for the bottle, pulling it from his grip and tipping my head back as I put the mouth to my lips. Fire poured over my tongue. I swallowed once, twice, three times before I came up for air. By the time I did, my throat was burning.

"Damn girl." Hadrian was watching me with wide eyes and a small curl at the corner of his mouth. "Looks like you needed that drink." I rolled my eyes and put the opening back to my lips. I tipped my head back and grimaced as another swallow burned down my throat. "Alright." The rum was ripped from my hands. "You've had enough." I coughed as the sudden movement made the alcohol shoot down the wrong pipes. Hadrian didn't even look all that concerned as he turned and offered the bottle to Wolf.

Wolf grimaced as he took the bottle and attempted to fold himself into the decorative chair. I continued to cough as he took a drink and then let the bottle rest between his legs as he bent over, placing his elbows on his knees as if he didn't have the energy to straighten up. "Not much of a rum drinker, are you?" Hadrian asked with a laugh, turning back to me.

"I'm more of a piña colada kinda gal," I answered honestly as my coughing fit finally subsided. "I like my rum light and completely untraceable."

"Girly, then," he surmised with a shake of his head.

I reached beneath into the slit of my dress and withdrew the knife I still had strapped to my thigh and flicked it open before I waved it at him. "This girly enough for you?"

He merely laughed. "Girly doesn't mean weak, you know," he replied. "I wasn't insulting you; a woman can be feminine and strong. You’re living proof of that."

I let the knife drop to the coffee table alongside his booted feet as I pulled my legs up under me. "Not tonight I’m not."

I turned my head and my eyes met Wolf's. He was quiet and then he lifted the rum back to his mouth, and I watched as he drained a good quarter of it before handing it back to Hadrian's waiting hands.

The three of us sat there in silence, passing the bottle back and forth until it was empty before Hadrian got up and went rummaging around in the kitchen. When he came back, he had a bottle of cheap vodka. I grimaced as I took my first sip of it. Vodka was even harder to drink straight than rum. At least rum had spice. Vodka tasted like pure rubbing alcohol.

The room felt hazy, and a little warmer than usual. Despite the skimpy dress, I was growing overheated. I feared, though, that the second I attempted to get up, I'd fall over—and I kind of, maybe, didn't mind the easy camaraderie that I was sharing with these two men. There were no jeers, no blaming, no pointing fingers—it was so fucking odd. Criminals were always the first to find a scapegoat and there was no better scapegoat for tonight's botched attempt at stealing the diamond than me.

"I don't remember stocking the kitchen with alcohol," I said after another quarter of the bottle was gone.

Hadrian grinned as his head rolled to me. "You didn't," he replied. "I took the liberty."

With his face turned toward me, my eyes seemed to zero in on his lips. Soft. Firm. Masculine. I remembered them against mine. How his tongue had delved into my mouth. How he had grown hard against my body, become so dominant it had lit a fire within me that I didn't know I possessed. There was a lot about me I hadn't realized before these two.

"This job was so fucked up," I muttered, taking the Vodka back and tipping it back as I swallowed. Tears came to my eyes as I set it down and groaned.

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