Page 169 of Tempting Little Thief

I’m cutting the fucking leash wrapped around my neck. There will be no strings left to be pulled. No person to answer to. No cliff I can’t climb.

For the first time in a long fucking time, maybe even ever, I’m going to walk under the shadow of the night as Bass fucking Bishop.

I know better than most that nothing worth having is given to you, so I will take what I want. I’ll become the thief in this story. The pieces are already in position, just waiting to be played and play them I will. After that, all that’s left is to capture the king and claim the queen.

Should be easy enough for a shadow.

A nobody.

A no-good punknoonesaw coming.

That’s what I am, but I’ll be damned if that’s what I stay, so watch your world, Rich Girl.

Or better yet …don’t.

Chapter 30

Rocklin

“I made a mistake.”

That’s the sentence my father decides to start with as he stares my sister and me down from his seat across the coffee table.

“A big one,” he says. “I don’t believe I have to spell it out for you, but I will tell you what I can. The Henshaw family was involved in the mistake I made. Otto, to be exact, but I’m assuming, given recent events, he was foolish enough to pass this information on to his son.”

My father waits for me to confirm, so I give a slight nod. “I already told you how he acted and what he said. The insinuation is there.”

“And you fought back against it rather than heed his warning,” he accuses.

“Is that why you kidnapped him?”

My father’s eyes hold steady on mine, and it’s as if he’s searching for something. “You should not have pushed the boy. You should have held on to your grace and you should have come to me, so I could deal with this.”

It’s been the same ‘conversation’ for the last thirty-one days, and it never gets us anywhere because he clams up or gets called away every single time. I’m sick of it.

Things are getting tense on campus and people are starting to look at each other as if we’re all the enemy. If it keeps up, we’ll crumble within our own walls.

“Do not blame me for whatever it is you’ve done that’s falling on our shoulders.”

Boston gasps, looking from me to my dad, but she doesn’t say a word.

“I will never allow anything to fall onto you girls that you cannot handle,” he fires back, neither confirming nor denying. “But this is different. This is something with the potential to rock the foundation the Greyson Union sits on. This could mess everything up, especially for you, Rocklin, including the society you’ve built. I can’t say I regret it, at least not the way I should, and that might be the worst part.”

His words mean nothing without the knowledge of what he’s hiding, so I force myself not to dwell on the anger they bring and speak on what we know. “Mr. Henshaw watched the surveillance from the pool the day Oliver disappeared. He saw Oliver approach me, saw what followed, so there is no way he believes you’re not involved after seeing him grab me the way he did.”

My father watches me too closely, but I’m not sure why. Slowly, he nods. “Yes, I would agree Otto believes his son is at the mercy of my hands.”

“So if only Otto knows and he’s gone, the secret is safe, right?” Boston wonders. “We can stop worrying about some giant shitstorm coming out of nowhere?”

My father cocks his head, eyes narrowing on mine slightly before moving to hers. “I imagine it might be for now, yes, but this is his legacy we’re talking about. His only heir. He will come for me if the boy does not show up. He has grown edgy. Our team is sure he’s about to break, and the moment he does, he will cross a line he can’t come back from.”

“You sound like that’s exactly what you want, so you can keep this secret of yours buried.”

He lifts his hands as if to sayif I can be so lucky, I won’t complain.

“Otto must have a lot of enemies,” Boston offers.

“He does, and he’s about torn through them all now, to no avail.” My father shakes his head. “Make no mistake, he will be coming for us.”

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