Page 26 of Tempting Little Thief

Her chin dips, eyes flicking up to his, and I almost let a laugh slip as I use the slim space now present between the other men, who instantly shuffled back at the sound of B’s gasp.

My chest brushes one, and I smile at him. “Excuse me.”

I ease through the small space, tucking my champagne flute closer to my chest.

The man smiles, opening his mouth to speak, but I curve behind him, and he doesn’t care enough to spin away from Bronx completely.

“Think they’ve already placed bets on who she leaves with tonight?” Delta whispers when she falls in line beside me in the hall.

Tucking the man’s wallet into the sleeve of my dress, I smirk. “Blondie most definitely believes it’s him.”

Pulling two giant diamond bands from the edge of her bra, Delta passes one to me with a raised brow. “If he keeps looking at her like he is, he might be.”

The both of us laugh under our breath, slip the rings on our ring fingers, and curve into the lounge.

Cedar and ambrosia swirl in my senses, the first indication we’ve found what we’re looking for, exactly where we knew we’d find it. Cigar after cigar sends steady streams of smoke into the air, eye after eye falling to our left hands as we pass through themen’s onlysection of the place, quickly dismissing our presence with a single glance, just in case we “belong” to a man at their table, let alone one they’re attempting to get to open their wallets after tonight’s networking is complete.

Delta winks and I shift slightly, walking backward as I speak to her, my arms bent at my sides as I extend my hands outward. “It was quite entertaining. I—” My arm bumps into a hard body, the liquid in my glass sloshing over the rim, and I jolt, my free hand coming up to my mouth as I spin.

“My apologies,” I rush out, glancing around for a waitress.

Shiny brown hair is at my side in a moment. “Here we are.” She offers the man a dry cloth, passing one to me as well.

“Sir.” I shake my head. “I’m so sorry. Please, allow me to have it cleaned?”

The man, also known as Jacobi Randolph, owner and CEO of Randolph Investments, dabs at his jacket before simply tossing the towel and peeling it from his body. “Now that won’t be necessary, mis …” His eyes roam over my body as he hangs his jacket over the nearest chair.

Pretending to tuck a loose strand of hair back … with the ring-adorned hand, I smile. “Mrs. Brown, sir.”

His smirk slips oh so quickly, replaced by poorly concealed annoyance. “It’s all right, Mrs. Brown. I’ll survive.” He nods toward someone over my shoulder, and a moment later, an elderly man steps up beside me with a warm smile.

“Sorry, miss, but this is themen’s onlylounge. If you exit through the side doors there, you’ll find a connecting hall that will lead back to the main floor.”

“Oh! How silly of us. We didn’t realize.”

“Have a nice night, ladies.” Randolph ‘excuses’ us, arm swinging out as if to point us toward the hall leading back into the main area before turning back to his friends.

Delta and I play good girls and head where we were instructed, but we don’t slip into the connecting hall. We continue straight out to the patio, where Sai already awaits, car door open for us to slip right inside.

I toss the man’s watch into the open safe on the floorboard and kick it closed.

“Well, that was so easy, it was almost boring.” Delta reaches for the actual champagne in the fresh pile of ice, bringing the bottle to her lips before passing it to me.

“Yeah, and apparently”—I make a show out of looking around to the empty seat on the left, where Bronx should have already been firmly planted—“so is our friend.”

Our eyes meet once more and we both begin laughing.

The glass blocking us from Sai’s view rolls down, and he grins over his shoulder. “Where to, your Greysons?”

“Back to the airstrip, Sai, and then The Enterprise.”

Time for the real fun to begin.

Bass

Twisting my torso, I slip through the cut wire fence, Hayze on my heels. I roll right while he cuts left, looking for leeches trying to hide out between the stacks of crates framing the gate and following the length of the abandoned lot around until we meet again, making sure we’re all clear. No homeless hanging around or overeager partiers looking to secure a spot before we allow it.

I yank on the chains of the old warehouse door, making sure no one’s decided to be real fucking stupid and pick the lock. The last thing we need is this place collapsing on some punks who think they don’t have to follow the rules when no one’s looking.

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