Page 42 of Worth

“No!” she exclaims, then gives me a soft smile. “Can’t we just keep this a secret between us? We’ll surprise him!”

I narrow my eyes at her deceptively sweet tone, snapping out of the spell she’d put me under. “We both know that Zander doesn’t like surprises.”

Kitten’s smile turns sheepish. “Please, Aiden. He’s not going to let me go if you ask. If I can prove I can help, then he can’t say no anymore. Right?”

Goddammit. She has a point. I do stuff all the time that Zander tells me not to, and then when I do it and it turns out okay, I don’t get into trouble. At least notthatmuch trouble.

“Fine,” I groan, and she jumps, looping her arms around my neck. I’m not going to say I don’t enjoy feeling her against me, and hold her tightly.

She wriggles out of my arms and goes back to her lunch, a happy smile on her face while she chews. I watch her, noting the impish glint in her eyes. I don’t know what I really unleashed out of Kitten yet. But I do know one thing for sure—

We’re going to get our asses reamed by Zander when he finds out I let Kitten go on the mission.

Aiden had slipped me a file right before I went to bed last night, brimming with information like house plans, profiles on the homeowners, and profiles on each of the Skins reported to be on the premises. From what I could gather, somehow Aiden and Zander were getting tipped off on what houses to hit and what Skins to Skinnap, as Aiden liked to refer to it as.

I studied well into the evening, after Zander had shown up in the open doorway to slam the door closed and lock it. His insistence on locking me in at night made me roll my eyes. I don’t know what he thought I’d do if I had full run of the house while he slept.

Actually, with that thought in mind, I could think of a few things to fuck with him. Note to self: find a way to keep the door unlocked one night.

“Okay, Kitten,” Aiden whispers just before dusk, eyes wildly scanning behind me. “You’re going to say you don’t feel well as soon as you eat, and you’re going to bed early. There’re clothes for you under your bed. I’ll come up when it’s time to go so that I can pretend to lock you in.”

I do as he asks, not so much as getting a second glance from Zander when I announce that I’m ill after finishing my dinner of strictly portioned—and bland—chicken, rice, and asparagus. It was Zander’s turn to make dinner, and I’m not sure he knows what salt is. At least when Aiden cooks, it’s stuff that’s hard to screw up and has actual flavor.

As soon as I’m in my room, I dive under the bed, finding a pair of black athletic leggings and a black long-sleeve tee. I change and then fix my hair in two sections, so that it’s tightly braided against my head, anxious about being ready when Aiden comes for me.

It seems to take ages for him to come get me, but when he does, I can tell he’s caught between the mischief of sneaking me out and the unease of getting caught before we can escape.

“Follow me,” he whispers, then clears his throat. “Okay, Kitten,” Aiden says, a little too loudly to be normal. “Sleep well. I’m going to lock you in for the night.”

I cringe at how unnatural he sounds, but Zander doesn’t immediately charge up the stairs. I can still hear him in the kitchen, and it sounds like he’s cleaning up.

Aiden shuts my bedroom door and heads for the stairs, with me tiptoeing at his heels.

I can see the front door as we hurry for it. We’re so close to making it out without Zander realizing it, just a few more feet of the foyer between us and freedom.

The idea is too good to be true. “Hey, Aiden,” Zander calls, and his footsteps sound on the wood floors as he heads towards us.

Without giving me a chance to react, Aiden shoves me to the side in a panic and into the little sitting room to the left. I glare at him while I duck down beside the couch, so I can’t be seen from the foyer, and he jams his hands in his pockets with a quick grimace at me. I sink down completely just as Zander’s footsteps enter the hall.

“No surprises today, Aiden,” he says firmly. “There and back.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Aiden responds, and I wince at how nervous he sounds.

There’s a pause long enough that I almost take a peek to see what’s happening.

“You feeling okay?” Zander asks, sounding puzzled.

“Yep. Yes. I’m great.”

More silence, then…

“Be careful. Don’t want to explain to Blake that your ass got shot or something.” I raise a brow at the playful tone. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Zander be anything but a hard ass.

Aiden brays a laugh that’s full of strain. “I’ll be back.”

There’s no movement, and after a few empty seconds, I risk a glance. I meet Aiden’s eyes as he and Zander embrace in that stereotypical bro-hug kind of way, and the way they widen is comical. I slip back behind my cover as they pull apart, stifling a smile.

I check again once Zander’s steps click back into the house and see that Aiden has the front door standing open. I bolt through it on silent feet. Neither of us speaks as we speed for Zander’s SUV, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

---