Page 47 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

“Clam the fuck up, Eros,” Castor says.

“I was talking about Holter. But okay. Why do I have the privilege of having two of Glyden’s finest sons in my little dome today?” The shark rams the window. “Shit. I swear I didn’t steal that damn shark. I guess it liked me and followed me home. Unless you think we should make him into steaks, you can take him home with you.”

“Right, well, I’ll be sure to tell Annabelle how you feel about her favorite shark.”

“Sharks are food, not pets.” What I’m damn grateful about now is that Annabelle can’t hear me in the library. And I’m pretty sure I can’t hear her yelling for help. Because I’ve seen how she looks at the glass every time the shark’s massive head hits it. If she had to choose between me and the shark right now, I’m confident she would be feeding me to the damn beast.

Castor looks at Holter. And I think they’re going to turn around and leave.

Then Holter rips something out of Castor’s bag. “Annabelle wanted you to have this.” He shoves a book at me.

I tilt my head to the package. “I’m glad she’s fine, after the attack.” I stare at them. If Holter thinks I’m going to hand over Sunshine to him without him telling me the truth, that they left her in Athens without a way of contacting them, to have her brain scrambled by ahagissa...Fuck that. They can fess up first.

Now, if I didn’t know my Sunshine was fuming in my library, I’d be thrilled with a gift. But you don’t get to be the government’s go-to thief without knowing a thing or two about acting. I grab it from him like my brothers taking the last piece of cake from the serving dish. “Really. Do you know what it is? She really liked the book I got her, didn’t she? Damn, she’s got to be the smartest former human on the planet.”

That has Castor buying my act. His eyes widen and his shoulders drop.

Holter? Yeah, I don’t have him yet. He’s walking around the main part of the living room, going over to the windows. “Why do you have all the blinds drawn?” He pulls at the taut edge of the curtain, but it doesn’t move.

“I’m not a big Vividaria fan.” I slap my pants. “All the parades and noise, it comes back into the gardens. I like my sleep.”

“Right.” Holter nods to the window and then to the package. “Are you going to open it?”

This is where I need to be careful. If I didn’t know that Annabelle was twenty feet away, I wouldn’t open it. I’d want to savor it. “No, I want to enjoy the experience. And that’s best done alone.”

“Right.” Holter makes a clicking sound. And the shark hits the glass right behind my head.

“Are you taking that damn thing home with you?” I grit my teeth at the window. I don’t think it can break the glass, but I’m not sure how much I want to test it.

“I’ll talk to Constantine about retrieving it.” Castor hasn’t come all the way into the living room. He’s standing just outside the hallway, the hidden door to the library to his right, the door to the bedroom to his left. “Nice place. Mind if I look around?”

“Not much to see. One bedroom and bathroom in there. And this is the rest.” I motion around the room. The book is on the table in front of me. “How is Annabelle? I wish she’d brought it over herself, but I imagine with Nico’s condition, she’s busy. And with the attack, you must be taking extra precautions to keep her safe.”

“Very busy,” Holter says. He’s still not convinced.

“And how is Nico doing? I saw the feed. But Glyden hasn’t said much other than he’s getting stronger every day.” Some of the feed says Sunshine is missing, but I’m not going to bring that up. I’m staying in character.

“He’s getting stronger every day. And we’re going to finish what was started.” Holter stands behind the sofa, his elbows locked as he leans on it.

I have no idea what he’s talking about, but I smile and nod. Just like my old uncle used to do when he couldn’t follow the conversation with his bad hearing.

Castor glares at Holter. Yeah, there’s a lot more going on here than them just looking for Holter and Nico’s missing mate.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it. I’m sure Annabelle is relieved, and that’s important to me. I would like to start calling on her.”

“I bet you would.”

The shark hits the glass again. “You need to take that poor animal home before it hurts itself.”

Castor pulls out his block. He wanders over to the wall where the hidden library door is, typing away. “Really, you should open the present now. I’m curious what book she got you.” Castor leans inches away from the opening.

“No, I want to wait. But thanks.”

“Really, open it now, and I’ll be sure to tell Belle your reaction.” Holter nods.

“You’ll put a good word in for me, then, with Belle and Nico?” I have to be careful. No one knows that Holter and her are mates yet.

There’s a twitch under Holter’s eye. “Only the best.”

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