Page 3 of Den of Thieves

“On tv? Um, nothing important. Just reality shows and whatever cartoon the children are obsessed with at the moment.”

“Hmm, I see a lot of emergency room dramas in your future.”

“Okay… I’ll give them a shot.”

Saba closed her folder. Usually, an indicator that their time was up.

“I have one last question. When are you going to take things to the next level with Polina?”

Saba’s pale face reddened. “I-I don’t know what you are talking about. We’re just colleagues.”

“Come on, Saba. You’d have to be vision impaired not to see the way she looks at you.” Karina laughed softly. “It would be a shame to let the best parts of life pass you by.”

Saba’s mouth opened and closed, but she could not find the words to tell her client that she was wrong.

“For once, I’m not the only one blindsided by our encounter.”

Act I

1. "Make A Wish, 11:11,"

-LIZZO

Karina studied the details of her newest manicure as she waited for Aksana. She used to look forward to their private yoga lessons. Vladimir certainly reaped the benefits of her newly toned physique. It was the only reason that she kept paying for the yoga instructor’s time.

It wasn’t like Aksana didn’t appreciate their special time together. But she was sure her sister would rather hit up the happy hour than get in touch with her inner yogi on Thursday afternoons. Still, that was no excuse for her repeated tardiness.

Karina checked her watch again and sighed. “I suppose we should start, Garol’d.”

Garol’d clicked his remote and a soft melody mixed perfectly with the raindrops hitting the windows in the greenroom.

“Let’s start out in child’s pose. Take a deep inhale and let it out. This past week, we focused on Pranayama to strengthen our core. Have you been practicing? Good. Now I want us to incorporate that into holding each pose—”

“Sorry, I’m late!”

Karina tried and failed to contain her eye roll as Aksana kicked off her heels and flung her dress across the room, revealing a green sports bra and teal spandex shorts that matched her yoga mat.

She promptly ignored her sister as Garol’d led them through a grueling series of poses before guiding them to lie back on their mats.

“I never thought I would love to hear the word savasana so bad.” Karina sighed, laying down on her back. It seemed as if Garol’d was punishing both of them for Aksana’s tardiness.

“So, the ice queen speaks,” Aksana drawled.

“If you want to cancel our practices, just say the word. I’m sure Garol’d has better things to do than wait around until you show up.”

“With how much you’re paying him, I doubt that. If you must know, I’ve been hunting for the perfect birthday present for my favorite sister.”

“I’m your only sister,” Karina deadpanned, sitting up.

“Precisely. This isn’t just any party. This is the big three-oh!”

“Don’t remind me,” she groaned, dropping her head back.

“I turned thirty for the second time last month. It wasn’t so bad.”

Karina shook her head as she rolled up her mat. Aksana’s dirty thirty celebrations lasted an entire week. There was even a performance by Christina Aguilera. “What do you have planned, anyway?”

“You will see.”

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