Chapter 7
SEVEN
HUGO
I slept and woke with just enough time to get freshened up before I had to go meet Jade. It was the night she was going to Valentino’s house, with me as backup.
After sending her the message I was here, I tried to settle my head. It was just a job, and I was determined to do it right. I could put aside the agony of her presence and make sure she was safe.
“Good god, Hugo, who taught you to do up a tie?”
I jerked my head up to find Jewel sauntering toward me. His long fingers brushed my shirt as he undid the knot I’d attempted. Hopefully he couldn’t feel the way my heart was hammering in my chest.
“There.” He finished with a satisfied hum.
He fussed around a bit more, smoothing my jacket and muttering something about ironing.
For a moment, his hands simply rested on my shirt.
They were warm, and his eyes met mine. His expression morphed into amusement as he gave my chest a pat and stepped back.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes, pulling out a mini bottle of sanitizer. “Making sure you look the part, obviously. I knew you’d be hopeless. Jade’s cutting it a bit close, isn’t she? Unless she’s planning on being late.”
The elevator doors opened, and I straightened as Jade walked out. Her hair was different—blonde and long—and her heels clicked as she walked across the marble toward me, completely ignoring Jewel. “You ready?”
I nodded.
I mean, I wasn’t.
We still hadn’t talked about how we’d fucked during my rut. But there was no way I was letting her do this alone. I’d just have to swallow my embarrassment and do my job.
“Let’s go.”
Jade whirled around to point at Jewel. “You are not invited. Do not follow us.”
Jewel raised his hands in defense. “I was here for Hugo, actually.”
She scoffed and walked away from him.
I was tense as we got into my car and started across the city.
Finally, after what felt like forever, we pulled into the large, circular driveway of Valentino’s house.
It was one of those boxy, ultra-modern-looking homes with large windows and multiple flat rooftops.
I went to open the door, but Jade’s hand moved to my arm, stopping me. My skin prickled at the touch.
“Hugo, you okay?”
“Fine,” I told her.
She gave me a flat look. “No, you’re not. You’ve shut down. We’re not going in there without talking about this. I need to know I can count on you.”
“You can always count on me.”
“Is this about last night?”
“I don’t know.” I scrubbed my face. “Things are weird. I want to just reset everything.”
She huffed, and the next thing I knew, she was climbing onto my lap.
She guided my face down, making me look at her.
There wasn’t much room, which meant we were smooshed together, and I could feel the warmth of her skin and the softness of her breasts.
Her eyes were dark and soft. I was so fucking hard, and she was sitting right on my cock.
“Hugo. Babe. Stop freaking out, okay?” She stroked my cheek, and I couldn't help leaning into her touch. “It was just sex. Doesn’t have to mean anything. And it’s not like I didn’t want it, remember?”
“But—”
She pressed a finger to my lips, her eyes twinkling. “Seriously. It’s called friends with benefits. Anytime you need to let off some steam, just call me. Okay?”
She was so beautiful, and I found myself getting lost in her dark eyes. I could feel a pull, like gravity, toward her. To let her consume me, to obliterate myself and re-form myself around her. To sync every breath, to bind myself to her forever.
The intensity of it was terrifying, and the idea of what she was suggesting was ludicrous. To join with her and then to somehow walk away whole?
But I nodded.
If I never asked her for sex again, then we’d be fine. And at least she wasn’t mad at me for last night.
She leaned forward and pecked me on the lips. “Great. Come on! We’ve got a party to infiltrate.”
She opened my door and stood, running her fingers through her blonde wig.
I took a breath and steadied myself before joining her.
I could do this.
JADE
I pulled up my mental map of Valentino’s place as we made our way up the stairs. My target was his office, where one of Laurel’s bugs would find a cozy new home. Kaos had made a map of his camera’s blind spots, marking each with a little smiley face.
“Names?” Asked the security guard.
“Shade. And my plus one.” I pulled my invitation from my bra and held it out for them.
The guard glanced at it, then at his tablet again. “Just a moment, please. Mord will be along soon.”
I nodded as Hugo turned to me. He put a hand on my back and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Mord?”
I tilted my head up so he could hear me. “Yes. He’s gonna make sure it’s me. I didn’t exactly let a lot of people see my face.”
“But Mord got to see you?”
He sounded extremely displeased, and I shot him a grin.
“He was my fence. Then he started passing on all these jobs the big shots wanted me for. So he was kinda my partner, I guess.”
Hugo’s mouth thinned to a line, and his eyes darkened.
“Shade.”
Mord descended the stairs and crossed over to us. He shot the security guard a single dark look, and they stepped back to let us pass. Mord was handsome, with dark hair and a broody face.
“Hey, Mord!” I bounced over and gave him a smile. “This is Hugo. He’s with me.”
Hugo was shooting him a glare with such force that I was surprised he hadn’t actually released his aura.
Mord nodded at Hugo and turned to lead us up the stairs. “Come on. Val keeps asking about you.”
Security briefly stopped us to check our bags and give us a pat down. I wasn’t worried. My “phone” had been hollowed out, and Kaos had placed all the bugs inside it, but they didn’t clock it.
Hugo was tense at my side, eyes scanning the exits, which let me breathe and slip into my role.
I stepped out into the little soirée, breathing in the opulent air.
Expensive perfume and alcohol, the lingering smokiness of cigarettes and pretentiousness.
Fuck, nothing compared to this. The swoop of my stomach and pounding of my heart as I walked into a place I didn’t belong, totally acting like I did.
You couldn’t get far as a thief and sneak without confidence, and I wore mine as armour.
Tonight, I was here as Shade.
When Jewel had torn out my heart at seventeen, I’d been destroyed.
Starting a new life in Boston had been the hardest thing I’d ever done.
Years of life at the Crimson Palace had dulled every skill of mine I’d needed to survive.
I’d had to slowly make new contacts, learn how to steal again, learn how to get by on my own. So, I’d created Shade.
Stealing was one area I excelled in. I was small and light on my feet, which helped me get into places other thieves couldn’t. I’d started doing more in Boston. The jobs grew bigger, and I did well because I was good at bluffing my way through different roles.
A couple of years in, and I’d earned a reputation. Started getting requests for other jobs. Less stealing and more along the lines of planting evidence or retrieving blackmail materials.
Mord lingered, silent as usual. Hugo was stewing behind us, close enough that my shoulder was touching his arm.
Every time a movement would break the contact, he’d shift so that we were touching again.
Someone came over and started talking to Mord, and I took the chance to lead Hugo away.
I leaned over the banister and looked down at the people who were milling around the room below us.
“Ugh, I forgot how boring these things are,” I told Hugo. He grunted.
A bug made its way out of my purse and behind a potted plant. One down, one to go. I’d memorized the way to Valentino’s office—across the dining room, two lefts, and I’d be golden.
“Come on. Let’s slip off while we can.”
Hugo followed me as I descended the glass stairs.
I grabbed a flute of champagne as I wound my way through the guests. Most I recognized, people Laurel predicted that Valentino would target if he was trying to undermine her.
Could be a coincidence, but I doubted it.
I did one last scan of the room. One more second, two—there.
The perfect time to slip away. It wasn't something that I could explain.
Something intangible about a crowd of people, with attention ebbing and flowing.
Maybe it was in the cadence of conversations or the density; whatever it was, I always went with my instincts, and I was rarely wrong.
I stepped out of the main room, Hugo right behind me. I had to tread carefully, here, to make sure my footsteps were silent. I pressed the signal button on my phone and waited for the lights to flicker—the sign Kaos had dealt with the cameras.
At the next left, Hugo stayed behind as my lookout. I took silent steps down the dark hall, my heart pounding in my chest.
I knelt and worked on the door, sticking my tongue out in concentration as I familiarized myself with the tumblers inside the lock. A nudge there and a turn. Hold the tumbler, wiggle, turn. Keep going… with a click, the door opened. I just needed a moment.
I stepped inside and scanned the room for a good spot. The bug found its home behind a painting on the wall closest to me.
Excellent.
I took a second to relock the door, and that was that.
I nodded at Hugo, and his shoulders slumped in relief. I took his hand as we started back toward the main party.
I grinned up to find him staring at me. “What?” Was I hallucinating, or did I just see the faintest of smiles tug on Hugo’s lips?
“Nothing. I like how happy you get like this.”
I threw my arm wide and gave a little half-skip as we walked. “Honestly? Best feeling in the world.”
He chuckled and shook his head.
We stepped back into the main room, and I grabbed some kind of puffy pastry off a platter. I was just shoving it into my mouth when someone stepped right in front of us.