Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Colum: How do you know when someone is flirting?
Franco: Well, you can be a bit of an ass so if they’re still talking to you after ten minutes, it’s flirting.
Colum: I’m not an ass. I just don’t like people.
Franco: Sit with that for a minute.
T he Museum of Old Broadway was a small institution, tucked between a dentist and a law office on a quiet street in Brooklyn. Xavier’s opinion on museums wavered, from supportive due to the preservation and access they offered, to disgust with the way many museums had acquired their most famous pieces, and the museum culture of loaning art both to and from wealthy people.
This was not that kind of museum.
The rowhouse that housed the museum still felt like a residence. Very little had been done to convert it. The rooms were small and well-appointed but felt crowded even with the relatively few items on display.
The Yorick skull was in a place of honor on a pedestal in what had once been a first-floor bedroom. The skull was almost comically large up close, nearly the size of a football, and the black paint in the sunken sockets was flaking off.
Xavier bent, studying it from all angles. There were no telltale lines of an opening anywhere on it, but he’d been right—a rolled-up sheaf of papers would easily fit inside. The question was how to get them out.
He straightened, studying the podium on which the skull rested and considering dramatic action.
“Here she comes,” Colum said from the doorway, pulling Xavier’s attention away.
Xavier joined Colum in the hallway, deliberately bumping into the other man just to listen to his sharp little inhale. He’d been half joking last night in the hallway when he’d suggested they fuck but now regretted saying anything.
Not that he thought it was a bad idea. It was an excellent idea.
The problem was, now fucking these two—preferably together, but he’d do them separately if needed—was all he could think about.
Annie was coming down the steps from the second floor. She wore a knee-length tailored dress. The skirt was straight cut, not tapered, so he could easily shove it up over her ass and hips to her waist.
Merde.
Annie saw them and grimly shook her head. Colum met her near the foot of the stairs, Xavier following. He nudged Colum so they were both facing a wall-mounted display with a pretty lace fan inside a latched glass-front case. Xavier’s gaze darted to the plaque, a smile curving his lips as he read it.
“He won’t sell,” Annie said, standing beside Colum, supposedly studying yet another wall-mounted display—this one of a fake newspaper made of stiff-looking paper.
Their plan had been for Annie to offer to purchase the skull on behalf of an anonymous, eccentric, and, most importantly, wealthy Broadway aficionado. Xavier had refused to play investor, so instead he and Colum were here as museum patrons.
Colum ran a hand through his hair. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his button-down shirt in a nod to the summer heat, and the muscles in his forearms flexed in a way that made Xavier want to see what other muscles Colum had hiding under his nondescript clothing.
“Lend?” Colum asked.
Annie shook her head. “No. The museum director’s exact words were, ‘What are you, fuckin’ kidding me? Get outta here.’” Annie’s accent changed as she mimicked the words.
Thinking about accents brought him back to last night in the hall…
Xavier shook his head. Two days ago, he would have said nothing could distract him from the possibility of finding a lost work by Wilde, and yet here he was, lust blinding him to their mission.
Then again, he thought Wilde might have understood his lack of focus.
“What if we study it here? We bought our tickets.” Colum reached over and tapped the sticker on Xavier’s chest. They’d both gotten the rather unofficial-looking stickers when they purchased their tickets. Annie, who’d arrived ten minutes after them, had flashed her auction house ID and gone right up to the roped-off second floor and the director’s office.
“We need to open it,” Xavier said.
Annie hushed him. “Keep your voice down. There are still some options. Since we aren’t sure that’s the right item?—”
“I’m sure,” Xavier cut in, out of patience to have this discussion again.
Annie shot him a look. “Since we aren’t sure, maybe we should look around, make a list, and then make an offer for multiple items. I can’t risk going too high with an offer on just that one item, as it would raise suspicion. Maybe even push the museum to look more closely at the piece. But if we purchase multiple items, a higher price point will be reasonable.”
Colum hesitated.
Xavier eyed the doorway into the room where the skull was. He could just walk in there?—
“No,” Colum said. “That would take too long.”
A grim silence descended. Xavier had no doubts that whoever had tried to break into the archive, then attacked Colum, was after the manuscript. The fleet admiral had said he would have other people investigate who was searching for it, how they’d found out about the archive, and why right now. While Xavier itched for answers, he was glad that wasn’t their task. Their job was the manuscript, and he was sure that it was mere meters away, locked inside an ugly prop skull.
“Okay,” Annie said, voice soft, almost a whisper. “Then we break in and steal it.”
Xavier’s attention whipped to her, and Colum choked on air. Xavier patted him on the back.
“We’re going to rob a museum?” Colum hiss-whispered.
“I can’t tell if you’re horrified or turned on by that idea,” Xavier said, studying him.
Colum looked over, a smile kicking up the corner of his mouth. “I’m not sure either.”
“Let’s go. We’ll come back tonight.” Annie grimaced. “You two leave first. It’s bad enough the cameras probably caught us standing here talking.”
“What do you mean ‘bad enough’?” Xavier asked.
“I just asked to buy that thing, and right after he said no, it gets stolen.” Annie shook her head. “I’m going to be suspect number one.” Now she smiled. “So I’m going to need an alibi.”
Following their visit to the museum, the three of them went out for lunch. Colum had been dying to try New York pizza, so she’d taken them to Mano’s in Queens and they’d split a cheese pie. After that, they’d walked around Dumbo, strolling along the waterfront, enjoying the unseasonably cool weather—summer was typically hot as blue blazes in the Big Apple—and popping in and out of some of the trendy shops. Xavier insisted the three of them take a selfie on Washington Street, recreating the iconic photo of the Brooklyn Bridge. It had been a fun, carefree afternoon, and they’d managed to spend hours playing tourists without worrying about their plans for tonight.
Colum was still shocked about the plan to break into the museum. Annie had a funny feeling he might think she was joking, but she wasn’t.
Upon returning to the hotel, Annie had called the Grand Master’s counselor who’d been identified as her point of contact, and given her a quick status update and informed her of their plans. If things went south, Annie was counting on the Trinity Masters to save her.
She rose from the couch in her suite when there was a knock at the door. She, Xavier, and Colum had each retired to their own rooms to rest and freshen up, agreeing to reconvene in her suite to order room service for dinner and hang out until it was late enough to return to the museum.
She tilted her head from one side to the other to work out the kinks, aware the fight she was about the pick would be a difficult one to win.
She smiled as Colum and Xavier entered together. Both men had changed their clothing. Xavier was in a pair of lightweight black slacks and a black T-shirt, Colum dressed in brown pants and an olive-green button down. They’d opted for darker clothing in preparation for tonight’s heist.
She sighed.
Yep, this was going to be a hard sell.
Annie gestured to the small sitting area, Xavier claiming the other half of the couch with her, while Colum took the chair.
“I was thinking,” Annie said without preamble. Better to get this out of the way. “I’m going to break into the museum alone.”
“What?” Colum asked in alarm. As Xavier said, “No.”
Their responses were exactly what she’d expected, especially given the fact she hadn’t exactly been forthcoming about some aspects of her past. “It would be much quicker if I went in on my own. There’s no reason for all three of us to go. I can simply break in, grab the skull, and get out before anyone even knows I was there.”
Xavier shook his head throughout her entire speech. “It’s too dangerous. If you think it’s smarter for one of us to go, it’ll be me.”
Annie narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. “Why you?” If he hit her with some macho “because I’m a man” bullshit, he’d find out things she’d rather not explain.
“For the very reason you said before. The museum director knows your face, knows you’re interested. You and Colum can go out somewhere in public, somewhere with cameras that will prove you weren’t involved in the theft.”
Damn. Xavier made a valid point. The problem was, regardless of her need for an alibi, she was definitely the best choice to actually carry out the robbery.
Colum, bless him, jumped in while she tried to come up with a convincing argument to counter Xavier’s. “None of us is going alone.” He swallowed hard, voice full of emotion. “I can’t stay here knowing one of you is in danger. I just can’t.”
Annie’s heart stuttered for a moment, touched by his concern for them. “Colum,” she started, but his argument was harder to fight against than Xavier’s.
“No,” he said, in a firm—and fucking sexy—tone.
“It’s settled, then,” Xavier said. “We’re all going.”
Annie pursed her lips. Given the determined looks she was receiving from both men, she conceded. “Fine.”
It was hard to be grumpy about losing when Colum graced her with the sweetest smile she’d ever seen. “Good.”
“It’s still quite a few hours until midnight. Should we order something from room service?” she asked. Lunch had been a long time ago and she was starting to get hungry.
“I could eat,” Colum said, picking up the room service menu from the coffee table. Once they’d decided, she called down, ordering chicken paninis for Colum and Xavier and mushroom rigatoni for herself. Then she pulled the bottle of Chardonnay she’d bought at a wine shop in Dumbo out of the mini fridge.
“Wine?” she offered.
“Might take the edge off,” Colum said.
She opened her mouth to continue the argument, given his nervousness, but he shook his head.
She shot him a look that made him chuckle, then she poured each of them some wine, using the water glasses in the room.
Once again, Colum offered his usual “ slainte ” before tapping his glass against theirs. Annie watched as he brought the glass to his lips, taking a sip. She recalled his kiss from the previous night, her own lips tingling with the memory. When Colum looked up at her through hooded lids that told her he knew exactly where her thoughts had gone, her body responded, lust flashing hot between them.
Xavier cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him. She smirked, aware he was either jealous or annoyed at being ignored. Lifting her glass, she took a drink, then slowly slid her tongue over her lower lip, loving the way Xavier followed the movement.
She’d never considered drinking wine a particularly sensual thing, but every moment she spent with these two men was steeped in a sexual tension she’d never experienced.
Xavier patted the empty spot next to him on the couch, encouraging her to reclaim her seat. She returned, sitting closer to him than she’d been before, her knee resting against his thigh. Xavier expanded on the closeness, placing his arm along the back of the couch, his hand brushing her shoulder lightly.
Through her peripheral vision, she noticed Colum had shifted in his chair, leaning forward as if he wanted to be closer to them, his elbows resting on his knees, the glass of wine gripped tightly in both hands as he watched them.
Xavier, aware of their audience, shifted nearer. Taking another sip of wine, he placed the glass on the end table, using that free hand to run his fingers over her knee provocatively.
Like the guys, she’d changed into her own version of a cat burglar outfit—dark jeans and a deep purple blouse. Annie had purposely left the top three buttons open, allowing both men a generous peek of her cleavage as she bent forward to put her glass on the coffee table.
“We have an hour before dinner arrives,” Annie said, twisting toward Xavier, shifting so that she was nestled within the arm that was wrapped around her shoulders.
“An hour,” he mused. “That’s not nearly enough time.”
“We could call it an appetizer,” she replied. “Might take the edge off better than the wine.”
She ran her hand along his thigh, dragging her fingers from Xavier’s knee upward, stopping a scant inch from hitting pay dirt. Xavier growled softly, letting her know he wanted her to keep going.
“Take the pin out,” Xavier demanded, referring to her comment from last night.
“Take it out?” she teased.
Xavier narrowed his eyes. She and Xavier had moved so close she could feel his breath hot against her face.
“Pin out?” Colum whispered, his brows furrowed.
“We’re revisiting the sex idea,” Xavier responded to Colum, his gaze still locked on her.
Annie shifted slightly, desperate to see Colum’s reaction, to gauge his feelings. Silently, she sent up a prayer that he would be on board.
Colum was staring hard at the two of them, white-knuckle gripping the glass of wine.
“Is this flirting?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “No. We’re serious.”
Colum’s bewildered expression was almost comical. “Ah, go on.”
“Is that a yes?” Xavier asked Annie.
She shrugged. “No idea.”
“Maybe we should go first,” Xavier suggested, glancing over his shoulder at Colum. “Give Colum some time to come to grips with the idea.”
Annie grasped Xavier’s shirt, pulling him close, their lips nearly touching. Her body rolled with heat and need, making her reckless and fearless. “Fuck me like you hate me.”
Xavier smirked. “I do hate you.”
Annie started to laugh, but the sound was cut off when Xavier grasped the back of her neck with one large palm and pulled her mouth to his. Last night’s kiss had been the true appetizer, a mere sample of the feast he had to offer.
Xavier’s tongue made its way into her mouth, tangling with hers. Annie pressed against Xavier’s chest in an attempt to push him against the back of the couch. She had a strong urge to straddle his waist and ride him like goddamn Annie Oakley.
Xavier resisted, unyielding as he continued to ravage her mouth, his teeth nipping her lower lip until she whimpered.
Movement next to her told her Colum had shifted. She hoped he’d caught the hell up and was ready to hop in. Despite being a member of the Trinity Masters for years, Annie had never had the opportunity to indulge in threesome sex, and the idea of popping that cherry with these two was very—VERY—appealing.
Annie was the first to break the kiss, sucking in some much-needed air. Xavier, however, was just getting started. Rising from the couch, he wrapped firm hands around her arms, lifting her as well, tugging the hem of her blouse from her jeans, sliding his fingers beneath.
She cried out when he cupped her breasts, squeezing them roughly before pinching her nipples. Pleasure mingled with pain was a huge turn-on for her, as was a dominant man. Xavier was checking all the boxes.
She wanted more.
Wanted it all.
Especially when Colum stood as well. Sadly, he was still several feet away, too far for her to reach out and drag him over to them.
Annie ran her hand over Xavier’s crotch, tightly gripping his impressive erection through his pants.
Xavier grasped her wrist, pulling her hand away. “Bad girl,” he purred in a dark voice. “I didn’t give you permission to touch my cock.”
Annie’s eyes fluttered because holy fuck. Mentally, another box—the dirty talk box—was checked.
Before she could come up with an appropriate comeback, Xavier whipped her around and roughly pushed her over the arm of the couch, using a firm hand between her shoulder blades to shove her even deeper into the cushions with a strength she hadn’t expected.
His thighs brushed against her, holding her in place, lest she try to kick out or fight for freedom. As if she would.
She jerked when he slapped her ass with a stinging smack, the material of her jeans doing nothing to soften the blow.
“If you want to touch me, you’ll have to beg, mon cheri ,” he taunted, fisting a handful of her hair, using it to pull her up slightly. Her scalp burned, as did every other part of her body. So many unrealized desires were suddenly playing out, lust coursing through her veins.
“Ahhh,” she cried out, her pussy clenching as he spanked her again.
She closed her eyes, eagerly anticipating more, so she was shocked when the hand in her hair disappeared. Without it, she fell down onto the cushions once more.
Annie opened her eyes just in time to see that Colum had jerked Xavier away from her, putting himself between them. Colum had one hand fisted in Xavier’s shirt, and the other…
Oh shit.
Before Annie could yell stop, Colum punched Xavier in the jaw. “How dare you fecking hurt her!”
“ Merde ,” Xavier shouted, trying to step back.
Annie shoved upright, stumbling slightly due to her too-quick actions, drawing Colum’s attention.
Xavier managed to wrench himself out of Colum’s grip. He backed up, shaking his head and then gingerly touching his injured cheek. “What the fuck?”
Colum reached out to steady her, his expression making it clear he was mistaking the cause of her staggering, thinking her truly injured. Rage burning in his eyes. Colum’s reserved demeanor made it easy to overlook just how tall he was—nearly the same height as Xavier. Given the way he shoved the other guy, he was also stronger than his mannerism made him seem.
He turned back toward Xavier, pushing her firmly behind his back.
Annie’s heart thudded at the protective gesture, even as she peered around Colum to check on Xavier, who looked pissed. He took a step toward them, muttering darkly.
Colum’s fist clenched once more. Annie grabbed his forearm, shifting until she was between him and Xavier.
“Stop,” she said firmly.
Colum looked down at her, his brows furrowed. “He was hurting you.”
She placed her palm flat against his chest. His heart was racing a million miles a minute. “I asked him to.”
Colum blinked several times, studying her face intently. “You cried out.”
“It wasn’t a bad cry,” she reassured him.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Feck,” he breathed out. “I thought…”
“Gallant and violent.” Xavier eyed Colum as he worked his jaw side to side, his eyes still bright with anger. “That hurt.”
Colum’s expression turned to one of instant regret. “Xavier—” he started.
Xavier huffed out an amused breath, the last of his anger faded. “I am the last man to berate another for letting passion and gallantry drive them to madness and violence.” Xavier’s words flowed around them, further lowering the emotional temperature in the room. In moments like this, it was easy to see he was a poet. Then the asshole smirked. “I was only doing what Annie wanted.” He leaned in, making a tsking sound before he stage-whispered to Colum, “She asked me to fuck her like I hated her.”
“I heard that part, but I thought that was more flirting,” Colum admitted. “I didn’t think you’d actually hit her.”
“Spank,” Annie and Xavier said at the same time.
Colum crossed his arms, clearly waiting for an explanation.
“Spankings are in a category of their own,” Annie said. “And it was consensual.”
“With consent,” Xavier added, “even the darkest needs can be brought to light.”
“But he spanked you hard enough for it to hurt,” Colum said, frowning in what almost looked like disapproval.
Stern disapproval should not be as sexy as it was. And she knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose.
There was an innocence about him that left Annie wondering if the sexy archivist had ever slept with anyone before. Even if he had, it was obvious his bedroom experiences had been far tamer than hers and Xavier’s. The idea of exposing him to darker desires only made her want him more.
“I wouldn’t insult her by merely patting her ass,” Xavier purred.
Every word out of their mouths was working to rebuild the arousal that had dimmed when Colum stepped in. While her body was still thrumming with unmet need, Annie could tell the moment had passed.
Especially when Colum said, “I should go back to my room.”
“No!” Annie and Xavier said in unison.
“Stay with us,” Annie pleaded. “We let things go too far.”
Xavier shot her a look that said they hadn’t let it go far enough, but he didn’t argue, clearly as anxious to keep Colum with them.
The question of Colum leaving was taken off the table when there was a knock at the door.
“Room service,” someone called out.
Annie blew out a slow breath, trying to get her raging hormones back under control. “I’ll get the door.” She pierced Colum with a hard look. “Sit. You aren’t going anywhere. We’re sticking together, remember?” she said, throwing his argument for robbing the museum together back at him.
“Aye,” Colum replied slowly, his gaze shifting to Xavier’s jaw. Lifting his hand, he gently stroked the red skin. “Together,” he murmured.
Xavier leaned sideways into Annie so he could see her screen. On her other side, Colum did the same.
The man on the video call—Jasper, no last name given—looked up. “This is everything you have?” He held up a tablet, the screen turned so they could see a short document.
Annie nodded. “That’s what the museum’s insurance company had listed for their security measures.”
“It’s not much,” the man said. “The security, I mean.”
Xavier studied Jasper. He was good-looking, in an unremarkable way. According to Annie, he was a very good thief, and at least one of the museum robberies he’d committed as a young man was famously unsolved. They’d waited as long as they could for his call, but finally Annie had declared they needed to leave for the museum. Jasper had called right as they climbed into the back of a yellow cab.
“Nothing in the collection is particularly valuable,” Annie said, her voice slightly muffled by the black surgical mask she wore. He and Colum were also wearing masks.
“I’m surprised they wouldn’t sell it to you.”
“I think that had more to do with the museum director being a stubborn asshole.”
“Ah.” Jasper grinned. “A native New Yorker, then.”
Annie laughed, and leaning against her as he was, Xavier felt her body jiggle with amusement. He started imagining her body jiggling for other reasons but ruthlessly squashed the thought so it wouldn’t distract him.
“If it were me,” Jasper said, “I’d do a smash and grab.”
“Er, excuse me,” Colum said. “Should we really be planning all this here?” Colum nodded to the scuffed plastic divider that separated them from the cab driver.
Annie snorted. “We could be making a plan to overthrow the government and the cabbie wouldn’t care.”
“She’s right,” Jasper added.
“Jaysus love us,” Colum muttered.
“What do you mean smash and grab?” Xavier asked, though he was fighting a smile at Colum’s words and expression.
“Smash a window, climb in, grab what you want, and get out,” Jasper said. “If I were you, I’d grab a few other things too.”
“We can, but they’re still going to suspect me,” Annie said.
Jasper shrugged. “Even if they do, it’s going to be a low priority for the cops. No one hurt, minimal property damage, and a low-value item. You didn’t give them an offer in writing, did you?”
Annie shook her head. “No. I offered an insane amount for it, given what it is, but they have no proof of that. On paper, it’s worth less than a thousand dollars.”
“Don’t forget,” Jasper added, “if the museum claims it was worth more than that, they risk pissing off their insurance company by under-insuring it.”
“Ah, I had forgotten about the insurance angle, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Jasper grinned. “I better go before my husband finds out I’m helping someone rob a museum. Then again, he’s fun when he’s riled up.” Jasper winked, and they all chuckled.
“Thank you again,” Annie said before ending the call.
The cab pulled to a stop outside the museum. It was late, and the street was dark. Xavier slid out first, holding the door as Annie shoved money through the slot in the partition. Colum had barely closed the door before the cab drove off.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Colum muttered.
“Xavier, take him back to the hotel.” Annie didn’t hesitate, and the words were undeniably an order.
“No, ye aren’t going to rob a museum without me,” Colum countered.
“Then stop whining about how thievery is wrong.” Annie started up the half flight of steps to the front door. Xavier put an arm around Colum. At the top of the steps, he turned, pulling Colum against him in an embrace.
Colum hesitated only a moment, then looped his arms over Xavier’s shoulders. It felt more than good. It felt right. Xavier’s cheek still hurt, and it felt tender like it would bruise, though his short beard would hide it, unlike the bruise on Colum’s face.
Their gazes met, and Xavier wanted to blame the way his pulse was racing on the embrace that served as cover for Annie’s actions, her smaller body hidden from street view by theirs.
Colum pulling him off Annie, punching him, and then standing guard over her had left him feeling more than just sexually attracted to the other man. He’d been pissed about getting hit in the face, but looking at Colum as he stood, feet planted, shoulders squared as if he’d take on an army to protect Annie, had done things to Xavier that he hadn’t expected. Irritation born of the pain from taking a punch and amusement at Colum’s innocent misreading of the situation had both faded to the deeper emotion.
The bright green of Colum’s eyes was muted, given the only illumination was a security light above the door of the dentist office next door and a streetlight on the corner half a block away. Xavier wanted to kiss him until those gorgeous green eyes closed in bliss.
The shattering of glass startled Xavier enough that he looked away from Colum.
Annie had broken one of the panes of glass in the tall, narrow window beside the door.
“Don’t look at me, you idiots,” she hissed. “Kiss him or something.”
Xavier jerked his attention back to Colum just as the other man leaned in, pressing his lips to Xavier’s. Except they were both still wearing masks.
The ridiculousness of the moment seemed to strike them both at the same time, as they started laughing. The sound covered the tinkling of glass as Annie knocked out a few more shards and then reached in.
A second later, the door was open, and a second after that, an alarm started blaring.
Annie grabbed Colum’s elbow and yanked him inside, Xavier hot on his heels. She closed and locked the door, tapping something on her watch.
“Spread out and grab something,” she ordered. “Nothing genuinely valuable.”
The alarm was so loud it was almost physically painful, but Xavier nodded. He knew what he was going to take.
Darting down the central hall, he stopped in front of the display with the newspaper. Unlatching the case, he swung the glass open, taking out the faux paper.
Closing it, he hesitated, gaze darting to the fan beside it.
Colum raced out of a room toward the back of a museum, holding a tattered French flag. He was grimacing and winced when the alarm blared again.
Xavier raised a brow, pointing to the flag.
“From Les Mis ,” Colum said, leaning in so Xavier could hear him. “It made me think of you.”
Xavier turned, unlatching the other wall display and pulling out the lace fan. Carefully folding it, he offered it to Colum. Colum took it, then tried to read the plaque below the now-empty display, but the interior lights were off.
“It’s from Lady Windermere’s Fan ,” Xavier said. “A play by Oscar Wilde.”
Colum took it, carefully opening and closing it. “ Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Play About a Good Woman ,” Colum said, just loud enough to be heard. “If I remember right, the fan symbolizes the performative nature of femininity.”
Xavier tsked , stepping closer, until their chests almost touched. “Or the fan is Lord Windermere’s devotion. A sign of how hopelessly in love he is.”
Colum’s gaze slid down to Xavier’s lips, though the mask hid them. For a blessed moment, the sound of the blaring alarm, interspersed with a rhythmic thump that sounded like footsteps, faded as anticipation muted the world around them.
Footsteps. The thought niggled at Xavier, yanking him from the moment. He turned to face the front door.
A man had entered the building and was coming at them, gun raised.
Xavier froze, shock warring with disbelief. He was about to be shot. Worse, Colum was about to be shot. They needed to run, they needed to?—
A knife handle sprouted from the man’s eye.
Xavier’s mouth dropped open as the man sank to the floor, a thin scream escaping him as the gun fell from his hand.
What… How…
“No more flirting!” Annie yelled from behind him. “Let’s go.”
Xavier whirled to see Annie standing at the far end of the hall near a door marked “staff,” a knife in her right hand, duffel bag hooked over her shoulder.
A second knife?
Xavier looked from Annie to the man on the ground—yes, there was a knife sticking out of his eye—to Colum.
Annie just killed a man by throwing a knife into his eye.
Putain de bordel de merde.
Colum looked shockingly calm as he grabbed Xavier by the arm and forced him to move. They ran past Annie as she waved them through. Xavier and Colum stopped in the total darkness, panting. What felt like several years later, but was probably less than a minute, Annie appeared, pushing between them to take the lead once more. They followed her through the back half of the house and out into a tiny garden.
“You two okay?” Annie asked as she urged them down the steps.
Colum nodded, while Xavier just stared at them.
“Colum, can you climb that wall?”
He nodded.
“Go.”
Annie grabbed the flag and fan Colum still held, then Xavier’s newspaper, stuffing everything into her bag, as Colum hoisted himself up onto the brick wall at the back of the garden, straddling it. He reached down for Xavier. His shock hadn’t worn off, but he was no longer frozen by it. Taking Colum’s hand, he hauled himself up and over, dropping into a narrow alley. Colum passed him Annie’s duffel, then leaned down, and a second later, Annie was sitting on top of the wall. Xavier looped the bag over his shoulder and reached up to help her down, but Annie jumped, landing with perfect balance.
Xavier shifted his focus to Colum, steadying him as he slid down the wall.
Annie had her phone in her hand, and by the time they reached the mouth of the alleyway, a black car was waiting for them.
Without a word, they climbed in, the vehicle pulling calmly away from the curb.