Chapter 10 #3
Sylus starts picking at his bacon, and Levi is humming again, the sound irritating but oddly comforting in the silence.
I stare at the food in front of me, my appetite still nowhere to be found, even if my stomach growls again.
Begrudgingly, I pick up my fork anyway and force down a few bites of scrambled eggs.
When Koen finally sits at the table, he clears his throat, his gaze sweeping over us. “So, yesterday, we were at Oscar’s grave.”
The fork I’m holding halts midair, and guilt surges through me. I haven’t been back since the funeral because I’m always stuck in this damn house, stuck in my damn mind.
I glance over at Sylus, who raises an eyebrow as if this is news to him, too, which brings me a small, bitter relief.
“And, while we were there, we… found someone,” Koen says, and Levi chuckles, clearly more entertained by the memory than he is. “She could help us with a new plan.”
“She?” Sylus perks up, leaning forward. “And what new plan?”
Koen doesn’t indulge Sylus’s questions and continues, “She’s a thief. A good one.”
“A thief?” Sylus repeats, intrigued but cautious when he looks at me.
My eyes shift to Ezra, and sure enough, he looks completely unfazed. He probably knew all about this already. Of course he did.
My stomach knots, a sinking feeling growing as I realize where this conversation is heading.
I’m the thief here.
“She stole my watch,” Koen says calmly, looking straight at me. “Clean off my wrist. And I didn’t notice.”
Sylus lets out a low whistle. “No shit. That’s… impressive.”
I scoff, unable to stop myself. “Impressive? She stole a damn watch, and you think that’s impressive?”
It’s not only impressive, it’s borderline impossible. Koen is always so damn tuned in to his surroundings. It’s like he’s got eyes in the back of his head. I keep my face neutral, refusing to give this mystery woman any credit.
Especially if they intend to have her replace me.
Koen meets my eyes, unfazed by my tone. “It wasn’t a bad lift, especially considering she was tipsy. If she can do that when she’s not at her best, imagine what she could do sober. She might need some training.”
Training. The word grates on my nerves, and I feel a bitter laugh bubbling up, but I swallow it.
They could just ask me. I don’t need any training, and I damn sure don’t need anyone stepping in to do what I do.
Maybe I fucked up. Maybe three months of hiding in my room convinced them I’m no longer capable of doing what I was brought here to do.
The thought makes anger flare hot and unreasonable in my chest.
“You want to train her? For what, exactly?” I snap. “What does she have that I don’t?”
Fuck, did I really just ask that?
Koen and Ezra exchange glances, and the silent communication between them grates me.
They’ve always acted like the group’s parents, probably because they’re older.
Ezra is thirty-three, and the twins are going to be thirty in a few days.
But Levi is… Levi, and Sylus is twenty-five, while I’m the youngest at twenty-four.
Levi chimes in, “Well, for starters, she’s got tits, a banging body, and her face card is giving.” He grins at me. “Not that you’re not pretty, blue eyes, but Nicholas Harrington? Not exactly into guys.”
Which he’d learned the hard way fifteen years ago.
“So what? You want her to cozy up with that dickhead?”
“Exactly.” Levi nods enthusiastically. “She’s got the skills, the looks, and if she can get close to him… she’ll have the access we need.”
The air in the room shifts, the weight of what they’re suggesting sinking in.
They want to use her as bait.
A tool to get close to Harrington’s son.
I see the logic behind it. If she has the kind of charm and skill that could get her close, that’s something I could never do. And yet, it feels like a slap in the face, like I’m being sidelined, cast aside for something I can’t control.
“She could get into Veronica’s office and swipe her laptop,” Koen says simply as if he’s already mapped out the whole plan in his head.
Ezra shakes his head, crossing his arms. “I don’t think taking anything is a good idea.”
“No, we leave everything exactly where it is,” Sylus cuts in smoothly, his voice calm but carrying that spark of excitement he gets when something risky is on the table. “But I like the idea. She could get into their private rooms, give me access to their network.”
“And she could probably get close to Belmont, too,” Levi adds, leaning back in his chair with an easy grin. “If she can snag his master key card to the hotel, that would make our lives a hell of a lot easier.”
“I told you I’d get the RFID skimmer to work eventually,” Sylus says, a cocky edge in his voice.
“I mean, I already hacked into the Plaza’s CCTV system and pulled the footage that nails Veronica.
While I was in there, I got access to their security logs.
Grabbing the code to pair with the skimmer is just a matter of time. ”
“Sure, time,” Levi agrees. “Or a little charm and cleavage.”
Sylus lets out a sharp laugh, shaking his head. “Right. Because that’s a totally normal strategy.”
Levi shrugs, the grin still playing on his lips. “I’m simply saying… people get careless when there’s a pretty face involved. Especially Belmont.”
I don’t miss the way Sylus’s smirk falters, his gaze sharpening as it lands on Levi. “If we’re playing that card, we’d better make sure that girl is on board first. Not everyone is the type to enjoy being objectified.”
“She doesn’t need to enjoy it,” Koen says flatly. “She only needs to play the part.”
There it is, that hard edge in Koen’s voice, that makes my jaw tighten. Sylus catches it, too, because his eyes narrow. “Careful there, Koen. You’re talking about her as if she’s a tool, not a person.”
The room goes quiet. Levi, of course, is the first to break it, exhaling loudly as if the weight of it all doesn’t touch him. “Fine. Let’s call it strategic asset utilization. Better?”
Sylus snorts, shaking his head, but the tightness in his jaw is still there. I glance at him, and his gaze flicks to mine. There’s something unspoken in his look—anger, maybe? Or frustration.
I don’t say anything, but the knot in my chest tightens. This whole thing is already starting to feel like a bad idea.
Across from me, Ezra shakes his head, skepticism written all over his face. “I can’t believe you’d trust a stranger with this. A thief.”
His words aren’t surprising. Ezra is a detective, and distrust runs in his veins. His disdain for my line of work has always been obvious. I’ve lived under the same roof with him for three years now, and I’m pretty sure he still doesn’t fully trust me, even after everything.
Koen leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “We’ll keep an eye on her. She’s not going to run. She’s got her own motivations, and we’ve got leverage.”
I grind my teeth. “Leverage or not, you think she’s going to pull off something that even I’d have trouble with?
Come on, you know I’m the best when it comes to this, and it’s not only about pickpocketing.
It’s about reading people, blending in, being unseen.
” I glare at Levi. “You think she’s going to be able to charm her way into Harrington’s inner circle? ”
Levi shrugs, that playful grin still hanging on his lips. “She’s got potential. More than potential. And she won’t be alone. We’ll be there, pulling the strings.”
“Which is why we want you to train her.” Koen circles back to the point of this conversation. “Test her. See if she’s got what it takes.”
They want me to train her? To teach her everything I’ve spent years perfecting? I shake my head again, more adamant this time. “No. No way. I’m not going to babysit some random girl who’s probably going to get herself and all of us caught or even killed.”
“Come on, Ric.” Sylus turns to me, his expression serious now. “If she’s got the potential Levi says she does, you could make sure she succeeds. She could be the key to pulling this off.”
I can’t ignore that it’s all a blow to my pride. “I’m not doing it.”
Koen doesn’t back down. “You’re the best person for the job, Ric.”
“I don’t care,” I snap again. “I’m not training anyone. If you want her to pull this off, she’ll have to do it alone, or you’ll have to find someone else.”
Levi leans back in his chair, his grin fading as he watches me closely. “You know you’re the only one who can assess if she’s actually good enough.”
“I said no.”
Koen’s voice is hard as he cuts in. “You know this isn’t about you.” I glance at him, and his expression darkens. “This is about getting justice for Oscar. You, more than anyone, should understand that.”
Of course I do, but it doesn’t make this any easier. I push back from the table, the chair scraping loudly against the floor, and Jinx jumps off my lap. “Find someone else. I’m not doing it.”
“Ric—” Koen starts, but I cut him off with a slap on the table that emphasizes my parting word.
“No.”
Without waiting for a response, I leave the kitchen, and even though I can feel their eyes on me, I don’t look back.
They want me to hand over everything I’ve worked for to some girl who’ll never be good enough anyway?
Not a chance.
They can kick me out if they’re done with me.
I’m not going to help them replace me.