Chapter 20 #3
“All right, Houdini, what’s next?” Sylus chimes in with a smirk.
“Well, those are probably the main ways to snag those phones.”
“But we want to see more.” Annabelle pouts, jutting out her lip in exaggerated disappointment, but it does absolutely nothing to me.
Then I glance at Nova.
She leans in, whispering, “Come on, show them.”
And that? That does everything to me.
Nicholas is back in his seat, but I’ve already clocked the hotel card badge clipped to his belt. Perfect. “Would you mind lending me the badge for a second?”
“Oh, oh!” Annabelle snickers. “Need him to lend her the pants to go with it?”
“Easy there, Blondie.” Sylus smirks, leaning back with a shake of his head. “This isn’t Euphoria, and no one wants to see that.”
Annabelle and Nova, in perfect unison, shoot back, “Speak for yourself.”
Pebble lets out a soft coo as if agreeing, and Levi laughs so hard he nearly dislodges the bird.
Nicholas, his cheeks tinged with a faint red, unclips the badge and tosses it over without a word. I catch it easily and reach for Nova, brushing the shirt aside to clip it onto one of the belt loops of her jeans.
When I glance up, she’s smiling at me, her eyes warm with amusement. All this proximity should send my nerves into overdrive, but with her, it doesn’t. Instead, it feels right, natural.
“Sometimes, you don’t hide what you’re stealing.
You highlight it. We call this painting it red.
” Pebble flutters her wings on Levi’s shoulder, drawing Nova’s gaze for a fraction of a second.
By the time her focus snaps back to me, I’m already gripping the badge with deliberate flair, lifting it slightly.
“Nice badge, Mr. Harrington,” I tease, shooting Nova a crooked grin.
“Thanks,” she says dryly, narrowing her eyes at me, though there’s a playful glint in them. “Got it from my mama.”
Koen snorts from behind us.
“That’s the spirit!” I snap my fingers, pointing at Koen, the sound masking the subtle click as the badge detaches. Nova’s head swivels toward Koen instinctively, and when her gaze snaps back to me, I’m holding up the badge between us. “Did you feel it?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “But I knew it was coming. I pulled that move a few days ago.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You did?”
“Told you I slipped a badge from an employee at the Heights.”
Nicholas and Koen, in perfect harmony, exclaim, “You did what?”
I smirk, tossing the badge back to Nicholas over Nova’s head. “That’s my girl,” I say, and God, the way her smile blooms, as if I’ve handed her the world, makes every damn thing worth it.
My gaze catches the glint of the bracelet on her wrist, which she’s absently toying with. Perfect.
“Next, we’ve got bracelets.” I brush my fingers lightly against her wrist, watching her pulse quicken at her throat as they glide up her arm. “Stealing them isn’t only sleight of hand. It’s about conditioning the mark.”
Nova takes some deep breaths, her eyes locked on my face.
“You touch them a few times, get them comfortable with the sensation. Flirting works best here.” I smile at her while my fingers glide back down, tracing the bracelet.
“You’re beautiful today.” She gives me a look, but there is a tint of red on her cheeks.
“Once they’re used to it, their brain stops flagging the touch as unusual.
” My thumb slides beneath the clasp. “Separate it just enough.” I open it with a soft press. “Then, slide it off.”
Nova’s lips curve. “I want that back, Mr. Pickpocket.”
“Of course.” I grin, holding the bracelet up before slipping it back onto her wrist. “But yeah, watches and bracelets are tricky. You have to hide everything, the steal, the motion, the intent, and the sensation, all at once.”
“Oh, she’s got plenty of practice with watches,” Levi cuts in, his tone dripping with teasing amusement. “Isn’t that right, Little Bird?”
“Is that so?” I tease, the memory of Koen looking utterly slack-jawed when she stole his watch flashing through my mind.
I will forever be grateful that happened because it brought her back to me.
She shrugs with feigned nonchalance. “Maybe.”
As if I didn’t already know. Stealing watches has been her favorite pastime since we were teenagers. Hell, she must have swiped my Rolex a thousand times.
I brush my bare wrist absentmindedly, the familiar weight long gone.
Damn, I miss that golden chunk of a watch.
But I guess they gave it to my father when I ended up in the hospital.
Nicholas holds up his wrist. “Want my watch too?”
“Smartwatch?” Nova crinkles her nose. “No thanks.”
Koen and Sylus chuckle as Nicholas mumbles defensively, “I like to track my fitness stats.”
“All right then.” Levi grins, clearly enjoying the exchange. “What’s your favorite?”
Nova doesn’t hesitate. “Rolex.”
I laugh softly, shaking my head.
“Not a Rolex, but apparently good enough since you swiped it once,” Koen pulls off his vintage Patek Philippe, which is worth more than a fucking Rolex, and tosses it to me.
I put it on Nova’s wrist before I take her hand in mine. “Traditional wristband watches are another level. It’s all about manipulating attention. Broad distractions won’t cut it. You need finesse.”
I slowly trace the edge of the watch. “You split their focus, talk to them, touch them, give them something to fixate on, or—”
“Or…” Nova interrupts, her smirk widening into a playful challenge. “You just skip the fuss and use your thumb.”
“True, but that’s riskier.” I meet her gaze, a grin tugging at my lips. “The mark could look down at any moment.”
“Not if you’re good.” Her voice drops to a teasing lilt. “Or if you’ve got your tits in their face.”
The room erupts with laughter, but my focus stays locked on her, the way her smirk plays at the corners of her lips, daring me.
Fuck, I love this girl.
With a single fluid motion, I use my thumb as she suggested, and I release her wrist, Koen’s watch now spinning effortlessly between my fingers.
“You’re incredible, Ace,” Nova murmurs, the words hitting me harder than they should.
“Understatement of the century,” Sylus chimes in from somewhere behind her, but I barely register it.
Nova’s eyes never leave mine. “Told you he’s the best.”
Her pride in me is a weight and a gift all at once, settling in my chest and chasing away the years of feeling like a ghost, a half-formed version of myself.
With her looking at me that way, as though I’m more than my scars and my mistakes, I don’t simply feel alive again.
I feel whole.
And maybe even brave enough to become the man she already thinks I am.