Chapter 7
GATLIN
“You want to fucking do what?” I shout. She raises an eyebrow as if I’m being overly dramatic.
I take a deep breath and lower my voice.
“Did you just say you intend to steal the Kritonios Crown from the museum in Munich, Germany?” My voice is strangled as the words catch in my throat.
This woman is going to be the death of me.
“Unless you know of any other way to get it?” she asks while she packs her gear.
“Mathias helped design their security system. There’s no way we’ll get in and out without them catching us on camera. Not without a magic user.”
She shrugs. “Not everybody has magic. I do have some nifty gadgets I’ve collected over the years.”
Her lack of concern makes the tic in my jaw dance. “Let me think.” Pacing the length of the hallway outside her bedroom, I try to think of a way to get the piece without resorting to theft. “What about that society of yours? The keepers or whatever? I’m sure they’d be thrilled to help you.”
She mulls it over for a second, then shakes her head. “If I was borrowing the crown, they could easily assist me. I’m not. Once I give it to Hera, it’s hers forever. It’s better if we steal it. The museum can file with the human insurance companies and move on.”
She scans the room and adds a few more items, including a pair of familiar boots. “Just in case we get separated, I’m taking the boots with the tracker in them.”
Her words make me grit my teeth, and I huff out a breath. “We’re not getting separated.”
She briefly glances in my direction and shrugs. “Never hurts to be prepared.” She ticks off her fingers. “I think that’s it. Are you packed?” She grabs the handle of the duffel and lifts it off the bed.
“Seriously? I’ve spent the last fifteen minutes trying to talk you out of this hare-brained scheme,” I return, my voice rising with every word. Stalking over to her, I grab the handle and carry the duffel downstairs to the front door.
“Fifteen minutes shouting at me, you mean,” she corrects me in an amused tone.
What’s so damn amusing? “I rarely shout. Or lose my cool. Although you drive me to both.” I thrust a hand through my long hair and tie it back in a bun.
“You haven’t even found the fifth item. Where are you going to get the scepter?
Or do you plan to steal that too?” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I could kick myself. Damn it.
She narrows her eyes at me. “If I need to steal it, I will. We’re trying to stop a war, remember?” Her reminder of the stakes calms me down a bit.
She’s right. I don’t like it, though. There are two of us, and I’m lacking the one person who usually pulls the schematics. Maybe I can find a few friends to help us on this mission.
“And I don’t know where to get the scepter. The Minoan Ivory scepter is more of a staff. The Scepter of Agamemnon is more like a spear. Neither one feels like the right one.” She blows out a breath.
Feeling guilty that I’m adding to her stress, I rub a hand down my face. “Sorry. You’re right. I don’t handle surprises very well. And I definitely don’t like the idea of exposing ourselves to humans. We could trigger the same war we’re trying to avoid.”
She bites the inside of her cheek as she thinks about it. “I know. Usually, one call to Mercer would get me supplies and backdoor access, but I don’t think we can go that route this time.”
“Hell no. The last time we contacted her you were stabbed at the damn airport,” I spit out in a hard tone. “Let me call Jamison. See who he thinks I can safely reach out to for help.”
Her lips curl into a smile as she reaches out to pat my arm. “See, we can work together. I’ll call Maverick and ask him to have my plane ready. Wouldn’t hurt to ask him for help too.”
It takes everything in my willpower not to grimace. The last time I saw that damn demon, he refused to give me one fucking clue where I could find her. Asshole is on my shit list. I don’t tell her that. Instead, I grunt an agreement and reach for my phone.
“I’ll talk to Jamison while I pack,” I tell her, taking the stairs two at a time to get my stuff.
When I first got here, the only room that had anything beyond the most basic of furniture in it was hers.
All the others were sparsely decorated. A clear indication of her lack of visitors.
Since it didn’t seem to matter which one I chose, I picked the one closest to hers.
Although she has yet to spend much time in it.
The last two nights, she fell asleep at her desk, surrounded by notes filled with her neat handwriting.
Not wanting her to get a crick in her shoulder, I usually check on her around two a.m. and find her at her desk, then carry her over to the couch, hoping she’ll get a few hours of sleep.
Strangely enough, it’s become the highlight of my night. The second I pick her up, she curls into my chest, her expression soft and relaxed, unlike the guarded expression she wears like a mask. I never realized it until I saw her asleep.
I call, but Jamison doesn’t answer. That’s odd.
Come to think of it, I think the last time I talked to him was the night she returned.
It’s not like him to be out of touch for this long.
I quickly scan through my texts. The last one came in two days ago.
A brief confirmation that he’s still at Lady Catherine’s.
Nothing else, not even a mention of Phaedra.
Something’s wrong. Damn it. How did I miss this?
I hang up and dial Hawthorne. When he doesn’t answer, I leave him a message, telling him to drop whatever he’s doing and go check on Jamison.
I end the call and stare at my phone. I’m tempted to call Mathias, but we all agreed he would contact us when he could safely get away.
Damn it. This is why I hate splitting up.
I don’t know where the hell everyone is or if they’re in trouble.
It takes little time to pack, and a few minutes later, I’m heading down the stairs to meet Phaedra. “I couldn’t get a hold of Jamison. Did Maverick have anyone we can contact?”
Her eyes sweep over me. “What’s wrong? You look worried.”
Surprised, I raise an eyebrow. It’s not often someone can read me. “It’s probably nothing. Jamison tells me I worry too much.” I reach down and grab her duffle. “Is this it?”
She nods. “The rest of my gear is on the plane.” Her hand reaches out. I look down as her delicate fingers wrap around my wrist. “Tell me.” She nibbles on her bottom lip as she stares up at me, waiting for an answer.
Unable to help myself, I reach out and gently tug on her lip until she releases it. “Jamison went to see his father. I haven’t spoken to him since you returned five days ago. It’s not like him.” When her eyes widen, I hurry to reassure her. “I told Hawthorne to go check on him.”
Her brow furrows, and I realize all I’ve done is make her worried too.
“Let’s go,” I tell her. “Once we have the crown, we can figure out whether we need to hop over to England. Let me worry about them. You need to concentrate on figuring out a plan to get us into the museum and safely out again without tripping any alarms or getting us caught on camera.”
She gives me a determined nod. “We have a plan. Maverick and Charlie are going with us.” She hesitates for a second.
“There’s a necklace in the museum that belonged to Charlie’s great-great-grandmother.
It has a curse on it, which is why they haven’t tried to acquire it before now. They’ll help us if we help them.”
“Fucking hell,” I mutter, trying to wrap my head around the life of crime I’m suddenly living. Not to mention the fact that my team consists of an extremely unreliable demon and a rebellious mage who have no allegiance to me. “I could ask Hawthorne to help us.”
She tilts her head and gives me a look. “Not after what you just told me. He needs to check on Jamison. We need to get the crown. This is the best way. Besides, Charlie’s almost as powerful as Jamison. He’ll keep Maverick on track and us off human radar.”
I hate it, but it’s the only play right now. “If one of them steps a toe out of line, I’ll break their necks, and when they wake, I’ll do it again.”
She laughs as she walks out the door. “Whatever it takes to get the crown.”
When she steps out of the jet’s bathroom wearing a full bodysuit that skims every curve of her delectable body, and I almost spit out my coffee.
Knowing I should look away and doing it are two very different things.
I can’t help but stare as she walks down the aisle toward me.
My jeans get uncomfortably tight. Damn. I finally tear my eyes away and find Maverick looking at me.
His low chuckle and audacious wink in my direction tell me he’s aware of my discomfort.
I flash my fiercest scowl, but it has little effect on him.
She plucks at her sleeve as she slides into her seat. Leaning over, she holds up the material. “Have you ever seen this before? Mercer found it for me. It will match the temperature of any environment, thereby rendering me invisible to infrared technology. It even has a hood. Here. Feel it.”
My hand automatically reaches for the fabric, and I rub my fingers across it. It’s soft yet stretchy. Images of me peeling it off her flash through my mind, and I have to force myself to release it. Picking up the schematics, I look down, but all I see are blurred lines.
“It’s nice.”
I take a deep breath, trying to find my equilibrium, but notes of jasmine and vanilla fill my lungs, and a litany of curses fills my brain. She smells too damn good. I’m so fucking glad I don’t have to stand any time soon.
Desperate to distract myself, I tap the paper in my hand and look at Maverick. He moves from his seat to one across from Phaedra and me. Laying the schematics on the table, I pick up a pen and hand it to Phaedra.
“Show me where the crown is located.”
She circles a small square on the schematics.
“Here. Security is top notch. The entire space is covered in an infrared net, which will trigger an alarm if you disrupt it. The crown is in the center of the room on a pedestal, encased in glass. There are sensors everywhere. If the glass is disturbed, the alarms will go off. If the weight on the pedestal changes, the alarms will go off.” She bites her bottom lip.
“Anything else?” I ask her.
“Temperature is regulated, and an alarm will go off if it’s disturbed, but this suit takes care of that issue,” she says with a wave of her hand.
She darts a glance at Maverick. “Unlike most human museums, this one has an intricate layer of magic spells to protect its contents. I’m not sure what they do. Maverick?”
He leans forward and drawls, “Your friend Mathias designed several magical traps, nasty ones too. Charlie will unravel them before we step foot inside the place. It’s a good thing you picked this museum, because we’d already cased the joint for his family’s necklace.
” The corners of his mouth twitch when Phaedra snorts. “Sorry, I do love human idioms.”
“So, once the spells are disabled, we can move on to the regular security system,” Phaedra says, picking up a device. “We’ll first need to redirect the cameras.”
“I’ll take care of the cameras,” I reply. “Mathias installed code on my computer to help in situations like this. All I have to do is plug it into one of the security system keypads. It will search out the cameras and create a loop, making us invisible.”
“Great!” She beams. “This little gadget will shift the infrared net higher in the room, allowing us to walk underneath it. That only leaves the glass and pedestal. Got any ideas?”
“Charlie can change the composition of the glass from solid to liquid, which means we can reach in and take the pieces without disrupting the glass,” Maverick says with a flourish.
“We’ll need to replace it with something of the same weight,” Phaedra says with a tiny frown. She picks up her laptop and starts typing. “There’s not much on the actual weight, but based on similar artifacts, I’d place it around a quarter of a pound.”
I raise an eyebrow. “That’s light.”
“It’s more of a delicate wreath than a heavy crown,” she replies with a light shrug. “I’ll weigh items on the plane to find something close.”
“Where’s the necklace you want?” I ask Maverick, trying not to sound irritated, but the smirk on his face tells me I didn’t quite manage it.
Phaedra’s delicate hand settles on mine, her thumb stroking across the back of it in a soothing manner, and damned if it doesn’t work.
The tension eases from my shoulders, although my irritation remains firmly in place.
He takes the pen from Phaedra and circles another square not too far away from the first room. “Once the spells are disabled, we can be in and out of the museum within ten minutes.”
“Looks like we’ve got a plan,” I state firmly, although I’m not feeling the least bit confident. It’s been a long time since I worked with anyone but my team. I don’t like it, but there’s no way I’m letting Phaedra do this without me.
Good thing. Charlie’s voice comes over the intercom, informing us of our descent.