Chapter 3
CHRISTOPHER
“Do you have to leave?”
Wet kisses pepper the column of my neck. Dark hair is sprawled along my chest, the lithe and supple body belonging to…
Emily? Emilia?
“Sorry, darling, I’ve got to run.” Gently pushing the beautiful woman aside, I snag my rumpled jeans from the floor, “I’ll call you the next time I’m passing through, yeah?”
“You better.”
She grins, rolling over and offering me a spectacular view of her tits. I take a moment to admire them – one last squeeze for the road – before pulling my shirt over my head and grabbing my wallet from her nightstand.
The crew went a little too hard on the celebrations last night. What started out as a toast to newly acquired diamonds quickly became a drinking spree at the closest pub. A few beers later and Ella – Eva? – showed me just how talented she was with her tongue.
So I returned the favour.
“How did you get so flexible?” Her fingernail brushes the bumpy ridge along my back, causing tension to ripple through my body.
“Trade secret.” Quickly grabbing her hands, I reposition myself so she can’t touch it again, “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you.”
She laughs softly, “Not one to give a straight answer, are you?”
“Does that mean you don’t want to see me again?”
Ignoring my teasing smile, she rolls out of bed and presses a kiss to my cheek, “We both know I won’t be seeing you again. Take care, Christopher.”
“You too…” Shit. What was her name?
“Eliza.”
“That’s right. Eliza.” I give her a sheepish smile and head for the door. Her number never did make it into my phone, but even if it did, chances are it would go unnoticed.
I like fun. I like flirting and finding all the different ways a man can make a woman come. It’s safe and harmless, the kind of hookups that suit the revolving door to my bedroom just fine.
“Aren’t you a sore sight for my eyes.”
Horace greets me with his middle finger as I walk into the airplane hanger. Our base is composed of concrete and support beams, made homely by the rows of sports cars we’ve stolen over the years.
It’s an open concept system except we take it to the next level. Our kitchen, living room, makeshift office and garage are all in the same space. Snippets of conversation can be heard from every section, offering neither privacy nor a moment of peace.
It’s chaotic and completely irrational, but for a bunch of runaways who never had a safe space, we tend to crave each other’s company all the more.
Even when someone is taking the piss.
“It’s ‘a sight for sore eyes,’ you dimwit.” Jasper peeks his head over the row of monitors we got him ages ago.
“I know that’s the saying. What I was trying to say is fuck you, Christopher for abandoning the crew on our last night together.”
“Awe, did you miss me?”
“No.” Horace sniffs, turning his ruddy cheeks away from me, “I didn’t miss you in the slightest. It’s the principle of it all.”
“Lay off, Horace. The man was getting in one last fuck before he leaves.” Mae shoots me a grin from her position on the couch, “Did you break another heart on your way out the door?”
Jasper snickers, “It’s the tattoos. Ladies are just hoping to fill the empty space above his heart.”
“Little do they know that spot is already taken by you.” Throwing him a wink, I saunter over and pull out a barstool next to a sullen Horace.
He’s a big boy, all thick arms and legs with a belly that pushes him just past the fashionable dad bod. The man is built like an oversized teddy bear and I know for a fact he’s got the heart to match.
“It’s only six months, mate.” Nudging his shoulder gently, I wait for the grumpy bear to look at me, “Plenty of time to fuck around before I get back.”
“It’s not the same.” Horace rubs his nose gruffly, “You’ve never done a job without us before.”
Guilt hits me like a sledgehammer, my decision to leave this group of misfits even temporarily putting an ache in my chest.
These assholes are my family.
And I’m leaving them for the first time in ten years.
“He won’t be doing it without us.” Jasper flicks the back of Horace’s head before pulling out a stool and sitting down beside us, “Who do you think will be walking him through every step of this thing?”
“Christopher wouldn’t be able to tie his shoes without us.” Mae chirps in the comment, squeezing her small frame onto the stool my ass is perched on.
“Guess it’s a good thing I don’t wear laces.” Shooting back the remark, I pull her into my arms and squeeze her long and hard.
The four of us found each other at the lowest point in our lives.
Jasper got kicked out of his house at thirteen, the day his parents found out their only son was gay.
Horace happened to be hiding in the same warehouse that night, the older boy having grown tired of bouncing around the foster care system.
The two of them became a dynamic duo until Mae came along, broken and bruised and the perfect fit for their misshapen family. I was the last one to join the crew, but that didn’t stop any of them from welcoming me with open arms.
We’ve all got trauma. Trust issues that run a mile long and scars that go far deeper than the uneven grooves of our skin. We’re more than a little fucked in the head, our morals skewered and nothing short of delusional.
But together, we found a home.
“Remind me again why we can’t come with you?”
“Only homeowners, blood relations and employees are permitted within the borders of Wolf Hollow.” Jasper responds for me, a slight frown rippling his dark complexion, “Anyone who falls beyond those specifications are sentenced to death.”
Horace blinks in surprise, “They still have the death penalty?”
“It’s more of an… unofficial justice system.” Jasper winces, catching my eye, “There are no laws in Wolf Hollow except those stipulated by the head of the hierarchy.”
I blow out a breath, casting my eyes over the plans and blueprints laid out on the kitchen table. I’ve got a matching set already packed, the fine lines and bullet points summarizing the next six months of my life.
“The Dragon runs the show. A woman known for child abductions and human trafficking, she controls the wealthiest members of Wolf Hollow. There’s a counsel and a board, but nothing goes through without the Dragon’s approval.”
Mae sighs, “You don’t have to do this, you know. We've got more than enough money to tide us over until the next job.”
“Shh, he was just getting to the good part.” Horace waves a hand around, as if he hasn’t heard this plan a million times, “Tell us more about the scary lady.”
“There’s not much more to tell. Maleficent Drache is known for being a vindictive and merciless woman, nothing short of the creature she designs herself after. The last person who stole from her ended up being tortured for hours before being burned alive.”
Horace grimaces, “God. The smell would have been horrible.”
“The worst.” My lips split into a wide smile, the rush of adrenaline already sinking into my system, “Which is why I’m not going to get caught. Get in, get out, with as much cash and treasure as I can find. I’ll warm up with the smaller mansions before going for the Drache Manor.”
It’s the mother load of the mother loads.
The score that will change our lives forever.
The problem with being a professional thief is there’s only so long you can play the game.
One of these days, I’m going to be too old to climb rafters and Jasper will be too slow with his computer.
Our luck is bound to run out, and I don’t want it to happen before we have a nest egg to fall back on.
This crew has given me everything. Love, loyalty and the kind of support I never thought I deserved.
Now it’s my turn to give them everything. To secure a future for them that isn’t behind the bars of a cell or left dead in a ditch somewhere.
And it all starts with this heist.
“What about the daughter?”
Mae’s question pulls me out of my thoughts. Her skin tone is lighter than Jasper’s, a warm olive colour that pulls out the specks of blue in her dark irises.
She knows me better than the boys. Not because she’s seen me naked – an accident we agreed to never act on again – but because she’s seen my scars.
The ones hiding beneath the inked surface. The ones I don’t talk about and the ones she refuses to talk about as well.
The boys carry their own trauma, but Mae and I are forced to wear our damage for the world to see. It’s a connection forged through blood and ink, a tradition we started long before it was fashionable to have a tattoo sleeve.
Every time we find a new scar, we cover it up.
The world might have hurt us, but I’ll be damned if anyone gets to see just how badly.
“Besides a photo of a little blonde girl, we don’t know anything about Calista Drache.
” Clearing my throat, I think about the one person who could fuck up this entire plan, “Rumour has it she attends the college with the other prodigies, so that’s where I’m going to start.
Touch base, get a feel for the crowd, and find a way into the inner circle.
Once I have enough data, I’ll get Jasper to draft up a 3D model and we can start working on assembling a crew. ”
And that’s the bitch of it all.
Having to assemble a brand new crew while working a job.
Every variable in this situation is less than ideal, and based on the cynical look on Jasper’s face, he feels it too.
From the foreign territory to the unknown enemies, I am going in completely blind, shooting my way through the darkness and hoping something takes a hit.
It’s stupid and reckless, but I do have one thing on my side.
The element of surprise.
As if reading my mind, Jasper goes ahead and opens his big fat mouth, “Your name is known by every major police station in Europe. The moment someone starts sniffing, they’re going to find you.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not hiding then.” I offer their dubious faces a confident smile, “After all these years, I would have thought you had more faith in me.”
Horace opens his mouth to say something, but Mae cuts him off with a look.
“We do have faith in you. It’s just…” Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, biting nervously, “You’re used to being the big bad wolf in our part of town. That’s not going to be the case over there.”
At my affronted look, Jasper quickly jumps in, “What Mae is trying to say is, you can’t just walk into Wolf Hollow with a cocky smirk and a bag full of bad intentions. These people are dangerous, Deville. Not the kind of dangerous we’re used to.”
Before I can let my irritation show, Horace throws his arms around Mae and me and pulls us in for a cuddle.
“Fuck it, I am going to miss you. Especially knowing you’re going to get the shit kicked out of you.”
“Why does everyone think I’m the loser in this situation?”
“The rumours, Deville.” Letting out a loud sigh, Jasper slinks over and joins the group hug, “You haven’t heard the rumours.”
We stay huddled like that for a long time. Someone’s tear hits my cheek and it doesn’t matter whose it is.
We all feel it.
“Alright, enough sappy shit. I’ve got to get ready.” Shaking my family members off my body, I force myself to swallow the emotion back down, “Got people to rob and things to steal.”
“That’s the spirit!” Horace thumps my back, and just like that, we’re back to the ragtag crew known for finding the best sort of trouble there is.
God. I’m going to miss these fuckers.
“Wait a second. How are you going to make it past the border if you’re not a homeowner?”
Ah, yes. And then there’s that variable as well.
Mae and Horace are looking at me suspiciously while Jasper scurries to hide behind his monitors. The coward gives me a weak thumbs up, his position enabling him to duck easily should Mae decide to throw something.
She has a terrible tendency of doing that.
“I happen to be related to a new homeowner.” Grabbing my keys off the counter, I start walking towards my car, “So that won’t be an issue.”
“Who?”
It’s ironic, the fact I have to leave my family, the people who love me the most in this world, to return to the one person who taught me I wasn’t enough.
I would never be enough.
“My mother.”
Mae makes a choking sound and I don’t have to look at Horace to know his jaw is on the ground. Without giving them a second glance, I climb into my car and turn the engine.
Remember you’re doing this for them.