Chapter 54
CHRISTOPHER
Getting my head blown off was not how I was hoping to end the evening.
“Do you want to try a combination?”
It’s hard not to wince at the suggestion, the taunting grin of death sitting two feet in front of us.
“She’s got it hooked to the metal frame. The moment that door opens, everything inside is going up in flames.”
And so do we.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
“I mean, if you’ve got the wires tucked between the pressure point, then-
“No. I mean the vault.” Pursing her lips, Calista looks around the closet, “Why go through the effort of storing secure documents if you’re going to blow them up?”
A valid question and one I do not have an answer to.
Clambering to her feet, blonde hair disappears into the bedroom. I drag my ass off the floor and follow her, keeping a careful distance as a determined woman storms through the room.
“Maybe we should take a second to think about this.”
Drawers bang open and papers fall to the floor as Calista starts ripping shit apart. I watch with wide eyes as her determination teeters on the edge of desperation, a hysterical sight that has dread creeping along my spine.
“Darling, just stop.”
“It has to be here.”
“Calista, we found the vault.” Ignoring the pinch in my chest, I take a step closer, “We did all we could.”
“That’s not good enough.”
Her words slash through the air, serrated and desperate to make a wound. I watch her tear apart silk pillows, throwing feathers across the bed as she searches for something that doesn’t want to be found.
My heart feels heavy as I walk over and wrap my arms around her. Pull her tight against my chest until she stops rebelling against my hold.
“It’s over.”
Her body trembles in my arms, not yet ready to give up the fight.
“No.”
“Calista.” Running my hands through her hair, I brush it back softly, “We lost, darling. But that’s okay.”
Emerald eyes stare back at me, lost and a little duller than before.
“We came pretty fucking close and that’s okay.”
When she doesn’t respond, I try again.
“Not all plans work out the way they’re supposed to. Sometimes the best ones fall off the track and all you can do is hold on and hope it’ll take you where you want to go.”
“The mirror.”
“It’s not about what you see in the mirror, darling.”
“Devil.” Gripping my shoulders, Calista shakes me lightly, “Turn around.”
“What?”
“The mirror is in the centre of the room.” Her gaze brightens as a spark ignites, “And for a woman who does not put much stock into her appearance...”
“She put it there for a reason.”
I whirl around, confronting my God-awful reflection and the silver frame twisting its way around the glass. Curling at the corners like plumes of smoke, the elegant design hangs smoothly against the wall, perfectly flat except for a small jut near the bottom.
Fucking bingo.
Prying the heavy mother fucker off the wall, I don’t have to look at the gaping hole to know the vault is inside. I can see it written plainly across Calista’s face, the anticipation bleeding through her gorgeous complexion.
“This is it.” She breathes out slowly, taking in the old-fashioned safe. The combination dial and simple handle I’ve cracked too many times to count.
“Now we’re fucking talking.”
Adrenaline drips through my veins, filling my body with the high that comes from a job almost done. The last stretch before the finish line, the last few seconds before we hit the mark.
I run into the closet and grab my tools. Calista is vibrating, almost shaking as I screw the drill bit on and approach the safe.
“Wait.”
Trepidation ripples across her features, unexpected anxiety radiating off the woman in front of me.
“Yes?”
“I... never mind.” Swallowing thickly, she nods, “Do your thing.”
“Do you want to try a combination?”
“No.” A faint smile brushes her lips, “I want you to be the one to open it.”
Words that only mean something to a thief, I feel the jolt of pleasure seep into my system like a hit of fucking dopamine.
Pressing my bit to the side of the safe, I start drilling.
Metal shavings go flying as I pierce the surface, busting through the side of the box until it’s deep enough that I can see the glint from the mechanism within.
Threading a cord through the opening, I keep my eyes trained on the screen of my borescope, tilting and shifting the camera until I can get a good shot of the three wheels.
“Don’t fail me now.”
Muttering beneath my breath, I turn the dial all the way to the right, picking up each wheel on the way. Once I’ve got them all lined up, I start cranking the dial left, watching the notch hit each mark.
“Seven.”
My mouth feels fucking dry as I move to the second wheel, twisting the dial until the wheel notch comes back into view.
“Seventeen.”
Another rotation and suddenly I’m seeing the holy grail.
“Three.”
A click rings out and the door shifts open.
Holy fucking shit.
Stacks of files and miscellaneous papers line the top two rows of the safe. Pictures and handwritten notes flutter to the floor as I grab the first file and read off the names of the town's board members.
“...and Ursela Seaborn. Darling, we’ve found the keys to Wolf Hollow.”
Letting out a whoop, I toss it to the side and grab the next few folders.
“She’s got a million documents in here. Where do you think the offshore accounts will be?”
Glancing over my shoulder, I find Calista busy riffling through the mounds of paper I tossed aside. Her look of concentration is downright scary, so I turn my attention back to the open safe.
“What is it you’re looking for?”
Tugging another stack into my arms, I let out a curse when half of them slip out and fall onto the floor. I lower myself down and start picking them up randomly, sending paperclips flying everywhere as a stack of photographs tumbles out.
“If you give me some direction, maybe I can...”
Blonde hair catches my eye and everything else fades away.
Sliding the picture across the floor, I stare at the woman I love kissing someone else. Laughing and smiling against another man’s mouth as the shot is taken, a look of pure adoration taking over her face.
I feel fucking sick as I pick up the next photo and then the next. It’s the same guy in every shot, his arms and body wrapped around Calista in a way that makes me want to shoot somebody.
The last photo lies face down on the ground, but whatever reassurance I thought I’d find gets flushed away with the happy smile stretched wide across the woman’s face.
It’s too bright. And her eyes...
They’re not right.
“Oh God.”
Nausea surges as I turn the photograph over. Stare at the ink scrawled along the back until it starts to blur.
Aurora & Philip welcome you to attend the christening of their beloved daughter.
There’s a birth certificate clipped to the back, a flimsy piece of paper that wouldn’t deserve a second glance were it not for the name written along the bottom.
Calista Charming.