8. Chapter Seven Laurent
Chapter Seven: Laurent
The moment Savannah agrees to my plan—er, offer to help her—we briefly part ways, agreeing to meet at the airport in an hour.
We both need to pack and take quick showers to rinse the smoke and soot off.
Once I’m organized and checked out, I head straight to the private airport.
I always make sure to fly privately and prefer a specific charter service who cater to their passengers.
The idea of stepping onto a commercial flight makes my skin crawl.
Being crammed into a small seat surrounded by grumpy passengers and their screaming, germ-infested kids is enough to give me nightmares. Non merci.
Luckily, I have enough money and charming persuasion to make sure we don’t have to wait long and can board the moment the charter jet is ready.
It’s not a large jet, but comfortable enough for the short flight to Denver.
I make sure Savannah is comfortably seated and then settle in next to her.
Once we’re securely buckled in the roomy leather seats, I make the call to Addie.
“Laurent, you’re alive,” she greets me. Hmm, she doesn’t sound quite as jubilant as I’d hoped.
“Thanks to you, Tootsie Pop,” I say easily. My wound is healing nicely and the painkiller I took earlier is keeping my discomfort at a manageable dull ache.
“You’re welcome.”
“If you recall,” I continue smoothly, “I walked away from a ruby and diamond necklace not too long ago. For you. Because I’m a self-sacrificing kind of guy when I want to be.” I ignore her snort of disbelief. “What was it called again?”
“The Phoenix Kiss.” From her dry tone, she knows I’m about to milk this favor she promised for everything she can give me.
“Yes, that’s right. You begged me to let you keep the necklace. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but you also promised to make it worth my sacrifice. Said you’d give me everything you had on a certain sapphire.”
Silence. Then, “I wouldn’t say I begged.” After another drawn-out moment of silence, she reluctantly adds, “But, yes, I did mention the sapphire.”
Beside me, Savannah is listening to our exchange closely, but she can only hear my end of the conversation because it’s not on speaker. “Time to pay me back in spades, Addie-Baddie.”
She sighs. “What do you want me to do, Laurent?”
“I’m going to make this really easy—I’m coming to you. On my way as we speak, actually. How about you and your team meet me and the lovely Savannah in, oh say, two and a half hours? Give or take with traffic.”
“Savannah is with you?”
I glance over at my traveling partner, a smile curving my mouth. “Yes. And looking lovelier than ever, I might add.” Savannah does that adorable scrunch thing with her nose, and I restrain myself from leaning in and nipping at those delectable freckles.
Another sigh. “Fine. I’ll call my team in, but I can’t guarantee their help. Especially Ryder. He’s probably going to want to stab you again after what happened in Austria with Delaney.”
“Who?” Confusion makes me squint. I had a run-in with Ryder and Bella Diamond at that castle, but who the hell is Delaney?
“Nevermind. You’ll find out soon enough.”
“See you soon then. Ciao.” I hang up and recline back in my seat. If all goes according to my plan, I’ll have that book back in my hot little hands in no time.
“From what I could hear, she didn’t sound very thrilled to help you,” Savannah mutters.
I tilt my head toward her. “She’s delighted to help me. Besides, she owes me big-time, and she damn well knows it.”
“What exactly is my part in all this? In case you’ve forgotten, I’m not a thief.”
“No, you’re my ace. My unrecognizable ace.”
She frowns. “I don’t understand.”
“Adam Voss is a billionaire who likes to obtain rare and priceless artifacts. And he’ll do it by any means necessary.
The man who stabbed me? He’s a rival thief on Voss’s payroll.
Now Voss has my book.” I lock eyes with her.
“And you’re going to get it back for me because you’re the only one Voss won’t recognize.
He knows me, Addie and the others. But you, ma chérie, can walk straight into his lair, under the guise of a housekeeper or pool girl or fucking plant waterer, and he’ll have no idea. ”
Her sage eyes widen, then she makes a face. “That’s a terrible idea,” she refutes, crossing her arms and inadvertently pushing up a very lovely, very tempting set of breasts.
My gaze dips, and I take a moment to admire their fullness, clearly evident as they stretch the fabric of her T-shirt. My fingers twitch, wanting to reach out and cup one perfect globe. Curling my hands into fists, I lift my attention back to her face.
“No, it’s perfect.” Her breasts, and the plan.
“What if the book is in a safe?”
“That’s why we’ll have Lincoln Decker in your ear. He’s a world-class safecracker.”
“No!” she practically squeaks. “I’ll get caught! I have the worst luck in the world, and if there’s a chance to screw it up, trust me, I will.”
“Have a little faith in yourself, chérie. I think you’ll do marvelously. Plus we’ll have Addie’s world-class crew on hand.”
“Sure. What do you care? I’m the one who’ll get caught with my hand in the safe when the alarm starts shrieking. You won’t be anywhere near when the police arrest me.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I assure her, doing my best to sound sincere. Because it’s true. I’d never let her take the fall for me. “I’ll be there to guide you every step of the way.”
She drops her face into her hands and mumbles something unintelligible. It’s adorably dramatic. But I think she said something about making a deal with the devil.
“Rest assured, I want that book badly enough that I won’t let you get in trouble.”
She looks up. “Why? What’s so important about some old copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? Is it a priceless edition?”
“To me it is.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, Laurent.” She tilts her blonde head, eyeing me more closely. “Is that even your real name? Or an alias?”
“It’s my name.” Well, my last name, anyway. No one has called me Rhys in twenty-five years. “It’s been a busy night and day. Why don’t you rest? You can even lay your head on my shoulder, if you want.”
Her nose once again scrunches at my generous offer.
“Thanks, but I’m okay.” She leans away from me, shoulder pressing against the window instead of using my arm as a pillow, and disappointment washes over me.
I was hoping to count her freckles while breathing in her bright scent.
Like sunshine and lemons. She’s eyeing me with so much mistrust, I’m beginning to take it personally.
“You’re quite the enigma. I’m not sure if you’re a good guy or a bad guy,” she finally declares, voice thoughtful.
“I’m a little of both,” I say, voice low and husky.
We land at a private airport and arrive at A-Squared Enterprises in a rental SUV.
It’s not exactly my style, but all they had available.
I suppose it’s practical and will help us keep a low profile, and I wanted to make sure we had our own mode of transportation, so a car service wasn’t ideal.
I pause to longingly admire the red Aston Martin Vanquish parked nearby.
Now that’s a beauty. Exactly what I like to drive when my options are unlimited.
I remember Pierce Brosnan drove one exactly like it in one of the James Bond films.
Yes, I’m much more James Bond than… Hell, who drives a truck like our rental? I don’t even know. It hurts my eyes to look at it for too long.
Taking Savannah by the elbow, I guide her through the door and we’re immediately met by Addie. The women exchange hugs and start talking at once.
“I’m so sorry I dragged you into this mess with him,” Addie says, slanting me a dark look.
Savannah glances my way, lips twitching. “I guess he’s not that bad.”
I slap a hand over my heart. “That hurts, ladies. Truly. Like a bullet to my heart.”
“He did pull me out of a burning building.”
“Ryland told me what happened to your restaurant. I’m so sorry, Savannah,” Addie laments, motioning for us to follow.
“I’m fine, by the way,” I announce cheerfully. “No burns. Thanks for asking.”
“You’re like a cat with nine lives, Laurent.” Addie rolls her eyes then motions for us to follow her. “And everyone is waiting with bated breath to hear your plan.”
Oh, I’m sure. Knowing Addie’s crew, they’re going to give me a hard time about putting Savannah in the line of fire.
Addie’s little ring of thieves is rather brilliant, and I have no doubt they’ll offer to sneak into Voss’s mansion before ever letting Savannah step foot inside, especially alone.
After all, just like she said, she has zero experience when it comes to this kind of thing.
Savannah knows it. Addie and her crew know it. And, I know it.
So, did I really need to bring Savannah along with me? Nah. Did I lure her to Denver because I wanted to spend more time with her? Abso-fucking-lutely. Because I’m sneaky like that. But I’ll never admit it. Nope, that’s my little secret.
The moment we step into the conference room, it’s like a wall of ice hits me.
Damn. Not one friendly face in the group.
Well, not for me, but they all say hello to Savannah.
In fact, Ryder McKay looks ready to jump across the table and strangle me with his bare hands.
I notice Bella Diamond sitting next to him and, last I heard, the idiot went and fell in love with her.
It’s clearly true, because only love would make a man act so rashly.
Before Ryder can launch himself through the air, Bella wraps her small hand around his and squeezes. She leans over, whispers something in his ear, and he seems to relax a bit. But he’s still glowering at me like I murdered his entire fucking family.
“Have a seat.” Addie sweeps a hand at two empty chairs while she sits down next to the illustrious former Detective Cole Vaughn.
How those two ever got together is beyond me. Vaughn had been trying to nail her ass for years. Now that they’re engaged and he’s working here at A-Squared, I guess that’s all changed. Although he’s definitely nailing her ass. Just in a different kind of way.
The other seats at the table are occupied by Knox Beckett, Addie’s righthand man and known charmer; Lincoln Decker, former MMA champ and safecracker; and the stunning Brighton Leroux, whose green eyes shine brighter than any emerald and are currently bouncing between me and Savannah, her bright red lips smirking.
“What’s this all about?” Cole demands as Savannah and I sit down.
“Yeah, if you think we’re helping you,” Ryder growls, “you can forget it. Not after that stunt you pulled in Austria with me and Delaney.”
I clear my throat. “Sorry about that. I tried to catch her.” I glance over at Bella—now apparently Delaney—who’s got me pinned in her sights with narrowed eyes. “But to be fair, I wasn’t expecting Miss Diamond to recklessly launch herself through the air at me and start wrestling the bag away.”
“We found the diamond first,” Bella states. “You locked us in the hidden room and stole it. I was merely getting it back. Which I did, and it all ended exactly as it should have. And please call me Miss Marquette. Bella Diamond no longer exists.”
“If you say so.” I can’t say I agree with how they handed over the long-lost purple diamond we discovered to the Denver Art Museum, but it’s too late now.
No use crying over spilled milk, so I answer Cole’s question instead.
“I’m not sure what Addie has told you, but I’ve been on the hunt for The Heart of Azure for a very long time.
Our favorite billionaire, Adam Voss, now holds a book that leads to its whereabouts.
The clues are hidden in an 1866 edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
I want that book—and I need your help retrieving it from Voss’s mansion. ”
My little spiel causes the room to erupt. While they all start blurting out why my plan is impossible and full of holes, I turn to look at Savannah, who is twisting her hands in her lap. Locking eyes with her wide sage green ones, I smile. “Hi,” I whisper, attempting to distract her from the chaos.
She blinks, and bites the inside of her cheek. “I don’t think they like your plan,” she whispers back.
“They’ll come around—and probably come up with a better idea,” I predict.
I know this group well enough to know they have their finger on the pulse of this town and all the action that goes down here.
If there’s a better way to get our hands on the book in Voss’s possession, they’ll know exactly how and when to strike.
Again, why should I do the heavy lifting when others can do it for me?
“Wait!” Addie lifts her hands, and everyone quiets down. “I have an idea.”
Of course, she does. I was counting on it.
Beside her, Knox shakes his head. “Infiltrating Voss’s mansion is going to be nearly impossible.”
Linc crosses his huge muscled arms and scowls. “It can’t be done.”
“He knows every single one of us,” Brighton adds.
“You’re right, B. Voss knows what we look like, and there’s no way to sneak inside.” A devilish smile curls Addie’s lips. “So we waltz right through the front door.”
“What?” Cole asks, dark brow furrowing. “How exactly do we do that?”
“We get dressed up, don masks, and stroll in with the rest of the guests this Saturday night,” she announces triumphantly.
“His annual masquerade party,” Bella—I mean, Delaney—murmurs thoughtfully. “I forgot about that.” She lets out a giddy laugh. “He won’t have any idea we’re right under his nose.”
“That’s genius, Addie,” Ryder agrees, and the others nod.
“We can all be there and get in and out with Voss none the wiser.” Addie looks over at me for approval.
“Absolutely brilliant,” I praise.
Adam Voss won’t know what—or who—hit him.