Chapter 6
The Ombra?” Sable practically shrieked into the phone, which earned her gawking expressions from a passing family. Realizing this wasn’t a conversation to be discussed in public, she rose from the park bench and aimed for her apartment.
“It’s just a rumor,” Peter said. “No one has heard from The Ombra in years. Most assume they’re in Europe, but there are whispers they’ve returned for the egg.”
“Shit,” Sable cursed under her breath.
“I might be wrong.”
“But you might be right.” Sable ran a hand over her head, itching to yank the wig off and free her ears.
The Ombra was a name whispered with both fear and respect in her world.
The Shadow. No one knew who they were. They didn’t know if the thief was a man or a woman, human or supernatural.
They were an utter mystery, but one thing everyone knew with absolute certainty was that The Ombra was the greatest thief alive…
and the most dangerous. If The Shadow was coming for the egg, this competition was over.
They would win, and they wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone in their way… Cash included.
“Have there been any confirmed sightings?” Sable asked. “A competition this prolific would surely draw their eye, but it’ll also inspire ridiculous rumors. Is there definitive proof they’ve returned from Europe?”
“No,” Peter said. “It’s just whispers, and you’re right. I’ve heard crazy things about this competition, so this could be all talk, but I wanted you to be aware. Keep your eyes open and be careful. No number of zeros is worth ending up in the morgue.”
“I agree,” Sable said. No prize was worth Cash’s life either.
When she was younger, she’d looked up to The Ombra, but their increased violence caused her to lose respect for the legend.
She’d set out to surpass The Ombra and make the name of The Rabbit’s Foot even more famous, but if that goal cost Cash his life, she didn’t want it.
They hadn’t gone out on another date since the tacos and margaritas, but they’d talked almost daily.
The Fae guard was more dangerous than Peter had predicted, and not because he was a decorated soldier.
But because he was the man who held her future in his eyes.
An alarm sounded on Peter’s end of the phone line, and her friend grunted. The sound of someone tripping followed his voice, and he grunted again, this time so awkwardly that Sable couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
“Hey, I have to go,” Peter said as the trill grew louder.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Of course. I just forgot I set this damn thing to remind me when to make the next move. Scared the hell out of me, though.”
“Oh, very secretive.”
“Always, my friend.”
“As long as you aren’t helping the competition.”
“I would never, and you know that,” Peter said. “I’m insulted that you would even say that.”
“I’ll text you later.” Sable chuckled.
“Not if I text you first. Bye, girl.”
Peter hung up, and she shoved the phone into her pocket.
With The Ombra possibly on the playing field, her timeline had been cut drastically short.
She had to make her move soon. If she was smart, she would call Cash and flirt the information out of him, but the thought of tricking him into helping her made her sick.
She didn’t want him to participate in something that would get him fired, so she’d stopped asking about the museum.
Everything she’d learned, she’d discovered on her own, and when she talked to him, they spoke about normal couple topics.
In moments of weakness, she wondered if she should save him and give up, but with players like Corvid and The Ombra in play, her absence would hurt him, not help.
If she stole the egg, she’d make sure he was safe.
The Shadow would make no such accommodations.
Sable couldn’t leave. Winning was no longer just about her.
Yes, she wanted the recognition, but her triumph would also save the man she couldn’t stop thinking about.
He would never want to see her again, but at least she was a thief of honor.
She would steal the prize the right way, and no one would die, especially not the Fae male her heart craved.
The guard she saw in her dreams... and daylight fantasies, for she swore his gorgeous visage was walking toward her.
“Sable?” Cash waved, and she jerked to a stop, doing a double take at the towering man and adorable boy rushing for her. She wasn’t daydreaming. He was standing two feet in front of her with a football in one hand and Clover’s fingers in the other.
“Sable? I thought that was you.” A smile spread over Cash’s lips as she slid to a surprised halt before him.
She clearly hadn’t noticed them approach her, lost in her own world, but Cash had spotted her from yards away.
He’d seen a stunning brunette from across the field and couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Guilt festered in his chest for finding a stranger so gorgeous when he was dating Sable.
They’d only been on two dates, yet it felt like a betrayal to stare longingly at another woman.
The moment he was close enough to see her features, though, his attraction made sense.
His mystery park visitor was none other than the woman invading his heart.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. He wanted to wrap his arms around her waist, dip her low, and kiss the hell out of her, but he settled for a friendly embrace for his son’s sake.
“Just going for a walk,” she said as she accepted his hug, and by the sparkle in her eyes, she was also imagining the greeting she would’ve enjoyed if they weren’t in a park full of families. “I’ve been cooped up all day and needed to see sunlight.”
“We were playing football,” Clover said, “and now we’re getting ice cream to cool off.”
“Sounds fun,” Sable said.
“Come with us,” Cash said before he realized he was speaking.
He hadn’t seen her in a week, and while he didn’t want to admit how enamored he was, he missed her company all the same.
Their chemistry confused him because she was human, yet he felt their connection in his chest. It manifested as a slightly uncomfortable yet addictive tugging, and it only calmed when she was near.
He’d never experienced this pull before, but he’d witnessed it happen time and time again to his brethren.
It was the touch of fate pulling soulmates together…
only he didn’t think Fae could bond with mortals.
Cupid flickered through his thoughts. He was a Fae who’d fallen for a human, and while that gave Cash some hope, their situation was vastly different.
If a mortal was Cupid’s true mate, they would survive an arrow shot from his golden bow.
His bow wasn’t the cute Valentine’s prop either.
It was a massive and lethal weapon, the golden brutality as long as the giant warrior’s torso.
Being pierced through the heart by its arrow would rip a human to shreds, but the woman he fell in love with survived his aim.
The tradition bound a mortal to an immortal’s life, granting them an eternity together.
Cash and his position as a museum security guard had no such ritual. Sable was human, and there was nothing he could do but lose her in a few decades.
“Are you sure?” Sable’s gaze flicked to Clover. “I don’t want to interrupt family time.”
“Every night is family time.” Clover’s sarcasm earned a laugh from Sable and a stare from his father.
“Well, apparently my kid is sick of spending time with just me, so you should definitely come,” Cash teased, earning him a jab in the stomach from Clover.
“That’s not what I meant,” the boy said. “But you should still come. They have really cool ice cream at this parlor, and it’s in the park, so there are lots of nice places to sit.”
Cash didn’t miss how his son emphasized ‘places to sit,’ and by the blush on Sable’s face, neither did she. His kid needed to chill because, at this rate, he’d be planning their wedding within the month.
“Well, I love cool ice cream, so why not?” Sable smiled, and Cash’s heart rate increased. Maybe his son wasn’t the only one that needed to chill.
“Yes!” Clover punched the air triumphantly. “It’s this way.” He turned and walked off down the path. Cash shrugged at Sable, and together they took off after him.
“It’s okay if you hold my dad’s hand. I know you guys like each other,” Clover blurted after a few minutes, and Cash glared at the back of his son’s head.
He’d have to talk to the kid when they got home.
The boy wanted him to find love, but he didn’t want Clover freaking Sable out.
They hadn’t spent time with her as a family yet, and getting ice cream as a trio would introduce her to the reality of dating a single father.
They were a package deal, and if things worked out between them, she would become an instant step-parent to a ten-year-old.
Sable cleared her throat, and Cash worried she was uncomfortable until he realized her outstretched hand was waiting expectantly for him.
“Well,” she shrugged. “He said it was okay.”
Cash smirked at how cute she was and captured her hand, slipping his fingers between hers.
Both she and her son wanted him to hold her hand, so he had no choice but to obey.
He was outnumbered, but he surprisingly loved it, and he didn’t release her hand until paying for their ice cream order demanded both his hands.
“Dad, have I ever had mint chocolate chip?” Clover asked as the trio left the cute shop and aimed for a bench by the fountain.
“I don’t think so,” Cash said. “You have always been a strictly vanilla with sprinkles kind of kid.”