Chapter 6
Chapter Six
C arefully, Sofie climbed out the ground floor window, trying not to make a sound.
She was dressed all in black—black leggings and long-sleeved shirt. Black cap and a black backpack on one shoulder.
She was focused and determined.
She had a job to do.
Guilt nipped at her. She’d pretended to fall asleep to avoid Rome. She sighed. She knew he was sleeping somewhere downstairs in a guest room.
Sofie had spent the last hour disconnecting this window’s security sensor to ensure that it wouldn’t show on the security system. She’d reactivate it when she returned.
She crouched near a tree and glanced at her Garmin Tactix Delta watch. The hands were luminous in the darkness. She needed to wait twenty seconds.
Locked in her room, she’d worked on her laptop. She’d run an encryption program that she’d paid a paranoid and brilliant Ukrainian hacker a small fortune for. It allowed her to anonymously surf the web, and send encrypted emails.
She dug up everything she could on the theft of the jewels today. It was definitely the Black Foxes.
Her belly clenched. Bastards .
After some clever hacking, even if she did say so herself, she’d tracked the car involved in the theft. They’d removed the license plates, but the sedan had a scratch on it.
That had led her to Dante Luzzago.
She’d suspected Dante was a member of the Black Fox gang for a long time. He was a smarmy, self-important asshole.
He’d rented a house in the waterside suburb of Seacliff.
And tonight, she was going to break in and steal back the jewelry.
A guard walked past and she held her breath, willing him to keep walking. She was getting ready to move, when she heard a deep rumble.
“Everything all right?”
Rome’s voice made her freeze. Her pulse rabbited.
“All fine,” the guard replied.
The men talked some more, her nerves stretching taut, then Rome finally headed back into the house.
She released a soundless breath. She waited, checked again, then sprinted through the minute blind spot in the cameras.
She hit the sidewalk in front of the house and fell into a relaxed walk. Her pulse was fast, and she took a few breaths. Just out for an evening stroll.
She smiled, exhilaration filling her. Excitement hit her with every heartbeat.
This was an unconventional pastime for a princess, but she felt no guilt stealing from thieves.
For Tori.
She turned down a side street, and ahead, a blue Tesla was parked at the curb.
Perfect .
She’d arranged the car anonymously online. She glanced around, reached under the wheel well on the back passenger side, and found a magnetic key box.
She pulled out the key, bleeped the locks, and slid inside. She didn’t use the car’s GPS, but instead, used her burner phone to plug in the address she needed.
Sofie loved driving, but she so rarely got the chance. The Tesla was a beauty.
She navigated toward Seacliff, mentally preparing for the job ahead. She had to focus a little bit on the driving, though, since in Caldova they drove on the left-hand side of the road.
Robin Hood was about to strike.
This had all started two years ago. Still grieving for Tori, she’d been at a ball when a tiara had been stolen by the jewelry thieves.
Sofia had been in the right place at the right time. She’d seen the thief—he’d been one of the guests—with the stolen crown.
It’d been left on a desk for a second, and Sofia had stolen it back.
She’d left it for the owner to find.
The next robbery she heard about, she’d researched who could be responsible for the stolen gems. She’d planned out the job and stolen them back.
Robin Hood had been born.
The European press had gone nuts over the jewel thief who stole back stolen, priceless jewelry and returned it to museums or its owners.
Her first jobs had been messy and not well planned. She’d smartened up. She’d spent time training with palace security, and scoured various sources for information.
She’d met a retired French thief who’d taught her to pick locks and evaluate security systems, and she wasn’t too bad at cracking a safe.
The world loved Robin Hood. The mysterious thief who returned stolen jewels and pointed authorities in the direction of several members of the jewelry gang.
Some had been arrested, some had wriggled off the charges, but not all.
Many were from the aristocracy of Europe—bored, spoiled men and women, a few who were desperate to reinvigorate their dwindling family wealth.
But the men responsible for attacking Tori were proving elusive.
Sofie kept a cool, slightly bored face in public that drew as little attention as possible. She needed to keep what Robin Hood did behind-the-scenes strictly secret.
Once she reached Seacliff, she parked the car several streets away from the house. She swung her backpack on her shoulder and power-walked toward Dante’s rented house. She was just a woman out exercising.
After a few minutes, she spotted the house ahead. It was a little gaudy. It was painted a terracotta color with cream accents, and had delusions of being a Mediterranean mansion. She suspected it would have a million-dollar view out the back.
Pausing in the shadows, she lifted a set of binoculars. There was a guard at the front door, but none roving around that she could see. She’d already checked, and learned that the house had no dogs, and no window sensors on the top floor.
She scanned the upper level of the house. There .
Sofie smiled. A top floor window was open and she could see a sheer curtain fluttering in the breeze. There was a convenient tree right nearby.
She snuck closer, sticking to the shadows. She quickly scaled the stucco fence and dropped into a crouch on the other side.
She waited, hunkered down on the narrow strip of grass. There was no movement.
Sofie quickly reached the tree, and climbed upward. She was grateful her yoga kept her flexible and in good shape. With a quiet grunt, she edged out along one limb. There were several meters between the tree and the window, but she could make it. She leaped.
Sofie caught the window ledge with her gloved hands and peered over, using all her strength to hold herself.
The muscles in her arms burned. God, okay, maybe she needed to do some more yoga, or get to the gym.
The room was empty, and she climbed in through the window.
It was a bedroom. The king-size bed was a mess of tangled sheets. She heard water running in the adjoining bathroom.
Crap . She dropped to the floor on one side of the bed.
Footsteps. Carefully, she peered around the edge of the bed.
A tall, extremely thin woman in black lingerie emerged, wrapping a silky kimono around her body. Her long fall of black curls hit between her shoulder blades.
She stalked out of the room.
Sofie popped up. She quickly crossed the room and at the door, checked the hallway.
Empty.
She jogged down the corridor, counting the doors.
This one . She checked and found the door unlocked. She shook her head. Dante was careless, considering what he’d stolen.
It was unsurprising; he wasn’t the smartest person she’d ever met.
Behind the door was an office. It was dominated by heavy, dark-wood furniture, and lots of shelves crammed with old books.
There was a simple metal lockbox resting in the center of the desk.
Sofia rolled her eyes. It took her three seconds to pick the lock. She flicked the lid open.
“ Hello ,” she whispered.
Inside was nestled a necklace, earrings, and a matching bracelet.
She quickly opened her backpack.
She wrapped the jewels in a protective cloth, then pulled out a small makeup bag. It had a false bottom and she set them in place. On top rested a mess of makeup, tampons, and creams.
She slipped the case back in her backpack, then set a small card in the lockbox.
It had a picture of a bow and arrow in it.
Quickly, she headed out of the office. She needed to get back to the bedroom, climb out, and get gone.
She darted into the empty bedroom. She started climbing out the window, just as she heard angry voices heading closer to the room.
Shit . Sofie half fell out the window, gripping the ledge hard, her body slamming against the side of the house.
She peered over the ledge.
The thin woman entered, waving her arms around. Dante followed.
They were arguing, spitting Italian at each other.
Sofie bit her lip. She couldn’t jump to the tree, or they might see or hear her.
Suddenly, Dante grabbed the woman roughly and threw her on the bed. He landed on top of her and they went at each other, tearing each other’s clothes off.
Ew . Dante had a swarthy, handsome face, but a soft body from too much time spent partying and drinking. She had no desire to see it naked.
Sofie looked down. It was a longish drop, but there was a patch of grass below her.
Here goes…
She let go.
She hit the ground and bent her legs. She fell on her ass, hard.
Ouch . Wincing, she rubbed her hip and checked everything. Nothing broken, but she’d have some bruises.
She sprinted toward the fence and climbed over.
A second later, she was free and clear. She lifted her cell phone, pretending to talk to someone about looking for her missing dog.
When she slid into the Tesla, she grinned. As she headed out of Seacliff, she threw her head back and laughed.
She’d done it!
Exhilaration was a little addictive. She had to admit that she liked the thrill.
She had one quick stop to make—to deliver the jewelry back to its rightful owner—then she had to sneak back into her own house.
Sneaking out was harder than breaking into Dante’s house, thanks to Rome.
She yawned. She really needed some sleep.
Sofie quickly delivered the jewels, leaving them on the back doorstep.
She left the Tesla parked a few blocks from her rental house, then she snuck past her guards, and climbed back into the house. She crept upstairs and made it into her bedroom.
Phew . Releasing a breath, she dumped her gear and stashed it under her bed.
After a quick shower, she was still feeling pumped. She looked at herself in the mirror and grinned.