Page 75 of Captive of Outlaws

The five of us sit by the pool, staring at a heap of immeasurable worth. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires—it took Tuck and LJ a good fifteen minutes to ferry it all back from the car. Now it sits like a dragon’s treasure hoard in a movie, but real, and piled up right in front of my actual eyes.

Hence my reaction.

It’s a brilliantly clear night now that we’re home, with nothing but the creaking sounds of the forest at night and the gentle lapping of the water as a soundtrack. I look from Rob to Will to Tuck to LJ. None of them speak, at first, but LJ’s the only one to glare at me.

Of course, I think. Of course he couldn’t acknowledge actually doing something nice for me. I roll my eyes and sigh. But I do take my mother’s necklace out from its safekeeping place in my dress and lay it out with the rest of the treasure, a simple solitary gem amongst a glut of glitter.

“And you guys do this all the time?” I say, still in a state of disbelief. “How? How is this even possible? How did you pull it off? How did no one see you go in? How did—”

“So manyquestions,” Will says.

I roll my eyes, but I’m actually a little self-conscious of my curiosity. “Sor-ry,” I say petulantly. “It’s my first heist. And I didn’t exactly see any of it happen.” I turn back to the others. “Seriously, though. This is...this is fucking incredible. How did nobody catch you with all this?”

Will throws up his hands and shakes his head. LJ, of course, is stonily silent. Tuck blows out a breath and gives Rob a look. “You wanna handle those, or?”

Rob leans back, stretching out his lean form on the chaise longue, and looks back at Tuck. “No chance those questions are rhetorical, you don’t think?”

“Knowing her?” Will says. “Doubt it.”

“Hm.” Rob rubs his chin. He seems...pleased with himself. Like he’s enjoying stringing me along. “So we should tell her, then? For real?”

“C’mon,” I say, playing along. “Pretty please?”

“I don’t see why not,” Tuck chimes in. “She knows what we do.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

LJ gets to his feet, and the good mood of the moment shatters.

“Am I the only one with any sense, here?” he goes on. “Or are you guys all just thinking with your dicks?”

The calm air is tense, taut. I don’t move, embarrassed to draw attention to myself.

“You know who she is,” he goes on. “Whatshe is—”

“And your point is?” Will interrupts.

“So you’re going to tell her the whole truth?” LJ barks. “Or just tell her what we are? Because either way, it’s fucking stupid of you.”

What we are?

“Disagree,” Rob says sternly, and gets to his feet, too. “Like it or not,Johan,this is my house. And you swore an oath to me, to these guys. A blood oath. You’re here for the greater good—”

“And how is she part of that?” LJ roars.

A long, tight pause stretches between them.

“Say you don’t feel it,” Rob says. “Say you don’t feel it when you look at her, when you sense her, when you smell her. I dare you.”

A muscle LJ’s jaw works.

“She’s more than where she came from,” Rob goes on. “That shouldn’t define the rest of her life. She deserves a fresh start. Just like the rest of us do. Just like Igavethe rest of you.”

There’s another pause. Then LJ wheels on me, eyes flaring with heat. “Look, Princess. I’m sure you’re a lovely girl. But you don’t belong here. With us. I think they’re making a mistake.” He looks back at Rob, Will, Tuck. “But you guys want to blow everything up just to show off, be my fucking guest.”

And with that, he disappears—long strides away and a slam of the garden gate.

Chapter Twenty

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