Page 67 of Princess of Thieves

My stomach tightens. Just what I need—the new girl. Hopefully she’s a fast typist, at least.

“Hi there! What can I do for you today?” she chirps, her voice a bit too high-pitched, and I have to stop myself from grimacing.

“I’m here to...take ownership of some accounts. My late father’s accounts,” I add, sliding the paperwork across the counter. “I was told I needed to do this in person.” I keep my voice steady, even though everything inside feels wound tight. Kimmy glances down at the papers, her pink-polished fingers hesitating as she pulls them toward her.

“Oh, okay, um, let me just...” she says, frowning slightly at the papers as if she’s not sure which direction is up. “I’m so sorry about your father, by the way,” she adds quickly, like she forgot.

“Why?” I ask sharply, before I can stop myself. “Did you know him?”

“Oh,” Kimmy says, faltering. “I...no. I’m new here. I just meant I’m sorry for your loss, is all.”

Oh indeed. I feel like an asshole. I force a smile, hoping it doesn’t look as strained as it feels. “Thank you,” I manage.Idiot, I think.It’s probably better that she doesn’t know him. Now if she could only move faster than paint drying, we’d be in business.

She starts typing, but I can see the nervousness in her movements—she’s unsure, her fingers hovering over the keys like they might break something. My eyes flick toward Will,who’s leaning casually by the door, looking like he doesn’t have a care in the world. But I can feel the tension in the air around him, his eyes darting over the room, out the windows, everywhere. He wants out of here as much as I do.

“So, um, you’re new in town?” Kimmy asks, glancing up at me. “Or just here for, uh, family stuff?” She winces a little, like she knows it’s a bad question, but it’s already out there.

“Just...taking care of my father’s affairs,” I say, trying to sound casual, but my heart is beating too fast. LJ shifts next to me, his arms crossed like a sentry. He’s definitely not helping my whole incognito thing, but I know he won’t move even if I beg. And if my pal Kimmy notices anything weird, she isn’t showing it.

Kimmy types again, but then pauses, squinting at her screen. “Uh, one second,” she mutters, leaning closer to the monitor, and I feel my pulse quicken.Please, God, don’t let something be wrong in there.

Her fingers hover again, and then she bites her lip. “I’m gonna need to get my supervisor to help with this. It’s, um, just policy,” she says quickly, her cheeks flushing.

“Of course,” I say, trying to keep my voice neutral, but inside, I’m panicking. I know I’m not doing anything illegal, but that doesn’t mean the account isn’t monitored, somehow. I don’t know what Guy’s technically—or legally—capable of, but I sure as hell wouldn’t put it past him.

Will leans forward slightly, eyebrow cocked, as Kimmy waves over a middle-aged man in a wrinkled button-up shirt—her supervisor, I assume. I wave Will back in place subtly as the supervisor shuffles over with the kind of pace that suggests he’s been doing this for way too long.

“What’s the issue here?” he asks, his voice a deep rumble. He glances at me briefly, but then focuses on Kimmy’s screen.

“I just need help processing this account transfer,” Kimmy says, almost in a whisper. “It’s a...beneficiary situation.”

The supervisor makes a noise somewhere between a grunt and a wheeze. “We just went over this yesterday.”

“I know,” Kimmy says, her blush intensifying.

“Something like this, when there’s a transfer of more than...”

He pauses, waiting for Kimmy to fill in the blank.

“A hundred thousand dollars?” she guesses.

Next to me, LJ raises his eyebrows. I step on the edge of his foot.Cool it, dude.

But my heart is fluttering all the same. A hundred grand? I knew Daddy had money saved, but...Jesus.

The supervisor clicks his tongue. “Tenthousand dollars,” he corrects. Kimmy’s skinny shoulders slump.

“Oh yeah,” she says. “Right.”

“More than ten thousand and we automatically flag it and investigate,” he narrates to her, taking over the computer. “Federal law.”

Welp, false alarm, I guess. LJ’s face settles back to neutral. I chide myself for the brief bloom of disappointment in my chest. Ten thousand bucks is still huge, more money than I’ve ever, ever had. And if it’s over that much, that’s still...that’s something.

“Apologies,” the supervisor says to me, clicking through the system like it’s second nature to him. “Those transactions always need a double check for compliance But in this case”—his stubby fingers pause over the keyboard, glancing up and down my paperwork, then up at me, and then, thank God, back at the screen—“looks like everything’s in order, so I’ll put in a manual override.”

“Oh, right,” Kimmy says, nodding along like she’s learning for the first time. “I’ll remember now, I promise.”

The supervisor gives her a nod and ambles back to his desk, leaving Kimmy to finish up. She’s still flustered, but at least she’s moving through the last steps quickly now.

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