Page 33 of Stolen for Keeps
What if I’d made a mistake?
I slid my key back into the lock and shoved the door open, stepping inside fast and shutting it behind me before I let the full weight of my reality sink in.
I couldn’t keep the necklace in this room.
I was going to dismantle everything, extract the rest of thediamonds, and use them the way they should’ve been used. Cleo wasn’t the only kid in desperate need. There were more. Families drowning in medical bills and watching the clock run out because insurance didn’t think their children were worth saving.
And I could do something about it.
But first, I had to hide the rest of the necklace.
The motel wasn’t just a temporary stop. It was a liability. Keeping the necklace here was out of the question.
The wrong person could walk in at any moment. Housekeeping, a manager looking for late payments, or some nosy guest with too much time on their hands. And if the cops decided to come sniffing around again?
No. I had to move it. To a place that no one would ever think to check.
And I needed it fast.
I ran through the options.
One—keep it on me at all times. But that was too risky. I could drop it, someone might spot it slipping from my bag, or worse, if things went south and the police ever searched me, I’d be screwed.
Two—hide it in my car. Maybe under the carpet or stashed inside the seat upholstery. But the car was rented under my name. If the cops were thorough, and they always were when it came to me, it’d take them all of five minutes to find it.
Three—the woods.Not brilliant, Maya!Summer meant dry earth, nosy hikers, and hungry wildlife. Between the elements and the unpredictability of nature, that hiding spot had disaster written all over it.
That left one option.
The Lazy Moose.
It was vast. Too big to search thoroughly without a reason. The cops wouldn’t even know where to start. If—if—they everpieced things together, it’d be too late. By then, I’d be long gone. And the necklace? It would have taken its final bow.
I paced the room, my hands pressing against my hips, my pulse steadying as the plan locked into place.
Hiding it there meant I controlled the timeline. Retrieval would be onmyterms. Just for now. Until this wedding business passed.
Sheryn was my best friend. She had no idea what I was up to. She never would. No one would.
By the time anyone even thought to look my way, the necklace would be dust. Diamonds extracted. Cash distributed. Gone without a trace.
I gave it one last thought.
The Lazy Moose it was.
The Lazy Moosewas buzzing when I arrived, white tents standing proud against the evening sky, fairy lights already flickering to life. But there was only one that was well lit on the inside.
Heads turned as I stepped in, my heels clicking against the wooden surface, the hem of my secondhand dress brushing my legs. It looked like they’d installed a portable dance floor over the packed dirt.
I wasn’t used to this. But for once, I wanted to surprise Sheryn, to remind her I could still be part of this world.
“Sheryn!” I called out as I made my way to her.
She turned…and froze.
“Holy shit,” she gasped, like she wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating. “Maya?”
“In the flesh.” I struck a playful pose.
