Page 1041 of One More Kiss

One by one, I worked out how many spins and which number to land on. It was painstaking work and required intense concentration, not to mention state of the art tools.

It was maybe twenty minutes later and I was deep in concentration when a sound from outside startled me. I froze. There was nowhere to hide in this room. I moved on silent feet to the window, gathering my shadows around me. I could escape that way, using my shadows for cover. They’d have to be enough.

Long moments passed, but there was no more noise. I crept to the door and risked a look outside in the hallway.

Nothing.

To be on the safe side I opened the window so that I’d have an easy escape route should I need it. That should have been the first thing I did when I came in. Stupid.

I went back to the safe and picked back up where I’d left off, keeping an ear open to the hallway outside. There were other noises, but they were distant. Cleaners, probably.

Tuning them out, I re-focussed on the safe. The combination was tricky, but I had the first four numbers. Four down, only three more to go.

I got up and checked outside in the hallway as I cracked each number, giving myself a little break before resuming. The cleaners were still a long way away. Maybe they didn’t come upstairs at all.

My hands were starting to shake from the effort. This was taking too long. I’d been in here for nearly forty-five minutes. But I was close. I’d nearly cracked the safe open.

There was a satisfying clunk as the last number fell into place. I took my time, turning the huge metal handle. There was a screech of metal on metal as I pulled the door open.

There it was. The gem! The gorgeous blue magical lapis lazuli was finally mine.

I pumped the air with my fist and did a little victory dance, high fiving myself.

Someone high fived me back, tapping the back of my hand with theirs.

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest as I whirled around, my fists raised in front of me.

Inches away, lips upturned into a grin, stood Jett.

He raised an eyebrow. “Celebrating something?”

“Dude! You scared the crap out of me!” I pressed my hand over my heart. It was beating at a thousand miles an hour.

I sidled backwards, trying to surreptitiously push the safe door shut. Nothing to see here, promise.

Jett didn’t miss a thing. Look away, dammit! “What’s that, behind you?”

“Nice try.” His grin stretched wider. “You’re so busted. Admit it.”

I slumped. He was right, I was busted, big time. I held my hands up in the ‘surrender’ pose. “You got me. I’m sorry, okay?”

“I don’t believe you for a second.” He took a step closer to me, invading my personal space. My breath hitched as his heat hit me. And his scent. A tangy mix of chocolate and man, with green, woodsy undertones that made me think of summertime in the bush and the deep pool at the base of a waterfall.

My hands, still held in front of me, brushed his chest. He pressed into me, and just as I started to wonder where this was going he side stepped past me, bending down to glance into the safe.

Yes, your precious gem is still there. I didn’t have time to touch it, let alone take it.

He shut the safe with a clunk, then spun the big metal handle, undoing all my hard work and securely locking the gem away.

This was getting ridiculous. At least, last time, I’d managed to make it out of HQ with my prize.

“What’s going on, Liandra? Why do you want this gem so badly? Do you even know what it does?” He was in my personal space again, standing so close I could count his eyelashes. It wasn’t fair that a man could have such lovely lashes. They matched his shoulder length hair, thick, black, and the perfect amount of curl.

I shuddered, releasing the breath I’d been holding. I didn’t know how to answer him. I couldn’t tell him the truth. Could I?

“Is it money?” He reached out to touch my hair, brushing it away from my face so he could see my eyes. “The gem is under my protection so I can’t let you have it. But I can help you. Talk to me.”

I wanted to. But it was so deeply ingrained into me to trust no-one, especially not a man, that I kept silent. After Alyssia was kidnapped Mom had moved us in with Aunt Joey. As far as I knew, Aunt Joey had never had a man in her life. She’d said once that Mom was her one, her person. Both her and mom seemed happy with just each other for family.

---