Page 42 of Keep Me (Rebel Hearts Heists 2)
She looks beautiful, even if this isn’t her. I’m glad that my Sloane isn’t too heavy handed with makeup. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like her regardless but my favorite look for her is with her hair down, maybe a bit tousled after sex and one of my shirts on. She doesn’t need makeup or anything other than her gorgeous smile, she’s perfect the way she is.
I wait until everyone has a drink in their hands and then fill the four of them in on what I’ve found, trying to keep my tone casual despite feeling anything but.
“So guys, getting Kronin’s stupid ring was the right move. It works as a code generator that generates one time passwords to access Kronin’s cloud, to open any files on his computer and to give one time combinations to the safe in his yacht’s master cabin. It’s a slightly obsolete technology but one difficult to hack into. Thankfully that’s my specialty and we now have an exact copy of it.”
River interrupts me. “So now we can read all his files?”
I nod. “We can but the codes aren’t the only access requirements. We also need Kronin’s fingerprints if we want to open that safe. I thankfully thought about lifting them off his glass the other day while he was out of it.”
Everyone looks at me with anticipation, waiting for my next words.
“Royce, Blaine—I was able to hack into the cloud and now I know why VDB is helping Kronin with smuggling nuclear codes. Somehow, Kronin is in possession of VDB’s incriminating files. The ones we couldn’t find anywhere on VDB’s computers. Those files will send VDB away for a long time and Kronin is using them to blackmail VDB.”
Sloane’s luscious lips twist with distaste. “Karma is a bitch, that’s all I have to say. Serves that creep VDB right for trying to blackmail me into sleeping with him when he realized that I was involved with Royce.”
River scoffs. “Like he could talk anyway. His own fiancée can’t even keep it in her pants.” Then he seems to catch himself. “Sorry again, Blaine.”
Blaine shrugs it off. “The truth won’t hurt me more than it has been my whole life. I know who my mother is, I stopped losing sleep over it a long time ago.”
Royce is the one to divert the conversation back to the original topic. “So what’s Kronin getting out of blackmailing VDB?”
“Kronin is using his ‘shit art’ somehow as a coverup to travel the world and do his dirty business. But selling former Soviet nuclear codes makes him lots of money, money that needs laundering …”
“Through the casino!” Sloane finishes and I nod.
But our girl isn’t only smart, she has the biggest heart and always has her loved ones happiness in mind. “So if we have those files, then we can prove that VDB was responsible for the embezzlement and that means that Royce’s dad can be exonerated.”
I confirm that’s the case and she squeezes Royce’s hand in hers, keeping her green eyes on me. “Does this mean that it’s over? That we have what we came for? That we’re free?”
I hate to disappoint Sloane and I seem to be the one with that shitty job lately but I have to shake my head. “Almost, baby. I was at a secure location in a meeting with Agent Walker. They want both Kronin and VDB. And also Kronin’s latest client. Apparently he’s really high up on Interpol’s most wanted list. So to finish this, we need to get proof of the money and the codes changing hands.”
Blaine looks deep in thought and his next question doesn’t surprise me. “How are they moving the money? Some shady offshore bank?”
This is where the simplicity of Kronin’s plan borders onto genius. “No. That was what would happen a decade ago, nowadays that type of technology is very traceable, making it really hard to get away with.”
River voices his confusion. “Then how?”
“Think about it,” I offer. “The high roller games. Some of those games are fixed. So that the transaction looks like a very legitimate loss at the casino. The buyer ‘loses’ the money and then Kronin conveniently wins it back. It doesn’t even necessarily happen in one single bet, so it’s very hard to trace. But as long as we obtain the casino’s records—which should be easy once VDB is arrested—that part of the problem will be solved by the FBI’s forensic accountants. What’s left to do is to find how the nuclear codes change hands. That completes the picture. Without that exchange, we have no crime.”
There’s silence in the room for a long moment. “So are we at a standstill?” Royce sounds frustrated and I don’t blame him.
“Yes and no. We have a good idea of who Kronin’s client might be. We think he’s coming here under the guise of buying some art. So there’s only two times those codes can change hands: during the high roller game, at the same time when the money is lost, or when the art is delivered.”
“I guess we’re going to another high roller game then, huh?” River asks rubbing his hands together as if he were planning to kick ass on the football field. “Who are we slipping some eye drops to this time? We’ve gotten pretty damn good at it.”
Everyone laughs. “Not this time, dude. We need to be there to try to catch the transaction, see if they exchange anything at all that could contain the codes. Can we get a last minute invite for the one tonight?”
Royce nods. “I don’t see a problem getting Blaine and someone else in. But it might look weird to ask to all be there.”
“Awesome. I’ll make sure that we’re all fitted with filming devices, so we can catch every angle of the game.”
Blaine’s rubbing his chin, in his typical thinking posture. “Wouldn’t it be easier to try to infiltrate VDB’s security team? I’m sure they have CCTV watching every game.”
I nod. “Yeah, I thought about it and it would be ideal. But first of all, it would be very hard to find a good reason to ask for it. I tried to have a field agent hired into the security team but VDB just hired a new chief of security and he’s uncannily been rejecting every agent I sent to the interviews. So being at the game is the only way to have boots on the ground.”
The atmosphere in the room is tense with the anticipation of this being over soon, everyone is well aware that there’s more at stake than just catching the bad guys. Our freedom hangs in the balance but Royce and I made a plan B that will allow us to get away if the shit were to hit the proverbial fan.
Alicia calls to invite us all to have dinner with her and VDB only a few minutes later. In the end it’s decided that Blaine and River are going to score invitations to the high roller game following dinner. Sloane stays behind because of a headache and Royce and I decide to keep her company and order room service. This situation is making us all tense and exhausted and I’m not surprised to see even Royce succumb to it as he falls asleep on the couch in the middle of the movie we’re watching.
