Griffin
I sip my drink and glance around the table as the others talk among themselves. It’s the usual chitchat before a job.
I glance over at Kalista. She’s smiling. She’s taking everything in and making mental notes, judging by the contented concentration riddled across her features.
She really is a gorgeous woman—long, flowing dark hair; deep eyes; and the shape of a goddess.
I’m shaken from my thoughts when she laughs and says my name. I look over to see her smiling at me, her brows furrowed and lips turning upwards in a teasing smirk.
“Were you even listening, Griff?”
The corners of my lips turn upwards in a smirk. She knows I was too busy ogling, and she caught me. Now she’s trying to make me admit it, the little minx.
“Sorry, seems I got a bit distracted. Continue.”
She shakes her head and sighs, smiling at me as she turns her attention over to Leviathan.
“As I was saying,” he says as he crosses his arms across his chest, “The Sultan of Morocco Diamond is located in the far east of the museum, and—”
“Oh, no,” I cut him off with a wave of my hand. “We’re not going after the diamond.”
The entire table goes silent, and all of them turn their eyes on me. I can feel the skepticism and confusion as it ripens in the air.
Jackal leans over the table and scoffs at me. His brow is furrowed with a mix of confusion and annoyance. He’s not a fan of last-minute changes to the plan.
“We’re not?”
“No, we’re not,” I confirm, a smile spreading across my face as I glance around the table. “We’re going to take the Sword of Alexander.”
No one at the table seems to be even remotely interested in what I say, so I raise my hands in protest.
“Oh, come on. This will fetch a much higher price than the diamond. And do I need to mention the fact that it’s infinitely more interesting? We steal diamonds all the time; let’s mix it up a bit.”
No one is still giving any indication that they’re even remotely interested, but they aren’t disagreeing, either. Better than a flat out no, I say.
“Well? What do you say?” I look each of my allies—my friends—in the eye as I look around the table at them.
Surprisingly, Manticore is the one who breaks the silence. He nods his head and downs the rest of his glass, planting it down on the table.
“Fuck it, why the hell not.”
I’ll be honest, of all people to speak up first, he was the last person I expected.
No complaints, though, as the rest of them don’t like disagreeing with him. I can’t say I blame them, given how illusive he is about his particular set of talents. The man’s got more firepower in the trunk of his car than I do in four of my residencies.
“That’s the spirit! I know you had it in you.”
He simply nods, waving the server over for another drink as I scope out the rest of the other’s reactions.
Jackal is looking at me with suspicion, and I can’t tell if he’s intrigued or against it.
Leviathan doesn’t seem to care either way—he’s going to be disabling the same alarms regardless of what we swipe.
And then there’s Kalista.
She’s absolutely beaming at me. She’s got that wild look in her eyes that reminds me why I’ve been so happy to have her along. Grinning ear to ear, she nods her head, and her grip on my thigh under the table tightens.
“I think that’s a much better idea,” she exclaims.
“Wait, wait,” Jackal is eyeing me. He puts his hands up in protest.
“I don’t know, Griff, a diamond is easy, and there’s already hundreds of buyers bidding for it. How on Earth do we find a buyer for something so specific?”
“Actually, I’ve already got one.”
I smirk in satisfaction as shock—or maybe acknowledgment—washes over Jackal’s face, and I lean back in my chair.
“You know we can do it. Same place, same time; the only difference is that now we’ll have more help, and an extra set of eyes.”
Kalista grins next to me as I glance over and I squeeze her hand under the table.
“Who said anything about the girl coming?” Manticore objects.
Jackal nods and sighs, shrugging as I balk at them. “I’ve got to say I agree with him, Griffin. She’ll only slow us down, and we can’t risk having to look after—”
“Excuse me?” Kalista is glaring at him from across the table as she snaps at him. “I don’t need anyone to look after me, thank you very much, and if anything, you could use another pair of eyes in there.”
“Oh, really?” Jackal is looking at her, a thinly veiled smirk on his face. “What could you possibly have to offer us in assistance, except perhaps maybe a distraction?”
Bad move right there.
“Well, for one thing, Mr. Jackal, I happen to be quite skilled at acquiring things myself. Not that you’d know anything about that, would you?” she scathes.
He looks around the table and smiles in disbelief, the rest of them darting nervous glances at each other.
“No offense, but I doubt that an inexperienced heiress can really offer—”
He stops short, and his jaw drops as Kalista brings her hand up from under the table. With a triumphant smile on her face, she waves the wallet around that I swiped from his pocket a few moments ago.
“What? How did you—”
He shakes his head and looks at me.
I shrug.
“Griff snagged it a few minutes ago. You didn’t even notice, did you? Passed it to me under the table.” She grins at him, and he narrows his eyes as his lips purse together in agitation.
“And how does Griffin taking something from me and passing it to you prove anything?”
“It proves that he and I are a good team and can accomplish a task without people so much as suspecting a thing,” she croons, sneaking a knowing glance at me.
This next bit is going to be rather enjoyable.
If only I had a camera to catch the look on Jackal’s face that I know is coming.
“The real kicker is this,” she purrs as she reaches her other hand under the table.
Her hand flits up, and I do my best to stop myself from laughing when she reveals what else she has been holding. In her palm is Jackal’s watch. Kalista sits there fiddling with it and rolling it between her fingers.
The table erupts with barely concealed snickers as Jackal desperately grabs his now empty wrist. Jackal is floored, his mouth agape and his eyes wide in disbelief.
“I swiped it when you greeted us at the table. You didn’t even notice, did you?”
He now has got a full grin on his face, and he claps slowly, shaking his head. “Well, bravo. It seems I have grossly underestimated your talents. Maybe you’ll be some help to us, after all.”
She throws him a flirty wink and tosses the watch to him over the table. He catches it and starts shaking his head—albeit still grinning.
Manticore leans forward from across the table and reaches out to shake her hand. “Never have I ever seen Jackal be put in his place like that. Thank you.”
She laughs with him, and her face lights up. A mischievous smile plays on her lips, and I can’t help but wonder just what is going in in that delicious mind of hers.
“That’s a fun game. Shall we?”
Leviathan looks at her with confusion. “What?”
“Never Have I Ever. Manticore said that, and it reminded me of the drinking game I used to play. Do you know it?”
“Ohhh, yeah. That’s a good one. Got me in some trouble, that one did.” A nervous laughter comes from Leviathan, and he starts rubbing the back of his neck.
Poor bloke never does good with drinking games. Especially when they involve a beautiful woman.
“Look, we’ve got all night to plan this, why don’t we take a little break, have some fun?” She looks around the table, and the guys glance at each other.
They’re unsure of how to react and—given how our typical meetings are—I don’t blame them.
There’s silence for a moment before Leviathan chimes in apprehensively and shrugs his shoulders.
“I mean, I’ve got the alarm system and security plans mapped out already. We’d already discussed the plan for the diamond, and this one is pretty much the same, so…”
Leviathan’s words trail off, and Manticore simply nods. The man’s expression is even, as it always is.
I look at Jackal and raise my brows in question, to which he sighs and concedes. I’m surprised at how long it took him to agree. Normally, he’s the one who enjoys the drinking games.
“Hold on to your hats, boys. I’m undefeated, and I don’t plan on breaking that record tonight,” Kali declares with a lopsided grin.
We spend the better part of an hour swapping stories, downing drinks, and laughing so hard that our sides hurt.
At this point, Kalista has her head resting against my shoulder, chuckling and sighing anytime my hand brushes against hers.
I’m starting to get to the point where if I continue drinking, I’m going to regret it the next day. And, as if on cue, Kalista raises her arms in a gesture for quiet.
Once everyone complies, she smiles nervously and looks around at us.
“So, if I’m going to be doing this, does this mean I get a cool nickname, too?”
Jackal laughs, and I grin back at her. “Of course. How’s ‘Phoenix’ sound?”
She ponders for a second, then smiles back at me and nods. “Hmm. Exotic, rare, beautiful, and strong. I like it.”
I slip my arm around her and rest my head atop hers. She snakes her arm around my waist, curling into me. Just as soon as I got used to the feeling of her body against mine, she pulls away excitedly.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you all come to Griff’s place the night before the heist? It’ll give us a chance to go over any last-minute details, and I can cook for you guys.” She looks back at me suddenly, concern in her eyes. “I mean, that would be alright, wouldn’t it?”
I’m picturing her in my kitchen, cooking for us as we all laugh and go on. I can’t remember the last time I looked forward to something as simple as a home-cooked meal.
“It would be great, actually.”
I smile at her, and she beams back. The team nods and voices their approval.
She glances over at Jackal and winks as she teases him.
“And, Jackal, I promise I won’t take anything else of yours. Unless you make it really easy. Again.”
I’m caught off guard as the laugh escapes my lips. The rest of them cackle as Kalista continues to mock him playfully.
I look down at her and find myself unable to stop from smiling. I can’t tell if I’m more excited for the heist or for doing the heist with her.
One thing that I know for sure, though, is that I think I’m falling for her.
Fuck.