CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Cora

“I’m out.” Tom shook the empty box of coffee pods. “Any left in the pantry?”

Cora looked through the shelves, sparse as they were. “Nope. I’ll make a store run for you later.” She grabbed a soda from the fridge. One of the few things Tom kept in ample supply. “Did you get a call from the foundation?”

“Yes.”

She popped open the can, and raised her eyebrows. “And?”

“Your payment came through for the necklace job.”

“Finally.” She took a deep swig of the cold soda.

“They won’t make a formal public statement for a few months, but they promise to recommend you for future recovery requests.”

Cora nodded. “Damn right they will. I’ll transfer over your share tomorrow.”

“There’s more.” He grabbed a soda, too. “More what?”

“They’re very intrigued by the possibility of you having found the famed missing Amber Room items. They’ve contacted the Russian government, who’re anxious to get those items back. The foundation is willing to be the middle man for that.”

She finished off the can, and crushed it in her hand. “Excellent. Maybe we can barter those items for the hundreds of pieces the Russians are holding hostage.”

Tom nodded. “Exactly what the foundation head recommended.”

Cora tossed the can into the recycle bin. “Hold off on arranging that. I should have the address soon. You can set all that up after we’ve done a background check on the location, of course.”

“Speaking of background checks…” He finished off his own soda, and chucked it in the bin. “Let me show you something.” He led her into his office, where a bunch of codes ran on a few screens, more surveillance camera images flickered from what appeared to be Portia Conway’s hallway and kitchen, and a few other windows with bank transactions displayed.

“Is that Conway’s house?”

“Yep. From her new security system she installed, just after your little smash and grab.”

“Shit. Can you control these like the last system?”

Tom frowned. “I’m still trying to find a way in. But I might have to actually be on site this time.”

She sighed. Being on site was never ideal for hackers. Especially not Tom. He loved his cocoon too much. “That’s okay. We’ve done it before.”

He pushed a few keys, and another window popped up.

With Vaughn’s picture.

“You ran a background check on him?” Anger from the intrusion raged through her mind. Though she shouldn’t be. They ran background checks on marks all the time. It made sense he would do the same on Vaughn.

“Of course. Care to know what I found?”

Not really.

“If you’re going to show me some arrest for a DUI, or reveal the number of women he’s slept with, save it.”

“Surprisingly, no arrest record.”

“You really don’t like him, do you?”

“I don’t care about liking him. You involved a civilian, outside the company. Goes against everything we were taught.”

Irritation crawled up Cora’s spine, and she put her hands on her hips while she paced the room behind him.

Tom mistook that as a cue to continue. “After flunking out of college, his ultra-wealthy parents cut him off. Which is when he joined the cruise line. His work history report with a list of infractions against him is as long as The Iliad.”

She scoffed. “As if you’ve read that novel.”

“I pirated the Cliffs notes. Don’t change the subject. Seems he has a penchant for causing fights between female employees he slept with.”

Cora rolled her eyes.

Just like high school. Always a ladies man.

“I’m not going to judge him for enjoying a good time with other women, just like I don’t judge you for enjoying your job. The countless accounts you’ve hacked into, and the havoc you’ve caused prior to this role. Just like he’s not judging me over my job.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“You’re saying I should trust that report over what really happened? You of all people know otherwise.”

“I’m saying he’s more of a liability than a help. You shouldn’t involve him.”

“I wouldn’t have even found the info I needed without Vaughn’s help that night. I partly owe him for the huge score we’re about to run.”

Tom brushed his greasy hair out of his eyes, his scowl making him look like a pouty teenager. “I never expected you, of all people, to fall for a player like that. He sleeps with women for money.”

Not since he saw me.

Cora cast him a vicious glare. “Don’t take at your sexual frustrations on me. You’re just trying to belittle the smidgeon of a personal life I’ve found, because you have none of your own.”

He returned her glare. “You know very well why I can’t have that kind of life.”

She forced a deep breath to calm down. “That’s your choice. Neither of us has had any personal life for years. What’s wrong with me enjoying this, even if it won’t last?”

Tom gave her a long, hard stare before he sat in his ergonomic chair. Then swiveled it around and started typing away on the built in keyboard.

She started to walk out, when his voice stopped her short.

“He must be stellar in the sack. For you to risk both of us like this.”

Damn right he is. And then some.

“Shut up.”