To Have and to Master (Masters Unleashed 3)

“Just take me to my car. It’s parked behind the plaza on Sweeny Street.”

Abandoning the GPS, he leaned back and buckled his seatbelt. The irony of a high-end car thief putting on his seat belt in a sensible hybrid economy car made her laugh inside. He probably had a retirement fund. Not so different from her dad.

Ugh. Gross. To clear that thought away, she pictured him speeding down the highway, out-maneuvering cops and dodging bullets.

He pulled the car out of the garage and into the driveway. As they meandered down the dark streets, she paid careful attention to where they were so she could find her way back later.

Seeing the house from the outside, she confirmed it was as big as she’d predicted after having just stood in the foyer and garage. Clearly, car theft was working for Fox. Did he live there alone? Was he married? Did he have kids? None of those things had crossed her mind when she’d been lusting after his biceps.

A house that large wouldn’t fit in the city, obviously. As expected, he lived in the outskirts, closer to the developments in the desert. It wasn’t quite in one of the rich neighborhoods—those were more to the west—but it was far enough from civilization to stay inconspicuous and close enough to the wealthy area not to stand out.

Once they hit the freeway and she knew where she was, she turned in her seat and rested her chin on her hand and her elbow on the center console. “So,” she started, “how do you do it?”

“We’re not talking about this.”

This was exactly what she needed to turn her mind-numbing career path into something fast and exciting. Money, hot guys, expensive cars . . . What could be better? Stealing cars by herself would never amount to much. Not only did she need someone to watch her back when shit got more serious, but she needed connections. Lots of connections to people she could trust. Why build that from scratch when it was all right here in front of her? All she had to do was convince them they needed her. “I want in.”

Fox took his eyes off the road to give her such a condescending look she wondered if his cocky head would suddenly inflate and pop through the moonroof. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I’m not. I want in on your . . .” she gestured vaguely, “car stealing business thingy.”

“First of all, no. Second of all, never call what I do a ‘car-stealing business thingy.’ And thirdly, no.”

“Why not? I would be an asset.”

He snorted.

“You haven’t seen me at my best. I just made that hacking device on the fly. I was still trying it out when you found me.”

“You made it?”

“Yes.” She watched his lips twitch into an almost-smile. “You’re impressed, aren’t you?”

He didn’t answer.

She sat back in the seat, feeling victorious. Maybe if she showed him some of the other devices she’d made, he’d see how valuable she could be. Like the RFID app she’d been working on to hijack the NFC signal and emulate a car’s smart key.

“You’re obviously an intelligent girl,” he said. “Why don’t you do something important, and legal, with your life?”

“I’d rather do what you’re doing.”

“Well, I’m not taking applications right now.”

“Well, I won’t take no for an answer.”

“It’s cute that you think it’s up to you.”

She exhaled a long breath. Stubborn man. He didn’t know who he was dealing with. Her dad used to say, “Your stubborn streak is my Irish ancestors haunting me from the grave.” Her parents wished she’d use her determination for things like graduating with high honors and finding a nice boy to settle down with. If only they knew.

“I’ll find a way,” she warned him. “I’ll stalk you until you give in.”

Anger flashed in his eyes when h

e turned to look at her. A second later, his gaze moved back to the road. “You need to forget everything you saw today. Go back to your normal life.”

“But . . . I don’t want a normal life.” Two point five kids, a mortgage, and a boring day job she worked in until she was too old to have fun . . . Those things weren’t for her.

Her parents had been married for twenty-five years. High school sweethearts. They had worked the same jobs for the last twenty years. They literally graduated high school, got married, started their yawn-worthy careers, and had a baby. That was their life. Doting on Addison, scrapbooking every stupid moment, and watching game shows on the couch with their dog.