“This is Lord James Dennison. He’s an earl from London who lives in Paris. Worth a fortune, too—mainly because he’s a wise investor, but also because he collects fine art. He has an authenticated Renoir, which is worth at least three million on the black market.”
William drones on, giving us the man’s history. He’s a widowed empty nester whose children have all moved away. Seeming to be extremely lonely, he’s been hitting the club scene and flashing his money around in an attempt to ease his heartache. It’s sad.
“He likes his women young and scantily dressed,” William states, gesturing to Sin. “You’re the bait and distraction.”
When she nods, my stomach churns. I have no right to dislike that plan, but fuck… I don’t like it. Don’t like anything about Sin having to use her womanly wiles to carry out a heist.
But she’s not mine to get jealous over or worry about, so I let it go.
“Neal… Saint,” William says, pointing to the schematics of Lord Dennison’s penthouse apartment. “You’re the switch and transport.”
“What’s the play?” I ask.
“Sin will wrangle an invitation from Dennison to visit his apartment. Once inside, he’ll fall ill.”
“How?” Sin demands.
“Poison,” William replies smoothly.
“I am not killing someone,” she replies hotly, rising from her chair and slamming her hands on the table in front of her. I don’t say anything, but there’s no way I’m getting involved in a murder either. I’ll do a lot of things for Jameson Force Security, but cold-blooded murder isn’t one of them.
“Relax…” William chuckles. “You’re only going to make him sick. This poison will make him feel as if he’s dying, but he won’t. The key is to get him sick enough that calling 1-1-2 is a necessity.”
“1-1-2?” Neal asks.
“Emergency services,” Sin says with a wave of her hand, her tone suggesting it was a stupid question.
Because it was.
“I assume Neal and Saint will come in pretending to be the paramedics?” she inquires.
“Smart girl,” William praises, then proceeds to go through the entire game plan.
I have to admit… it’s pretty brilliant and I love a heist that involves a nice con at the same time. Sin and I pepper William with questions. Neal doesn’t have a brain in his skull, so he listens with semi-glazed eyes. He’s always going to be the guy who does as told, relying on others to make sure the plan is as foolproof as possible.
After the meeting, I head out for a coffee, using the time to think about this job. There are a million ways it could go wrong, but that’s the risk we take.
Deep down, I’m looking forward to it. Yes, I’m conning the entire team—all the way up to Julian Mercier—until I can find out what they’re up to, but I’m not going to lie… I missed this way of life. A lot of the excitement I’m experiencing doesn’t have a damn thing to do with the job I’m doing for Jameson, but it has everything to do with stealing that Renoir.
?
Back in my hotel room, I pull out an electronic device Bebe gave me. She recommended sweeping my room each time I return, so I do so it now, taking my time and working over every surface.
When I’m confident there are no bugs or other recording devices present, I call Kynan on a burner cell.
“What’s up?” he asks when the line connects. “All settled in?”
“Moving fast,” I say, then fill him in on my meeting with Julian Mercier. “They’re going to test me. An art heist from a private owner here in Paris.”
“If you get caught, you know I’m going to have a hell of a time saving you,” Kynan warns.
“I know,” I say. It’s a risk I’m aware of and accept. Even though my reasons for doing this are honorable—attempting to prevent a major crime from being committed—it’s being done outside of the sanction of police officials, meaning I’ll still be considered a common criminal in a few days’ time when we set out to rob Lord Dennison.
“There’s a complication,” I say, rubbing at the five o’clock shadow on my face. “Of the female kind.”
“Oh yeah?” he asks, a slight hint of amusement in his tone.
“Someone I had a relationship with. Her name’s Sindaria Westin—goes by Sin.”
Kynan lets out a bark of laughter. “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You dated a woman named Sin and your name’s Saint?”
He guffaws, and I let him have it. It’s funny… I get it.
“Anyway…” I drawl as his chuckles wind down. “She’s in Mercier’s employ. In fact, she’s going to be doing the upcoming job with me.”
“Bad blood between you two?” Kynan asks, his concern obviously about whether she’s going to screw up my cover.
“Nothing that will affect what I’m doing… but if they want her involved in the big heist down the road, I’ll need you to get her out clean along with me,” I say, finally voicing the one thing that’s been eating at me since I first saw her yesterday. Don’t get me wrong—I realize I’ve been hired to take this whole ring down.