Code Name Heist (Jameson Force Security 3)

Saint hurries to the driver’s door while I go to the passenger’s side. We both shrug out of our backpacks, open the doors to get in, and take a moment to look at each other over the car roof.

I grin, the giddiness hitting me hard now.

Except… Saint doesn’t smile back.

Instead, his face is almost sorrowful.

His eyes never leave mine, not even when I sense someone directly behind me. Whatever that presence is… whoever it is… Saint doesn’t pay it any mind, and yet… I know someone is there.

For a split second, we stare at each other. I’ve already realized there’s nowhere for me to go—no room to maneuver or fight. When I feel the slight pinprick in my neck, everything becomes instantly clear. Saint doesn’t acknowledge whoever is behind me because he’d been expecting this. As I start to lose consciousness, I realize my part in this heist is over because Saint declared it so.CHAPTER 25SaintCruce pulls the needle out of Sin’s neck. It’s a dose that won’t keep her down long—just enough to get her a few hours away from Paris.

I’ll never forget Sin’s face as she looked across the car’s roof. Ecstatic joy melting into an awareness that something was wrong—that something ominous was about to happen—and then pure betrayal as she realized what I’d done to her.

As she realized I’d made the decision to take her out of the game without giving her any choice in the matter.

Some would say—well, Sin would say—I did this as a means to get even with her for doing the same to me all those years ago. I disagree. I have no need to seek revenge against the woman I love. I did it for the same reasons she did, because I want to protect what’s mine.

And besides… I tried to talk to her about it. I tried to get her to back away. I offered her multiple options to keep her safe, yet she chose to stay deep in the danger with me. Some may call me a control freak or misogynistic or a caveman, but if keeping her safe means I have to take matters into my own hands, then so be it. She’ll have to get over it.

Sin struggles to stay conscious, but it’s useless. Her eyes roll back in her head and she collapses, only for Cruce to catch her as he drops the syringe. He hoists her limp body up, then deftly deposits her right into the passenger seat. I round the front of the car as he leans in to put the seat belt on her.

When he straightens, I hand him the car keys and he fishes in his pocket for a set he drops into my palm. “Silver Peugeot parked three blocks back,” he says.

I bend, nab Sin’s diamond-filled backpack, and sling it over my shoulder. Pausing, I spare Sin a brief glance. Her head is slumped to the side, her face pinched even in unconsciousness. She’s going to be so pissed when she wakes up.

“You able to get everything I asked for?” I ask Cruce as I shut the passenger door.

“It’s all in the trunk,” he says, then gives me a worried look. “You sure about doing this? Because right now, you and Sin could disappear with four hundred million.”

I blink in surprise. “You’d want me to do that? Take the diamonds and run?”

His expression is incredulous. “How can you not consider it? That’s a lot of fucking money.”

I look down at Sin. It would give us a new life, free from having to worry ever again. Her dad could come with us, and we could have an amazing life together.

“Would you do it?” I ask without taking my eyes off her.

“I’d think about it,” he murmurs, but it’s not an answer.

“But would you?” I press. I value Cruce’s opinion, and he’d brought up something I hadn’t even considered once.

He hesitates before shaking his head. “No. I wouldn’t do it. Got too much going for me that’s worth more than money.”

He’s talking about Barrett. Probably Jameson, too. It’s a new family of sorts for us both.

And like Cruce, I have too much going for me now to consider a life on the run, no matter how wealthy I could be. I want to be legit—want to have a life with the woman I love. Kids and dogs and white picket fences.

I want it all—and no amount of diamonds could ever make up for the loss of those pleasures.

I nod down at Sin. “Take care of her. And be ready… she might come out of that drug swinging. She’s nasty in a fight. and will cheat. Protect your balls and eyes.”

Cruce snorts. “Thanks for the warning.”

I stick out my hand. When he takes it, I pull him into a half hug. “I can’t ever repay you for helping me out like this.”