Yes… I spent many years stealing. High-end robberies for insanely expensive items and I traveled the world doing it.
It’s wrong. It’s against the law, unethical, and even against my own moral codes.
But I had my reasons, and I make no apologies. Besides, I paid the ultimate price for my time as a thief… and I’m not talking about the time I spent in prison.
Although I did go to jail for my crimes, it was nothing compared to what I lost.
Shaking my head, I pull my wallet out and hand the waitress a hundred-dollar bill, telling her to keep the change.
Then I tell Cage, “I gave away a good chunk of the money I made, but still—I did all right for myself.”
“You fucking gave it away?” Jimmy appears astonished. “Like a modern-day Robin Hood?”
I don’t answer at first, not minding all the eyes pinned on me. I’ve suddenly become the most interesting man in the world to my new friends. Picking up the saltshaker, I lick the area under my thumb before sprinkling salt there.
After I pass the shaker to Barrett, who sits to my right, she mimics my actions and hands it to the next person. I hoist my shot of tequila up while everyone readies their own shots. “I’m no Robin Hood, who was noble to a fault. As a thief, I was selfish. My work suited my own needs. But yeah… I gave most of it away.”
“But why?” Malik asks, and I cut my eyes to Cruce. Besides Kynan, he’s the only one who knows my entire story.
His expression reassures me that no one at this table would judge me for my past.
But I don’t feel like getting into it tonight. Not at a table full of near drunks. I’m sure I’ll share one day—maybe in a more intimate setting. One on one, probably.
If people are genuinely interested.
Tonight, though, it will be my secret.
I scan the long bar behind Cruce, crowded with Pittsburgh’s movers and shakers. Three months ago, Kynan opened a new headquarters for Jameson Force Security here in Pittsburgh. This bar isn’t anywhere near our office building, which he’d placed squarely in the worst section of town to keep people away. We’re in an upscale bar with established professionals, many in the banking or medical industry, which has replaced steel as the city’s best-known commodity. Young millennials celebrate the end of a workday by ignoring each other and concentrating on their phones.
And right there… a beautiful woman enjoys a drink.
I lick the salt from my hand before tipping my tequila down my throat. Picking up the lime wedge before me, I bite into it, savoring the juice a moment before discarding it.
Letting my gaze roam over my friends, I stand slowly and button my suit jacket. Unlike everyone else’s casual clothes, I’m wearing a designer business suit.
What can I say? I like to dress nice.
“Sorry, ladies.” I smile at Anna and Barrett before scanning the fellows. “And gents… but we’ll save the reason I became a thief for another time. I see something that looks a whole lot more fun than you people.”
I cut my eyes to the woman. She’s around my age—which is thirty-six—maybe even a bit older. In a designer dress with an expensive handbag, she wears expensive jewelry but no wedding ring. I’m betting she’ll smell of high-end perfume.
All heads at our table swing the direction in which I’m looking.
Dozer murmurs, “Very nice.”
Cage barks out a laugh. “No way. She’s so out of your league.”
“She is wearing a nice haul of jewelry,” Cruce points out, and I can’t help but snicker.
Shaking my head, I wink. “Her jewels are safe from me… but other parts of her aren’t.”
“Dayum,” Dozer intones, one eyebrow shooting up. “Boy has some moves.”
Jimmy playfully covers his wife’s ears, then raises his voice, “Don’t listen to this filth, honey.”
She bats his hands away, laughing, then playfully says, “I’ll lay twenty on the table that Saint scores.”
“Baby,” Jimmy exclaims with faux shock she’d dare wager on a man’s sex life. But then he grins and pulls his wallet out. “Twenty on him striking out.”
They call out bets left and right, but I ignore them. I shoot Anna a gracious wink to show my appreciation for her confidence in me, then move around the table toward the lonely looking, but incredibly beautiful, woman at the bar.
Only to be cut off by Kynan McGrath.
I pull up hard, a bit astonished to see him. He’d declined our invitation to go out for drinks, saying he had important calls to handle. Bebe Grimshaw—our resident hacker—hadn’t come either, but her son Aaron wasn’t feeling well. She’d wanted to head home to check on him.
“Got a minute?” Kynan asks.
“Yeah… sure,” I say, momentarily forgetting the woman at the bar.
He moves through the crowd, heading toward the exit. I glance at the table, finding my teammates watching. They hadn’t failed to see Kynan come in. The huge, blond Brit is hard to miss, even in this crowd.