Below
is an excerpt from It Takes a Thief, a romantic suspense novel.
"How
the hell did you get all that? When?" Taylor grabbed her lipgloss
possessively.
"Moments
ago. Don't worry, I'd never keep it." He blew her a kiss. "Not
my color."
She
swatted him, laughing.
"Handy
tricks," Tim said. "What else can you do?"
"This
stuff's easy," Jason said. "You should see me play cards."
He winked. "Never, ever play a serious game of poker with me.
I'll wipe you all out. I play for fun and to see what I can get away
with. I'll show you what to look for."
They
practiced another hour or so, but didn't make nearly the progress
Jason wanted with his left hand.
"I'll
get you back here with Lloyd," Tim said. "He's left handed
and can give you some pointers. We'll set something up for later this
week. Meanwhile, let's police the area. Leave it like we found it!"
They
set up fresh targets, put away the safety gear and stowed everything
where it had come from.
Greg
took out the garbage and the rest of them cleaned up inside until the
facility was as perfect as it had been before they used it.
"Thank
you," Jason said, shaking Tim's hand. "I feel much better.
Won't feel perfect until we catch Orchid, but at least I feel less of
a target. Can I leave a note for your brother?"
"Sure."
He found paper and a pen for Jason.
The
was far longer than Tim anticipated. Glancing at it over Jason's
shoulder, he laughed. The writing was tiny, precise and perfectly
lined, although it was typing paper.
"What's
all this?"
"He's
got some security issues. I made a few suggestions. His safe for one.
I could get through it with a pair of nail clippers and a set of
tweezers."
Tim
laughed, shaking his head. "You're kidding!"
"Serious.
I'd open it, but that'd be bad manners."
"I'm
not sure how much he'll appreciate this," Tim said glumly.
"He'll
appreciate it. Might piss him off a bit, but I'll bet he fixes it up.
Leave it in the cash register." He thumped it with his fist and
the drawer popped open. "That's number two after the safe."
He winked, strutting after Greg to the SUV. He hopped in the back and
Alex slid in after him
"Cocky,
English bastard," Tim said, laughing. He put the note to his
brother in the cash register and closed the drawer. "Wonder if I
should warn him that it's there?" He asked Taylor
"It
will make more impact if he sees it on his own," she replied.
"Yeah.
That's what I'm afraid of."
They
talked about their day as they drove back to Jason's house by a
different route. It took longer than Jason anticipated, but he
figured Tim was mixing it up some in case they were being followed.
There
were more vehicles in his driveway and several people moved around
looking important. They were armed technicians, checking his house.
Instead of staying around in their way, he and the team went
upstairs. There too, they found a great deal of activity.
"Fancy
a game of bowling?" Jason asked casually. "Gets us out of
the way. Or perhaps some poker?"
"I
want to learn how to lift Taylor's lipgloss," Greg said with a
chuckle.
"Got
to find it first," she said with a smirk. "I moved it."
"Yeah?"
Jason said. "Nice spot. Easy." He held it up again.
Taylor
snatched at it, face flushing as she tried not to laugh. "Oh,
you bad man! How did you know?"
"Women
have a tendency to use purses, pockets or bras. You're not carrying a
purse, it wasn't in your pocket...." He smirked, handing it back
to her. "I prefer that hiding place," he said, eyeing her
chest. "More of a challenge."
"I
should beat you for that," she snarled. However, she couldn't
hide her smile.
"You
could do. But I might enjoy it."
"Enough!"
Greg said loudly. "Forget I said anything."
He
was angry, jealous and the exchange had made him realize once more
how attracted he still was to Taylor himself. He'd been that close to
her breasts once or twice, but not lately.
"Sorry,
mate. I forget there's other blokes as hard up as me." He winked
at Greg.
©
2017 Dellani Oakes
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