“Since I started trusting you, I guess,”
“Neverdated, huh?” Luke droned as they hurried ahead.
“Shut up,” Isaac said.
The rest of the route was boring by comparison. Before they knew it, they’d reached Dalton’s lab and moved cautiously toward his workspace.
“Finally got to see Artifice in action,” Andrew said.
Isaac smirked but didn’t comment.
“You're not so bad for a pig.” Luke smacked his back roughly.
Andrew coughed. “Former. And you're not so bad for thieves.”
“Former,” Luke echoed. “I don't usually mess up that bad. Damn scales…”
“They gave me an idea though,” Isaac said, drifting to the tall table with Dalton’s remaining equipment. “I think I know exactly how to catch our thief.”
“I have some ideas too,” Andrew said.
“Can’t wait to hear them. I might even let you keep your half of the payout when this is over.”
“Might?”
Isaac spared him another admiring glance. “Unless you’d prefer to be paid some other way?”
“Who’s back there?” Luke’s bark broke the moment before Andrew could answer, and Isaac stiffened, stepping in front of Andrew to… protect him, he supposed, as someone who couldn't possibly be a guard stepped out of the shadows.
Dalton.
“So…” he said guiltily, “dinner at Andrew’s tomorrow?”
ANDREW
FordwaslividwhenDalton showed up at their not-heist, an expression Andrew knew well from his brother—more so his brother than from either of their parents. But he was not happy Dalton had proven he had the family chops for B&Es.
Although Fordhadalmost caught him, sensing something downstairs with almost supernatural precision. Dalton had gone a different route to the upper floors, taking the main elevators using his employee keycard, but he’d still gotten one up on his old man.
Andrew was big enough to admit that he’d been disappointed they were interrupted before he could answer Ford’s question. Ford never let up with the flirting, the banter, the eye-glances,that damn swagger and magnetism, and Andrew didn’t want any of it to end.
Family dinner could end it, though he was really only worried about Steven.
And Candace.
Nothing more had happened that night though. They’d let Dalton lead them out through an official exit, regrouped on everything they’d learned, and gave Dalton strict instructions to report back to Vallancourt what security measures they wanted to change, that next day if they could, to make sure the thief, should they attempt to break in again, went a very specific route to reach Dalton’s desk and triggered their trap.
Andrew was quite proud of his contribution.
If the thief didn’t try again, Dalton and his research would be fine, but he wouldn’t get back what was stolen, and they’d have to bide their time for another chance to catch them. Andrew couldn’t help hoping that the thiefwouldstrike, and maybe, Olivia’s article would help lay the groundwork for that like they planned.
That morning, he stopped only briefly at the coffee shop closer to work for a quick cup and the newspaper. He’d almost reached his office doors when he got to the part in Olivia’s article that made him spit half his coffee onto the sidewalk.
In the aftermath of the recent break-in at Avalon, former thief, Isaac Ford, and former detective, Andrew Wen, of Ford and Wen Security respectively, have teamed up to give the conglomerate’s defenses an overhaul. Whether they will be successful against the mysterious serial robber plaguing our city is yet to be known, but they have been seen together on multipleoccasions. Their interests colliding seem, to this reporter, to have less to do with any paycheck and more to do with head researcher on what was taken—Dalton Wellesley.
What their relationships might be to the young scientist is up for debate.
Fuck.
