AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I think we’ll do just fine on our own,” Aidan retorted.
She shrugged one delicate shoulder. “I’ll just stick around and make sure you don’t get grifted again. Pretend I’m not even here.”
As if he could be anywhere in her vicinity and not be acutely aware of her on a cellular level. He couldn’t stop recalling how delicious it had felt to have her pressed so firmly against him.
“A little advice for you,baby,”she taunted. “It takes a thief to recognize a thief. Or would you rather risk disaster again?” When he made no reply, she added. “I didn’t think so.”
Vin cut in with a diplomatic tone. “So you think you can tell if someone’s trying to rip us off?”
“Without question.”
Aidan snorted. “Ridiculous.”
“You need proof?” She paused and glanced around. Then, catching sight of something, she lowered her voice and jutted her chin to the left. “Okay, look, but don’t look—”
“How do you expect us to accomplish that?” Aidan huffed.
“Just don’t be obvious about it.”
The two men glanced in the direction she indicated.
“You see that man in the expensive-looking tailored suit and perfectly combed hair?”
They nodded.
“Ta-da! He’s a thief.”
Vin scoffed. “Bullshit. That’s no thief.”
“Why, because he looks like a successful middle-aged businessman? What do thieves look like, then?”
Vin scratched the back of his neck. “Well—”
She turned to face him. “Like any good thief, pickpockets try to appear bland and inconspicuous and strike when no one is paying attention. If you didn’t know me, Vin, would you think I could swipe your wallet without you realizing?” With a haughty smile, she lifted her right hand…producing his wallet.
“Hey!” Vin snatched it from her and shoved it back into his pocket. “When did you lift that?”
She gave a mysterious smile and continued, “Aidan didn’t, when we first met. He was too busy undressing me with his eyes.”
There went that muscle again. Aidan clenched his fists. “I was not—”
Onnika waved his words away. “Don’t worry, Aidan, I won’t tell anyone how into me you are.”
Vin covered his smile with his fist. When Aidan shot him a dangerous glance, he put his hands up. “What, she’s funny.”
Onnika went on, unconcerned by Aidan’s building rage. “A thief that’s easy to spot isn’t a thief for long. They’re either murdered or convicted. Great thieves blend in and disappear into a crowd like this.” She snapped her fingers.
Which was exactly what she had done when she’d nicked credits. He had to concede there was a certain amount of impressiveness in that. “Okay,” Aidan said. “So what makes you so surehe’sa thief?”
“Just watch.” She turned so that her back was to the man in question, making it look as though they were all simply conversing rather than spying. “He’s found his mark, and he’s about to make his move.”
As she spoke, the well-dressed man crossed to the opposite side of the market, appearing toaccidentallybump into a pedestrian. Aidan only caught the theft because he was looking for it. Amazingly, the pedestrian hadn’t felt the man digging around his pocket.
Suddenly Aidan was outraged, picturing Onnika’s sweet, innocent smile just before she’d ganked his stash. Filled with riotous indignation, he rushed forward and snatched the bloody thief by the throat with one hand and the stolen wallet with the other. “I see you do that again and you’re dead, got it?”
Eyes wide in shock, the thief nodded, and the second he was free, he dashed away.
When Aidan noticed Onnika rolling her eyes at him, he handed her the wallet. She gaped with confusion until he told her, “Why don’t you return this to that poor fellow.”
