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“Any luck?” Liam whispered.
Finn shook his head, then pointed to the dining area window a few yards away. The sheer curtains floated inward on the night breeze. They moved carefully along the wall, slinking behind the bushes until they reached the window. The glass was open a hand’s width from the bottom, which explained why they could easily hear the music and sounds coming from inside the house.
“I’ll go,” Liam whispered, buzzing with newfound energy. This type of thing always made his blood rush with excitement. It had been a long time since he’d done anything so clandestine, and he was good at it.
Finn looked doubtfully at Liam, then back at the window. “No, it should be me. I know how to work the cloning device.”
“But I can go fetch his phone and bring it out to you. It’s much simpler than hauling your things in there.” Liam was already gripping both sides of the window frame. He looked at Finn’s worried face. “I’ve done this a thousand times, and I’m good at it. Trust me.”
Finn looked like he wanted to argue, but Liam didn’t give him a chance. Running his fingers along the frame, he quickly removed the screen and slid the window panel higher until there was enough space to climb through. Then he pulled himself over the window ledge and slid into the house in one fluid motion. Within seconds, Liam was standing inside Magnus’s dining room. Without hesitating, he flew to the living room, where Magnus’s phone still lay on the coffee table. Moments later, he was climbing back out the window with Magnus’s phone. The whole operation took him less than a minute.
Finn blinked at him in astonishment.
“What?” Liam asked, handing him Magnus’s phone.
Finn shook his head and crouched under the windowsill. Balancing the laptop on his knee, he hooked in the phones and began typing out commands, his fingers flying over the keyboard in a blur.
Liam watched, impressed at Finn’s ability to stay so calm and focused under pressure. He was proving to be quite resourceful, and a hell of a lot stealthier than Liam would’ve given him credit for. If Finn weren’t such a successful attorney, he might’ve even made a fairly good thief. Liam almost chuckled at the irony. Who knew the stuffy Finley Walsh could throw a decent punch, lurk in the shadows, and perform illegal activities like the best of them? Liam had been so wrong about the man. Any humor he was feeling suddenly morphed into stinging guilt. All this time, Liam thought he knew better than the angels, but Finn was clearly a man of hidden talents and surprising loyalty. Back in his old life, Liam had been so quick to judge Finn, believing he was just a lecherous solicitor with no honor, using his connection to Cora’s father to prey on her innocence. Liam had been convinced Finn wasn’t worthy of her, but he now realized he’d been wrong. Finn was a good person, and Liam was the unworthy one.
“Done,” Finn said, pulling Liam from his dark thoughts. “Now we wait. Should take around five minutes.”
The jazz song came to an end, and another one started. In the short silence between songs, they could hear a woman’s escalating moans and a rhythmic thumping that sounded like a bed frame knocking against a wall.
“Let’s hope there are five minutes to spare,” Liam said wryly, sliding to the ground beside Finn. The scent of damp earth and green things growing surrounded them as they crouched against the side of the house, and Liam felt oddly nostalgic. He could almost imagine he was back in 1844 carrying out some shady plan with his band of thieves.
“So, you’ve had a lot of practice breaking into houses,” Finn said thoughtfully. “How exactly does a man on the right side of the law acquire that skill?”
Liam studied the laptop screen, feigning interest in the progress meter. “Standard police officer training. It’s part of our annual skills test. We have to be lithe and nimble on our feet.”
Finn grunted in amusement. “If that were true, Providence Falls would be missing half their police force. I’ve seen some of those officers at the station.”
Liam considered spinning up another story, but for some reason, he didn’t want to lie to Finn anymore. After a long pause in which he debated how to frame his answer in the best possible light, he finally shrugged. “When I was a lad in Ireland, I was young and reckless and did a lot of things I’m not proud of. Things were different for me and my family back then. We didn’t have the easy life a lot of people have here. It was a constant struggle just to put food on the table. Let’s just say, I got in with the wrong crowd and learned some painful lessons the hard way.”
“I hear that,” Finn said, staring into the shadows. There was a bleak look on his face that Liam recognized because he’d worn it many times himself. “I had a similar situation after my dad died. My mom couldn’t support us, so I did what I had to do.”
Liam waited for Finn to elaborate, but he said nothing further. It seemed neither of them wanted to dwell on the past, so they slipped into silence, watching the progress meter inch its way across the screen until it finally reached one hundred percent.
“Done.” Finn pressed a few keys and disconnected Magnus’s phone. “Better hurry. No telling how much longer they’ll be occupied.”
Without a word, Liam took the phone and climbed back into the house. He crept to the living room and was just about to place Magnus’s phone back on the coffee table when he heard heavy footsteps approaching from down the hall.
Liam ducked behind the armchair just as someone lumbered into the room. He could tell it was Magnus by his muttering voice. Liam squeezed himself closer to the floor between the chair and the stereo system.
With a curse, Magnus skirted the sofa and came thundering to a stop right next to the chair.
Liam flinched, knowing he was only seconds away from being caught. A hundred excuses began spinning up in his head, but nothing that would appease Magnus. A solid punch to the face was all Liam was going to get. Clenching his fists, he barely resisted the urge to jump up swinging, but adding assault charges to breaking and entering would only make things worse for himself. He could just imagine Cora’s disappointed face. She was already annoyed at him for running after Finn. After this, she’d be downright livid.
Focus!He tried to think of a plan. If he couldn’t fight, he could always flee. He was fast on his feet. It would be so easy to just bolt across the room and sail out the window, but even if he got away, Magnus would still recognize him.Damn.Why hadn’t he thought to wear a ski mask like the people on TV? Cora could say what she wanted about those shows being unrealistic, but clearly there were valuable lessons to be learned there.
“Where are you?” Magnus snarled under his breath.
Liam swore silently. There was no imaginable scenario where he’d get out of this unscathed, but maybe he could divert Magnus’s attention, giving Cora and Finn a chance to get away. He braced himself to stand.
“Hey, Tammy,” Magnus shouted. “Is my phone back there?”
Liam froze as Magnus leaned forward to turn off the stereo, his arm just inches from Liam’s face. The sudden silence was deafening. He clutched Magnus’s phone in his hand, not daring to breathe.
“I don’t see it,” she called from down the hall. “It might be. I’m not sure, though. Hey, can you bring me a drink?”
