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Magnus muttered something about “brainless” and “good for only one thing.” He stomped around the living room, presumably searching for the phone. Liam heard the coffee table scrape over the floor. When the armchair began to slide away from him, Liam clenched his jaw and prepared to face the music.
Suddenly, something hard smashed against the front door from outside.
“What the—” Magnus paused, abandoning the armchair to stride across the living room. He swung the door open, cursing under his breath.
Liam peeked around the edge of the chair.
In nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, Magnus rose from grabbing something off the doormat. It was a smashed, fizzing can of Dr Pepper. “Damn neighborhood kids,” he hissed, stepping outside to look for the culprits.
Liam wasted no time. He lurched from the floor, tossing Magnus’s phone to the sofa before darting across the living room to dive through the open window. He clipped his shin on the ledge as he sailed over, then landed on the hard-packed dirt, barely managing to stifle a groan as he rolled to a stop underneath a shrub. Clenching his teeth through the pain, he caught sight of Finn crouched a few feet away, blinking at him like a wide-eyed owl.
They remained silent until they heard Magnus slamming the front door again, his heavy footsteps fading down the hall.
Finn crawled silently over to Liam. “Are you all right?”
Liam nodded, then hauled himself up, leaning against the side of the house to catch his breath. “I thought you’d be at the car by now.”
“And miss all the fun?” Finn whispered, clutching the equipment to his chest.
A huff of amusement escaped Liam. For a moment, they just grinned at each other like fools, and he felt a sudden camaraderie with Finn that surprised him. He’d been in situations like this a thousand times as a thief, either by himself or with Boyd and the Bricks. But if anyone had ever told him he’d someday do this with the holier-than-thou Finley Walsh, Liam would’ve laughed himself sick.
“Let’s go.” Liam pushed off the wall. “Cora’s already mad at us. The longer we make her wait, the worse it’s going to be.”
“Right.” Finn’s smile faded. He fell into step beside Liam, both of them keeping to the shadows at the edge of Magnus’s yard. “Maybe she won’t be too mad when she finds out we were successful.”
Rounding the edge of the lawn, they crossed the street and came to a halt by the spot where they’d parked. There was no sign of Cora or her car.
“Where...?” Finn trailed off, glancing up and down the street. “Did she leave us?”
“No. She’d never do that unless she had a good reason.” Sure, she was mad at them for being reckless tonight, but Cora wasn’t the type to drive off in a sulk just to teach them a lesson. “Keep walking. We can’t be caught out here like this.”
They rounded the corner and walked another block. Liam took his cell phone from his pocket just as Cora’s car pulled up beside them. She looked simultaneously annoyed and relieved.
“What happened?” Liam asked as they jumped into the car.
“I saved your butt is what happened,” Cora said with storm clouds brewing in her eyes. She gunned the engine until they were heading toward the main road. “I was watching through the window, and I saw you duck behind that chair. I knew I had to create a diversion, so I nailed the front door with that can of soda.”
“Nice,” Liam said with an admiring grin. Once again, Cora’s resourcefulness saved his hide.
She wasn’t smiling. In fact, she looked downright livid. “I had to drive away right afterward because I couldn’t take the chance Magnus would see me.”
“Good thinking,” Finn said from the back seat. “Thank you for doing that.”
“Don’t bother,” Cora said, staring him down in the rearview mirror. “I almost didn’t come back for you guys. It would’ve served you right for going rogue on me like that. I can’t believe you took that kind of a risk. What the heck were you both thinking?”
“Look, before you get too upset,” Liam began.
“Oh, I’m way past that. I’m—”
“We did it, Cora,” Liam said quickly. “Mission accomplished. Finn successfully cloned Magnus’s phone, and now we can track everything he does.”
Her eyes sparked with interest, but there was still a stubborn tilt to her chin. “That’s great, but I’m not done being mad at you guys.”
“And you have every right to be,” Finn said earnestly. “We shouldn’t have been so reckless, and I’m grateful you were there watching out for us. If you hadn’t intervened, Liam would be in serious trouble right now, and probably me, too. There’s no way we could’ve done this without you. I’m sorry, Cora.”
To Liam’s surprise, her expression began to soften. Finn was actually defusing the situation. Who knew he had such wisdom when it came to women? Or maybe he was just flexing his attorney skills. They were wizards when it came to analyzing a situation and spinning pretty words to gain a desired outcome. Either way, Finn was doing a cracking good job, and Liam didn’t dare interrupt.
“My place isn’t far from here,” Finn continued. “If you guys want to come over, we can take a look at this device and see what that snake in the grass has been up to. Maybe there’s enough evidence here to put him away for good.”
