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“I was an intern, still in university at the time,” Hadis adds.
“And I noticed she would come in separate from her coworkers to request blueprints and information for things that had nothing to do with the job they were hired for. Layout for the air duct system, the blueprints of the vault room, name of the roofing company…” Linnie swirls her wine and looks amused at Hadis. “Like recognizes like.”
“You were casing the store?” I look at Hadis who raises a brow with a sly smile.
“It’s in my blood. I come from a family of smugglers. Growing up in Iran, it felt like nearly everything not Iranian produced was illegal. Western music and clothing, non-Islamic art or art with any kind of nudity, alcohol. But if you knew the right people and had enough money, you could get just about anything from people like my parents.”
“You smuggled alcohol even though you don’t drink it?”
“Just because that’s how I choose to practice Islam doesn’t mean everyone should be forced to do the same. Plus, our biggest clients were always in government. Hypocrites, the lot of them.”
“Really? What types of things would you get for them?”
“Lots of things.Juicytracksuits, playboy magazines,Star WarsDVDs.Once theAmerican Idiotalbum for the Speaker of Parliament’s daughter.” She shrugs and I laugh, but it’s hard to imagine Green Day as illegal contraband.
I pour the rest of our second bottle of wine into my glass. “And how did you end up at an architecture firm in Paris?”
“My parents immigrated to France when I was a teen. I went to university intending to become an honest architect, but my brain was constantly thinking about how to break into the buildings, not create them.”
“I remember the day Linnie called me.” Marguerite sits up. “She was so excited. She said, ‘Who better to know a building’s weaknesses than the people who built it.’”
“Our fathers hadn’t been able to keep up with new banking technology, so we kept going for smaller and smaller targets. Jewelry shops, armored trucks. But I knew with Hadis’s expertise, we could take it to the next level, go after targets we’d only ever dreamed of.” There’s an energetic flare to the way Linnie speaks. Pride in what they’ve created.
“So, she confronted me the next time I came to pick up materials.” Hadis grins. “AndLes Arnaqueuseswas born.”
Chapter 8
The Wild Stallion
Finn
I’vegrownimpatientwaitingfor them to make a move. And it would be just my fucking luck that the one time Cash takes a vacation in ten years is the same time the most elite heist crew in the world decides to make us their mark. But I can’t make a move without Cash, so I just need to buy myself time.
I don’t trust Effie.
Not until she gives me a reason to. And so far, she’s only giving me reason to think she isn’t taking this seriously. Thinking she could strut into my place of business and make demands ofme.What was that stunt she pulled with Mira anyway?
My throat goes dry remembering the silky feel of her thighs under my palm as I pushed her knees apart. I recall looking up from her lap, seeing the determined set of her jaw and heat in her gaze as she stared down Mira. She looked like a fucking warrior.
But she’s spiraling. Lashing out and making rash decisions.
She’s been thrown in the deep end and is desperately trying to stay afloat. Even the strongest soldiers can still sink.
I can’t figure her out. Which makes me want to grab her by the throat and fuck the truth out of her. But also makes me want to stay far away, keep my distance to just observe her, take all of her in like an animal in the wild.
She’s unpredictable, that much is for sure.
And she still hasn’t given me anything about this plan of theirs. And I’m done waiting.
Finn: Peaches. 20 min.
Effie: No.
I can’t deny the way my dick jumps at her ready defiance, the way my mouth waters with the need to break her down to nothing but yes, please.Yes, sir.
Finn: I know you get off on being a brat, but we need to meet.
My foot taps against the leg of my chair as I wait for her response. I open my desk drawer in the Den’s back office and pull out my growing stash of Effie’s panties. I twirl the torn fabric of the ones from Peaches around my finger and smile to myself.
