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The problem was that I turned out to be horrible at it. I suspected that it had to do with the added technology since my father’s day, but he refused to acknowledge the change. When I brought it up, he said I was making excuses. So, instead of continuously bashing my head against the wall, I did what any smart person would do, I bought the company that built the safe.
It was my first legitimate purchase. Buying it was what started me on my new path. From them, I learned that every safe company incorporates backdoor codes that can open any of their safes. They call it a failsafe in case of emergency. But for the right price, it can be yours.
The only problem with the brand of safe in front of me now is that their failsafe is 16 digits long. And to ensure their safes aren’t easily compromised, they include 49 dummy combinations with the one that works. It was looking like a long night, and it was.
“Finally!” I said three hours later when I identified the correct combination.
Opening the safe I found it to be empty except for about $50,000. That surprised me. Growing up, my family’s penthouse had been exploding with cash. My father couldn’t launder the money fast enough. What did Armand do differently that left only petty cash in his safe?
Putting that mystery aside, I made note of the safe’s combination and closed it. Returning everything to how it was when I had entered, I re-locked the office and headed for my room.
Lying in bed I thought about everything going on. It was all dependent on Jimmy being correct about Armand carrying his ledgers with him. If he was wrong, we were all screwed. How had I gotten here?
For so long I had lived life like I had no future. I had accepted that I was my father’s son destined to follow in his bloody footsteps. But then a miracle happened, Father got sick. As tragic as it was, it was the first time I pictured a way out.
It was then that Dillon had become my motivation. Having not crossed any lines, I could still become a man he could love. It was because of him that I came up with my plan to go legitimate. And I was about to get everything I ever wanted until Armand interrupted my father’s funeral. He couldn’t just be satisfied with my father’s empire. He had to have mine too.
That would be his downfall. Because what he didn’t take into account was who I would become with Dillon by my side. Dillon was more than my inspiration. He was my guiding light. I didn’t know who my true self was until Dillon made me think about it.
Yes, ‘Embrace your true self and you will be rewarded’ had been my father’s saying, but it’s hard to see yourself without a mirror. Seeing myself through Dillon’s eyes was the mirror I needed.
I wasn’t who I thought I was. I was someone who felt more than just lust. I was a person who needed more than to keep my loved ones safe.
Those things were a part of me, of course. But it wasn’t all I was. Dillon helped me see that. And once I had, for the first time in my life, I understood that I wasn’t my father. I was just his son.
Growing up with my alpha father had shaped me. But it hadn’t turned me into someone else. I could still be kind and less guarded. I could still be a wolf Dillon could love.
Forcing my thoughts aside, I went over the plan one last time and then rolled over to go to sleep. When I woke up the next morning, the sun was still rising. I couldn’t have slept more than four hours and I felt like it. My brain was working slower than usual. And considering it was the one tool I needed to survive today, this wasn’t good.
I tried to catch a few more winks but as soon as I closed my eyes, the plan spiraled through my mind. Would Dillon be able to keep out of sight while planting the bugs? Will Cali hold himself together when he looks into the eyes of the man who shot him and kidnapped Hil?
Past that, I had to get in and out of Armand’s office. His security team would be everywhere. This had been Lucien’s plan and my cousin was certainly a genius. But in the light of day and with my brain working at half capacity, this was feeling impossible. Did I call it off before someone I loved got hurt?
A soft knock on my bedroom interrupted my thoughts.
“Yes?” I asked wondering if the house staff had arrived early.
Eris took that as her invitation to enter. Dressed in a sheer nightie that showed off more than her perfect body, she crossed the room and climbed into bed with me. Making herself my little spoon, she wrapped my arm around her slender frame.
As soon as she did, I tensed. I hated that it was her body pressed against me instead of Dillon’s. But we lay together in silence until my tension caused her to whisper, “Do you really want to go through with this?”
She meant our engagement party. But it was the question I was asking myself about the heist. Feeling her body where Dillon’s should have been, answered my question. And knowing that this could be how it was for the rest of my life, made me sure.
“Yes, I truly do,” I answered, hoping she couldn’t detect the edge in my voice.
Eris smiled, seeming pleased with my response.
The longer I lay next to her, the more reinvigorated I felt. Refocused, I then ticked off each part of the plan as it occurred.
Right on time, Armand’s security team arrived. Hearing them shuffling around downstairs, Eris and I got dressed and headed to the kitchen. Grabbing cups of coffee, we drank it on the back patio.
It took security over an hour to go through every room. As they did, I watched them thoroughly while Eris lost herself in the view of the pool and beach beyond it.
When the suited men found no hidden cameras or mics, they gathered for a quick meeting and then left. That was when the kitchen staff and caterers arrived. Discussing logistics, they searched the space as intently as Armand’s security had. On the heels of that, the event planners and their crew arrived.
As soon as I saw Dillon in his meager disguise, my heart thumped. It wasn’t going to be enough if Eris spotted him. There was something too recognizable about the way Dillon moved.
“I just had an idea,” I said drawing Eris’s attention.
