Crooked by Bronwen John

Author:Bronwen John
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Published: 2020-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

“The kid is concerning herself.” Anton ran his hands through Esther’s hair as he kissed her shoulder. “She’s thinking about revenge, worrying about Luke; about what-ifs.”

“Don’t remind me. I suppose you told her the bull about tragedies… slow suicide?” Esther said.

He nodded and hugged her a little tighter.

“Thanks for reassuring her, Anton.”

“I know you’re useless with it.”

Esther sighed and looked sad for a moment, but only for a moment. She took the opportunity to kick off her shoes and squeeze up to him on the sofa, looking out at the city of London. The rest of the apartment was asleep; at least, the last time she’d checked they had all been sleeping. Healthy breakfasts for the lot of them, and working out the line once more.

“It’s the way of the long con. It’s been a long time coming to Holmes.” Esther took a deep, shuddering breath. “I didn’t want a sixteen-year-old kid to be my rainmaker.”

Anton hugged her close, and she sighed softly. Anton came from a long line of thieves; Esther from a long line of con artists. Concerns came with both their heritage and their chosen job. Anton normally had his concerns about new alarms that he hadn’t had a chance to investigate. Esther would always worry about the day when her mark would be cleverer than her. For now, her most recent concern was the least experienced of their crew.

“I’d like to do some relaxing. Aren’t you ready for something more relaxing? Fewer risks with more thinking and planning?”

Esther knew exactly what he meant, and didn’t skip a beat. She tipped her head back to narrow her eyes at him. “You mean the risks you took with the Fabergé job?”

“That was one fantastic risk.”

Esther rolled her eyes. He’d escaped by the skin of his teeth; how he’d smuggled himself over the border into Norway, she didn’t know and didn’t want to ask. She’d tended him for the best part of a week, nursing his fever. Upon hearing his explanation that he’d broken into the Kremlin, no less, to try to steal the ‘Clover Leaf’ Fabergé egg, she’d consulted the local hospital and made sure that he was healthy before promptly sending him back to America.

He brushed her hair off her face, kissing her cheek. “I’ve never seen so many police trip over themselves so fast. Now, come. What can we do for fun?”

“Is there anything you find fun that doesn’t involve you almost getting caught?” Esther asked, sitting up. “No, don’t answer that. This is exactly the reason you’re not a con man, but a damned thief.”

He only shrugged, a coy smile on his face, pulling her to her feet and swaying gently. “How about Shanghai? I could rob a safety deposit box. Nobody wants to report what’s in a safety deposit box. That’s international. I happen to know that an emerald from the Hatton Garden job is being kept in one of the Shanghai safety deposit boxes. It’ll make a fine engagement ring. It’ll bring out the green in your eyes.

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