Tim had overlooked a point or two. Typical. “And what if theydorun into us by nightfall? What if the dude comes charging out in that big-ass truck of his?” That truck could have destroyed his motorcycle when they’d had the faceoff on the road. “You need to get that piece of crap rental you have out here. Use that as a roadblock.” Not his bike.
“I’ll come meet you. And if theartistprotecting her comes to meet us before nightfall, I’ll flash my badge again.”
That fake badge. “Didn’t seem to do much good before,” he muttered.
“What?”
“I said…” He cleared his throat. “You gonna fake arrest him?”
“Yeah, I’ll slap some cuffs on him, scare the would-be hero to death, and feed him a line about Jacqueline being a criminal. He’ll beg us to take the woman off his hands.”
Maybe. Maybe not. Either way…
They had a job to do. And a shitty plan to follow.
***
Already fast, Jacqueline’s pulse jerked even more beneath Remy’s touch. “Are you making fun of me?”
No, he’d been giving her a confession. Not that he’d ever been one to jump on that whole “Honesty is the best policy” bit, but he’d been trying. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He kept caressing her wrists. “I also would never dream of putting cuffs on you. Unless, you know, it was a foreplay sort of situation.”
Her eyes narrowed right before she snatched her hands back from him. “Youaremaking fun of me.”
Again, no, but hewasbattling an almost painful erection and wishing that she was still in his arms. She wasn’t though, and they had some problems to address. His aching dick would have to wait. “What did you steal?”
She backed up a step. He did not like it when she retreated from him, and, to stop himself from reaching for her, he crossed his arms over his chest and locked his feet to the floor.
“It…I didn’t know I was stealing something. I should start by saying that.”
“Um.”
“My grandfather was Fabian Fletcher.”
The name surprised a laugh from him. “Fingers Fabian?” Ah, damn, talk about a small world.
Her lashes fluttered. “You know him?”
“More like know of him. Never had the pleasure of meeting him.” The man was a legend.
A grim nod from Jacqueline. “You never knew him because the Feds never caught him. He used a ton of assumed names.”
Oh, this is hitting way too close to home.Remy kept his expression neutral.
“And he was wanted for way too many bank robberies and…safe cracking incidents.”
“Incidents?” That was a fun word choice. “You mean Fingers Fabian wasthebest safecracker out there. When you wanted someone who could make a safe spill every secret it had, you turned to Fabian.” An ace cracker, some had sworn that the man had a magic touch—and magic ears—when it came to his work. Sure, he could be old school and listen to all the clicks and light pops that came from prying the secrets out of a combination lock, but stories said he seemed tofeelthe vibrations when he worked a safe. He would press his hands to the safe, get them near his target…andvoila.The safe would open.
“I’m sure the FBI had quite a file on him.” Her lips curled down. “He wasn’t just a criminal, okay? He raised me after my parents died. Showed up at every dance recital I had. Took me fishing every Sunday. And he…” She bit her lower lip.
He’d bitten that lip, too. Nipped it. Had her moaning. Remy wanted her moaning again and again. But, nope. Not the time. She was spilling the deep, dark secrets of her past. He knew what else was coming. Just as he knew—this is gonna be bad.Remy kept his arms crossed over his chest. “He taught you the trade.”
A miserable nod. “But it was just a hobby for me, I swear! I-I liked spending time with him, and when he got older, he couldn’t walk so well. So we would sit in his office, and we’d work with safes and with his tools for hours and hours. I promise, I never intended to do anything illegal. I own a bookstore in New Orleans. I live a quiet, safe life. Everything was so normal for me. And then I methim.”
Remy rocked forward. Caught himself. So much for his damn feet being locked to the floor. “This the part where you say you fell in love with some asshole and broke into a safe for him?”The fucking wedding dress.Though she’d said it wasn’t a wedding dress.
She’d said that, but…
Had she lied?