Whosaid that?
“Of course, I do have other talents.” Remy buttered some toast. Turned to her. “Aren’t you hungry, sweetness?”
Not even a little. She shook her head no.
His strong, white teeth bit into the toast.
Preston stopped rubbing his jaw. “I’m not turning over the safe to you.”
“You don’t have to turn it over. I’ll take it. Just like I took her.”
So cold. So casual. But, he was lying. She’d gone to him for help. He’d had no idea who she was and—
Twenty million dollars.Her stomach knotted. “The first two safes were tests. So that I could prove I knew that I was doing. The third one—it has twenty million dollars inside it?”
Preston didn’t reply.
Remy did. “That’s how the story goes. Your dear grandfather put the money inside a safe that only he could open. He hid it—apparently, very, very well. Everyone thought they had to just kiss that cash goodbye. But now, new story.”
A lump in her throat wanted to choke her. She forced it down. “My grandfather didn’t have twenty million.”
“Your grandfather,” Remy said, “had an affair with an exiled queen. That washerring that you so easily gave to the truck driver. A ring valued at a few hundred grand, by the way, so you seriously overpaid for that road trip.”
A few hundred grand.He’d mentioned a queen before, but…
“No worries, though, we did retrieve the ring,” he added easily.
And she was brought right back to reality. Remy was just feeding lines to Preston. They’d turned over the ring to the sheriff, with the promise that the CIA would be coming along to collect the item. Remy wasn’t really some criminal mastermind who was using her. He was just playing the role perfectly, and, obviously, his CIA buddies must have tipped him off about her grandfather and this mystery safe, and Remy simply hadn’t gotten the opportunity to brief her on everything.
If she was going to be Remy’s partner, she needed to get with the program. She rolled back her shoulders. “Yes, we did retrieve it.” She directed a cool smile at Preston. “Just as we will be retrieving my grandfather’s twenty million.”
“Iknewit!” His fist slammed down onto the table. “You are as dirty as they come.”
Remy tensed. “Oh, my new enemy, you need to watch what you say.”
Preston ignored his advice and kept glaring at Jacqueline. “You acted so innocent. But, no, you were conningme.Lying tome, all along. You knew I had the safe, didn’t you?Sonofabitch.Were you and your boyfriend scammingmeall along? You fucking whore—”
Heads snapped toward them.
So much for playing things the quiet way.
Remy reached over and patted her hand. “Sweetness, I do believe this is the moment where you make a grand and glorious exit.”
But…but they hadn’t learnedwherethe safe was, and Preston definitely didn’t seem to be in the mood to back off and—
Remy winked. “No worries. I’ll be right behind you. Just like we agreed.”
A glance around showed that every eye in the place was on them. With as much dignity as she could muster, Jacqueline rose to her feet. She inclined her head toward Remy. “I’ll see you outside.”Because you’re not going to do anything that causes you to get arrested.
Though, technically, he alreadyhadpunched Preston. A punch he’d hidden with the napkin, but still…
“Oh, you certainly will see me out there. Don’t worry, I know how to be good.”
Right. She turned on her heel, kept her head up, and began marching through the array of tables. Lots of whispers surrounded her.
“The problem is…I don’twantto be good right now.”
At those low words from Remy, Jacqueline spun back around. She spun just in time to see Remy’s hand fly across the table and fist in Preston’s fancy tie. Using that fierce grip, Remy jerked Preston forward—and down—and Preston’s face slammed into the table.