“Do either of you know what this cord is for?” Gerry called from across the room.
He would have been an imposing man if he wasn’t tall, dark, and bumbling more than any other adjectives, a cream puff in the body of a bouncer.
“I mean, it’s HDMI to HDMI, which is always useful, but I already packed the other adapters except for what I need for my laptop. Although, since I have the others, I can probably get rid of this one.”
“Gerry—”
“Only the moment I do, I just know I’m going to find whatever this goes to and wish I still had it. I better keep it.”
“Gerr—”
“Of course, if I do realize I need it later, it’s not like it’s hard to replace—”
“Gerry, will you shut up?” Mim snapped, pulling him into their close-quartered conversation.
They shared the one-room loft. Logan, who owned Lucifer’s Rest downstairs, had a soft spot for them, offering free room and board for doing odd jobs and occasionally bartending or waiting tables.
It was meant to only be temporary, but two years ago Sam had finished his twenty-first birthday passed out on that floor.
“There might not even be a payday,” Mim said.
“What?” Gerry lumbered over to them, still carrying the cord. “What are you talking about?”
“Sammy’s smitten with the target.”
“I’m not—”
“Ew.” Gerry stopped with a grimace.
“It’s not like that. And he isn’t some aging sleazeball. This one’s different. He’s young and handsome and… kind of stutters when he gets flustered.”
“He’s smitten with you too?” Mim groaned.
“Took to my flirting like he is.”
“Sam.”
“What? I’ve flirted to finish a job before.”
“Not with someone you like.”
Sam fell silent. That was their one rule.
Assholes only.
The three of them had no one else in the world, only each other, grifters since they could fit a hand in someone’s pocket. Well, Sam did the pickpocketing, Mim handled muscle, and Gerry was in charge of the technical side. They were criminals, and they enjoyed being criminals, but that didn’t mean they hurt good people.
“So that’s it?” Gerry said, sinking into the chair at Sam’s right. “No big score?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not telling the Cramers we’re backing out of a retirement-sized payday after only one meeting with this guy. Someone this rich has to have skeletons in his closet. Even if it’s also filled with sweater vests and bow ties.”
Brock and Celia Cramer, an up-and-coming power couple who’d just moved to Riverside, had come to them with this job. It had seemed like a dream come true when they told them of another transplant, a full-blown whale coming to town and bringing a fortune with him. Sam had never done a job in Riverside before—he wasn’t an idiot—but this time, they’d be leaving afterward, so it didn’t matter. Finally, all the scraping by he and his crew had done over the years would pay off, and they’d never need to con again, at least not to survive.
He couldn’t call it quits after one day.
“Aw,” Gerry said, bumping Sam’s shoulder. “You do like him.”
“That isn’t a good thing, Gerry. The Cramers are expecting us to finish this job.”
“We could always do it anyway, even if Simons is a nice guy,” Mim said, picking at her nails with her knife.
Sam and Gerry glared at her.
“Can’t blame a gal for trying.” She shrugged.
“If Simons is on the level, we’ll bow out, but the Cramers swore he was a worthwhile target, so keep packing,” Sam told Gerry, “and start working on how to crack that safe. Simons has to be hiding something.”
Ed was hiding behind the curtains beside the front doors, watching his neighbors walk up the drive to greet Sam as he arrived on his motorcycle. They’d been trying to “welcome Ed to the neighborhood” ever since he arrived.
They were a young couple, the wife beautiful, with dark hair and skin to contrast her blond, blue-eyed husband. They must be professionals of some sort, always smartly dressed in a pencil skirt and three-piece suit respectively.
Today, they had children with them, twins, he’d guess, about five years old. Ed didn’t immediately hear what the couple said to Sam, but as everyone was smiling and starting to chat, he grew curious and opened the window to listen in.
“I have my own key,” Sam was saying. “He’s probably not in, though. Busy guy. Said he’d almost never be home, which was why he needs my help. I’m sure you’ll get the chance to meet him eventually, though.”
He was covering for Ed, even though he knew Ed was home.
“He’ll be relieved to know there’s law-enforcement so close by.”
What?
Ed peered harder around the curtain and saw a badge on the husband’s belt.
“Detective Neu-Ryan, is it?”
“Just Daniel is fine. And Marie works for Channel Five. There isn’t much that goes on in this city that we don’t know about.”
Ed’s realtor hadn’t mentioned any of that, though he had been more adamant about not having neighbors too close, not what they did for a living.
“It’s not as glamorous as it sounds,” Marie said. “I’m a producer more than in front of the camera. But you have to tell us. We’ve been so excited about someone finally moving into this house, and he’s been a complete ghost.” She stepped closer as if to share a scandalous secret. “What’s Simons like? Cranky old millionaire?”
Sam laughed. “You know, that’s what I thought he’d be like when we first met, but he’s young, interesting, charming. Seems like a really nice guy, just private.”
Ed wondered if Sam meant all that.
“Dawn! Joey!” Marie chastised her children as they chased each other down the drive and onto Ed’s grass. “This is not our yard. What would Nana Ryan think if you stomped across her lawn like that?”
“It’s okay,” Sam said. “I need to mow anyway. How about we agree to not tell Mr. Simons, and I’ll give you two a treat?” He retrieved a pack of gum from his pocket, eyeing the parents for permission.
They nodded, and Sam crouched to the kids’ level as they approached him.
“Ah, shoot, I only have one left, and I was saving it for myself. I know!” He pulled the lone stick from the pack, made to unwrap it, and then—it disappeared with a flick of his wrist and he began to chew. “You don’t mind getting it slightly used, do you?”
Dawn and Joey shared a curious glance.
“You do? Well don’t worry, I can fix it.” Sam brought his hands to his mouth as if to spit the gum back into the wrapper, then with another flourish of his fingers, the untouched stick reappeared in his grasp.
Ed smiled at the simple sleight of hand that left the children looking enchanted.
“Brand new. But you’ll have to share it.” Sam tore the stick in two and handed half to each twin, who eagerly accepted their treat.
“Not bad,” Daniel said, while Marie helped the twins with their wrappers.