Steal: A Bad Boy Romance (14 page)

Tomorrow
would be the day I destroyed ARCANE.

CHAPTER 19

~ K
AT
~

“Oh, my God.”

My
head pounded. I flailed around and found a glass of water on the bedside table.
The cool liquid slid down my throat, soothing the parched tissues.

“James?”

I
patted the bed beside me. Nothing.

The
previous night was a blur of darkness and dizziness. Two bottles of wine had
turned to three.

Or four? I can’t remember.

One
thing was clear—we’d come back to my apartment instead of James’ condo. He’d
said something about needing to get up early in the morning for a work meeting.

Who works on a Saturday?

After
asking the question, my mind shifted. The conference had gone so well the day
before, it would be nice to see if there was any immediate impact on the
numbers. I could access work email on my phone, but to do more I would have to
go in to the office and log into the secure network.

It can wait. I deserve a weekend
off.

I
put work out of my mind and focused on curing the hangover that grabbed hold of
my head and wouldn’t stop shaking it. Copious amounts of water and a spot on
the couch cuddled up with a blanket turned the tide until the
neighbors
next door put on music so loud that ripples
formed in my water glass.

The
relentless bass seeped into my brain and made my head throb with the pounding
rhythm. I slammed the wall with my hand, but the music didn’t go away and my
hand joined the pain party.

Fuck this.

It
was a Saturday—there would be no one in the office. I could check on the
numbers, then read while I waited out the hangover. It was better than staying
here.

The
best part about going into work on the weekend was the lack of awful traffic.
It took a mere half an hour from making the decision until I walked up to the
front door of the building. I dug around in my purse for the magnetic key card.

A
minute later I still hadn’t found it.

That’s weird. Did I take it out
and put it somewhere else?

I
dreaded having to turn around and go right back home. The drive to the office
had been painful enough.

“What
are you doing here, Katherine?”

The
question sounded like an accusation. I turned to see Nick staring at me, eyes
narrowed like he thought I stole his cat.

“Oh,
Nick. I thought I’d check the numbers and see if there’s been any action since
the press conference last night.”

I can’t believe he’s coming in,
too.
So much
for the relaxing and peaceful recovery day at the office. He wasn’t the only
one surprised—I’d never heard of him coming in on the weekend.

“Why
are you here?”

He
shifted and adjusted his hands in his pockets. “I have to check on something.”

“Whatever.
Can you open the door? I must have left my key card in another bag.”

The
door swung open after Nick pressed his wallet against the reader.

“What
did the board say about the press conference?” I asked as we walked to the
elevators. “They left before I had the chance to talk to them.”

Nick’s
head snapped over at my question and his eyes drifted before he responded. “Oh,
the board? They were impressed, thought it was a good campaign.”

My
eyebrows nearly leapt off my face. Nick would never speak like that to me on a
regular day. His approach to management was to yell at and belittle his
employees until they performed well out of spite. His mind was elsewhere, and
he barely paid attention to the exchange.

I
let our conversation die. Small talk with Nick was awkward at the best of
times, let alone when he was acting weird.

Once
in the office, we split without saying a word. I barely opened the door to my
office before I heard Nick shout.

“Back
the fuck away!”

The
sound made me jump, and I stuck my head out to look around. The door to Nick’s
office was open, but I couldn’t see inside from my angle.

“Nick?”

Voices
emanated from inside the open door, but they weren’t shouting at the same
volume and I was too far away to hear what they said.

What the hell is going on?

I
edged my way along the wall, passing closed doors until I got to the one in the
corner that opened onto Nick’s large corner office. I peeked around the corner.

James
stood behind Nick’s desk, arms in the air. Nick had entered the room by a few
feet and
leveled
a handgun at James. The two men
stared at each other.

“James?”
I couldn’t stop the word from escaping my mouth. “What's happening?”

My
voice broke the standstill.

Nick
flinched and turned, the barrel of the gun pointing at my face.

“Whoa!”

James
stepped toward me. “Kat, no!”

Nick
swung the gun back to James, then back to me, alternating between us and
backing away into the room so he could see us both clearly.

“Stay
the fuck still,” he said. “Katherine, stand next to your accomplice so I can
keep my eye on you.”

“Accomplice?”
I was hopelessly lost. “I have no idea what’s going on. James, why are you
here? Why do you have a gun, Nick?”

“Shut
up!” Nick shouted. The gun shifted to point to the corner of the room away from
the door and the desk. “Get over there, both of you.”

My
feet carried me automatically, my mind too busy processing what was happening.
Nick moved behind the desk and pecked at the keyboard, eyes darting between the
screen and the two of us, keeping the gun
leveled
in
our direction.

“I’m
sorry, Kat.” James said. His hand found mine and squeezed.

His
eyes were dark, filled with emotions I couldn’t guess.

He’s not who I thought he was.

I
took my hand back and shifted away from him.

Why is he here?

“You
fucking bastard!” Nick screamed. He rounded the desk and pointed the gun at
James’ head. “Put it back. Put the money back or I’ll shoot you right in the
goddamned head, right here.”

“What’s
happening?” I asked, unable to hold back the reflex. I regretted it as soon as
the gun swung to point in between my eyes.

“Don’t
pretend like you didn’t help him,” Nick said, his voice rising and falling
dramatically as if he had lost control of it in his anger. “He only got in here
because of you!”

James
slowly extended a hand in front of me. “She had nothing to do with it, Nick. I
was using her, that’s all.”

“As
if I believe that for a second,” Nick said. “She would have done anything to
steal from me and the company. She’s a prissy little bitch who wouldn’t put out
and thought it entitled her to
my
money.”

I
couldn’t think, could barely breathe. I’d never been so completely in someone
else’s mercy. If Nick wanted to, he could end my life before I had a chance to
do anything about it.

James stole money from the
company? And from Nick?

As
if in a slide show, images flashed through my mind. James at the coffee shop
where we met, conveniently able to fix my car and force a date after it
suddenly stopped working. Taking a stroll, answering questions about ARCANE.
Letting him into this very office and tying me up and blindfolding me.

“Oh,
my God.” It was a near whisper, but it caught the attention of both of the men.
“You were using me, this whole time? Every single step of the way, making a
fool out of me while you used me to get closer to ARCANE?”

The
volume of my voice steadily rose as I went, until I screeched out the final
accusation.

“You
asshole!” I smacked his arm as hard as I could. “You fucking prick! How dare
you? I thought I loved you!”

I
went for his face, but his strong arms caught my wrists and pulled me tight,
immobilizing me.

“Kat,
those feelings weren’t a lie.” We were close. Too close. I couldn’t look away
from his face, even though I didn’t want to listen to his words. “I’m sorry I
deceived you. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you and make things
up to you.”

“Enough.
Get away from each other.” Nick narrowed his eyes, flicking back and forth
between us. “You, come back to the computer and transfer the money back.”

James
laughed. “Or what? You’ll kill me and lose access to it forever? If I’m dead,
your money is as good as gone. And the board’s money, and I don’t think your
backers will be too pleased about that, Nick.”

Nick
shook his head. “No, I won’t kill you.” He pointed the gun at me. “I’ll kill
her.”

CHAPTER 20

~ J
AMES
~

Fuck.

Why
did Kat have to come into the office this morning? Why was Nick there? The
entire situation had devolved into a mess—the worst-case scenario. Kat
should have been sleeping off her hangover at home, and Nick should have been
with Candy, passed out after a wild night of alcohol and drugs and sex.

And where the fuck is Addison?

The
earpiece linking them went dead as soon as Nick burst through the office door,
and there hadn’t been a peep from her since. There hadn’t been time since
things went south to fix the connection.

“Easy,
Nick. She’s got nothing to do with this.”

If
Kat got hurt, I would never be able to forgive myself.

The
CEO nodded. “I believe you. After that display just now, it makes sense why she
came into the office at the same time as me but didn’t stop me or warn you. But
I also believe that you really don’t want her dead.”

In
my haste to explain myself to Kat, I’d betrayed something I shouldn’t have.
Nick was an asshole, but he wasn’t an idiot.

“Calm
down, Nick, let’s just—”

“Get
the fuck over to the computer. Now.”

As
little as I wanted to accede to Nick’s wishes, I didn’t want his gun going off
anywhere near Kat. As I walked the short distance to the desk, I scratched my
ear with my hand and subtly hit the reset button on the earpiece inside.

Come on, Addison.

We
had planned for this occasion. If a lower-level employee showed up to the
office while I was inside, then I was just a member of the building’s cleaning
crew. If Nick himself showed up despite our precautions, that would require a
more intricate extraction.

It
would be hard to coordinate with Addison if she couldn’t communicate and hear
what was going on through the earpiece. I had to hope she was on her way to
execute her side of the plan. I’d delay as long as I had to.

“I
can’t access those accounts to reverse the transactions from here,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t get you the money, it just might take more time and
effort than a couple of clicks, just so you know that going in.”

“Bullshit,”
Nick said. “If you moved the money out, you can move it back in.”

I
shook my head. “It doesn’t work like that, Nick. My accounts are overseas,
protected. I’d need to perform a remote login from my own computers to access
the money and make a transfer. I can’t just pull the money from your accounts.”

It
was the truth, and Nick knew it. He had his own untraceable foreign banking
accounts to receive money from selling his clients’ secrets. They were a
criminal’s best friend.

“Log
into your accounts on my computer. It’s secure.”

Wow. He’s audacious.

Nick
couldn’t know that his secret was out—if I accessed my accounts from his
computer, he wouldn’t only get his money back, but the backdoor in ARCANE’s
programming would give him all of my banking information and let him drain my
accounts at his leisure.

“I’m
afraid that’s not possible. I have multiple layers of authentication on my
accounts, and intricate passwords for each step. It’s impossible for me to log
in here without all my equipment.”

A
muscle in Nick’s jaw jumped as he stared at me.

This will all be a lot easier if
I can persuade him to leave the building with us.
That would give Addison free
rein to come save the day.

“I
don’t buy it,” he said. “Sit at the desk. Call your associates if you have to.
There has to be some way you can transfer the money back from this room, and
you two aren’t going anywhere until that happens.”

I
put on my most convincing face and tone of voice. “Nick, that’s not possible.
If we go to my condo, I can transfer the money back from there. It’s not far
away.”

He
shook his head and raised the gun to point at Kat. “I’m not leaving this office
to go somewhere you have all the power. Now get to work, because if the money
isn’t back in my account in ten minutes, then Katherine is getting a bullet in
the forehead.”

“Ten
minutes? Jesus, Nick, be reasonable, that’s a lot of money to figure out.”

“Nine
minutes and fifty seconds. I’m not fucking around.”

Shit.

At
least Nick had left an opening—a small one.

Nick’s
email client was still open on the desktop. I glanced up—he was too busy
keeping an eye on the two of us from the other side of the desk; he couldn’t
see the screen. I located an email I knew was there from Addison’s hack
and forwarded it—an insurance policy.

“I
have to call my partner,” I told Nick, reaching for the desk phone. I
dialed
Addison’s cell.

“I’m
sorry, James.”

“Addison?
Never mind that, Nick is here, and he’s demanding we transfer the money back,
or else he’ll kill Kat. She’s here, too.”

“Look,
James. It’s nothing personal. I hope you understand that.”

She
didn’t make sense, and there was no time to spare. “Addison, where are you? Are
you at the condo?”

“I
saw an opportunity, and I took it. You taught me how important that was.”

What the hell is she talking
about?

Suddenly,
my mind made the connection. Nick appearing when he had no reason to. The
earpiece shorting out.

The
stomping of a dozen pairs of boots became audible.

“FBI!
Freeze!”

The
cry rang through the room as officers in black tactical gear flooded the
office. Nick was taken down and disarmed before he could even turn to look at
the door.

Agent
Clark walked through the door, smug look on his face. He smirked as our eyes
met.

“Alex
Fisher, you are under arrest for multiple counts of fraud, embezzlement, theft,
and grand larceny.”

This can’t be happening.

Two
black-clad men with assault rifles charged forward and brandished the weapons
in my face. “Put the phone down, now!”

“I’m
sorry, James. I had to take you out before you got rid of me.”

The
desk phone was still to my ear. The line went dead after Addison finished speaking,
and I sat it down on the receiver, detached from the action as if my arm
belonged to someone else.

“Alex?”
Kat stared at me, eyes wide. “Alex Fisher? James… you’re Alex Fisher?”

I
grimaced. “Surprise. This isn’t how I pictured you finding out.”

Her
mouth opened, then shut, then hung open again. No words came out.

Agent
Clark pointed at me. “Enough. Take Mr. Fisher into custody. He’s coming with me
back to the Bureau.”

One
of the men with a rifle in my face swung it away to cuff my hands behind my back
and shove me after the special agent. Kat watched me go, and I held her
gaze until I exited the room, trying to explain with my eyes.

That wasn’t how I wanted this to
go.

Agent
Clark reminded me there was more at stake than my relationship with Kat.

“I’ve
been hunting you for a long time, Alex. Almost caught up with you a few times,
but the trail always went cold. This time, you’re mine.”

The
smug self-satisfaction in his voice made me want to smack him. The only reason
he found me was because Addison had turned me in.

I can’t believe she did that.
It shouldn’t have been
surprising, and if she was a prototypical thief it wouldn’t have been, but she
was my protégé—she was different.

Marched
from the main ARCANE offices, I looked behind, but didn’t see either Kat or
Nick.

“Did
you take Nick Mercer into custody as well?”

He
raised an eyebrow. “Not yet. We will have questions for why he was
carrying a firearm in the building, but it’s not a crime to be stolen from.”

I
stopped dead in my tracks. “Are you serious? That man is a deranged
lunatic—he’s a criminal, and may even be a murderer.
 
Arrest him!”

Agent
Clark shook his head. “I will not let you force a distraction so you have a
chance to get away, Mr. Fisher. You are going away for a long time, and you
better get used to that idea.”

“I’m
not lying. Kat will be in danger if you don’t believe me. At least take him
into custody until you can sniff around ARCANE’s files and find out the truth.”

I
poured all the persuasion and earnestness into my expression as I could. Agent
Clark looked me in the eyes, then turned back around.

“I
don’t think so. Let’s go.”

One
of the men behind shoved me in the back, forcing me to stumble forward to catch
my balance. Small pushes from behind kept me moving every time I wanted to
stop.

That fucking asshole.

I
had ways I could get out of my predicament, but Kat would be in danger if Nick
was still at large. He would be furious about losing the money, and he would
turn on the only person within reach who he could blame it on—Kat.

I’ve got to help her.

The
only reason she was involved in this danger was because I put her there. She
didn’t deserve this.

Outside,
the agent put me in the back of a black sedan. There were no visible markings,
and it wasn’t made out to be a law enforcement vehicle inside—just a
regular car.

They must have come in a hurry
to not have brought a proper car.

Agent
Clark sat in the passenger seat and the man who’d been responsible for shoving
me in the back on the walk down settled in to drive.

“My
men are taking statements from Nick Mercer and the woman at the scene. This
will be added to the mountain of evidence against you from your earlier crimes.
You’ve pissed off powerful people, Mr. Fisher, and that will not end well for
you.”

His
smirking tone rubbed me the wrong way, like a nail down my spine.

“Powerful
men? You mean criminals who abuse their position and wealth to commit crimes
they’ll never be persecuted for because they donate to the politicians and
police departments?”

The
superior smile faded from Agent Clark’s face. “Watch it, Alex. Throwing around
baseless accusations won’t do you any
favors
. Play
nice and you’ll be far better off.”

I
didn’t dignify that with a response, choosing instead to look out the window.

Part
of being a con artist and a thief was always being prepared. As we pulled away
from ARCANE’s building, I worked on the cuffs holding my hands behind my back
using a small wire tucked into a tiny pocket in my sleeve expressly for that
purpose. By the time we turned onto Market Street, they fell to the seat behind
my back.

There
wasn’t much traffic on a Saturday morning, but there was still a steady flow of
cars in the opposing lane. There was a break up ahead—enough of one to
fit a small car through.

Agent
Clark had settled down and stopped looking back at me. The driver’s eyes
flicked up into the rear-view mirror every few seconds, but each glance was
barely long enough to register any worthwhile information.

Here we go.

The
driver had accelerated enough that an accident would have a serious outcome. I
counted on it.

When
the small gap in oncoming traffic opened, I leapt forward in my seat and swung
my hands as hard as I could into the right side of the driver’s head. My momentum
pushed him sideways, and he crashed into the side of the car. The window
cracked as his head impacted, and the sudden push swung his hands around and
jerked the wheel to the left.

“Oh,
shit.” Agent Clark couldn’t react in time as the car swerved into oncoming
traffic. Both of us were thrown to the right—the driver’s limp body fell
into his colleague and dashed any hopes of regaining control of the wheel.

I
braced myself against the frame of the car as best I could. Horns blared, and
the flash of red outside the windshield heralded the impact.

The
car twisted in a shriek of metal and crash of shattering windows as it spun. My
fingers lost their grip on the door handle and I jerked hard against the
seatbelt as the g-forces threatened to overwhelm me. I clung to consciousness
with a fierce determination and held to the memory of Kat. If I passed out,
this would all be for nothing.

After
an eternity spent holding and hoping, the car slowed to a halt. Dust drifted
through the air, obscuring vision. It settled enough to make out Agent Clark
and the driver in the front seats, both slumped in the posture of the
unconscious. The agent had borne the brunt of the impact as the
passenger—swerving into oncoming traffic meant his seat was the most
dangerous. The driver had been knocked out in my initial assault, so it was no
surprise to see him in no better shape.