Page 37

“You already know. We have the basics of a plan already. All that we need to do is pull the trigger.”

She chewed her lip before nodding. “All right. All right. I know you are right. There’s no sense in putting it off. We should just get it over with. When do you want to do it?”

“Tomorrow.”

“So soon!?”

“I thought you just agreed that we should do it sooner rather than later?”

“I did, but I didn’t realize you meant that soon.”

“If you aren’t ready?—”

“I didn’t say that! I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am. So, we have the when, what about the how?”

“We don’t want to go too over the top if we don’t have to. Let’s start with something simple. Perhaps we can go out to the gardens and find a quiet little spot.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think that will work. They aren’t planning any garden excursions until later in the week, so we would have to try and time it for when a small group decides to go on a walk, and they rarely take more than a few minutes to make those kinds of plans.”

“That isn’t the end of the world; we could always try and rush out as soon as we hear them talking about it.”

“I don’t know if that would work. We would have to rush. It would make our performance messy.”

“All right, give me a minute.”

Amber thought about making a remark, telling her they didn’t have all the time in the world to plan, but she held it in. In the end, it didn’t take him more than a few seconds to speak.

“If we can’t be sure they would come to us outside, the best thing we can do is to just pick a room that’s secluded, but make sure someone is planning on heading that way or that it has consistent traffic. Maybe a library or an art hall,” he nodded to himself. “It should be easy enough.”

Amber thought for a moment then nodded as well, rubbing at the back of her neck. She could feel her back stiffening at the thought of going through with it, but she knew he was right. The sooner they got it over with, the better. She let out a long breath. “That isn’t a bad idea. It could work.”

“High praise coming from you.”

The tension was forgotten about when she heard him. Crossing her arms, she scowled at him. “Oh, stop it!”

“Did I say anything untrue? I do believe that might be the first complement you have given me.”

“You can expect it to be the last.”

“I would expect nothing less from you.”

She took a calming breath. “All right, I will agree to your plan. Did you have a room in mind?”

“A few, but I don’t think we should narrow it down too much too fast.”

“I suppose that makes sense. Just let me know when you figure out what room would work best.”

He smiled, and something in Amber softened. “Don’t worry. I should think I am more than capable of handling that.”

She swallowed, pushing the warm feeling in her chest down. She didn’t have time for that. Not now. Not ever. “I should hope so. Otherwise, what are we doing here?”

“If you aren’t content with my help, you are more than welcome to try and find another accomplice.” He turned as if to walk away, but Amber called out to him.

Panic flooded her. She knew he was probably bluffing, but she couldn’t risk that. Heart in her throat, she called out to him.