Page 16 of No Longer Mine

The fridge light cut through the dim space as I grabbed a pudding cup, stabbing the spoon into the chocolate. “Call Jax,” I said around a mouthful. “Tell him there was nothing on Cristof in his house.”

Oliver braced his hands on the counter, his jaw tight. “What do you mean nothing?”

I rolled my eyes. “What do you want me to say? Benson Browne is handling all of his digital security. There’s nothing to find.”

“You said there was a safe behind the painting.”

I motioned to the loot on the island. “That’s what was in there.”

It wasn’t the whole truth.

Something about the safe hadn’t made sense. But if I admitted that, Oliver would push me to go back. And I couldn’t.

Not because I was afraid.

Because I knew Dimitri would catch me.

And the worst part?

There was an itch in the back of my mind—a curiosity I couldn’t shake. A want that I couldn’t name.

Even though he’d seen me, we’d been in the dark. I convinced myself the shadows had been enough to keep him from recognizing me.

There were a lot of redheads in Manhattan.

I just had to make sure he never saw me again.

Oliver came around the counter, the loot forgotten. “Scarlett, you’ve been doing this for years. Maybe it’s time to give it a rest.”

I shook my head. He didn’t get it. If I stopped now, what was left?

Everything I did—everything—was about setting things right. If I quit, the people who deserved justice would never get it. Even though my family wasn’t here, they would get it.

And worse?

I’d be nothing.

My life revolved around heists and trying to regain my control.

Chapter Eight

Dimitri

The entire safe was empty.I knew if the thief came back, she would go for it first. None of the other safes and hidden places had been messed with in my home. It was almost too easy. I’d removed the flash drive and replaced it with random items of jewelry that I didn’t care for. The flash drive held all of my pictures of Cassie and me together. I told Benson to get rid of her digitally, but on the flash drive? That was where she was immortal.

I leaned back in my chair, running my fingers over the edge of my desk, where the real safe was hidden beneath the floorboards. That flash drive? The one that actually mattered?

Tucked away, secure.

Everything else, like most of my money, was in a vault on the other side of Manhattan. I wasn’t stupid enough to keep all of my valuables in one place. I also didn’t care that any of that jewelry went missing.

Either way, I doubted she’d be back.

Still, I wasn’t stupid enough to get comfortable.

Benson was fuming when I called him.

“She got through again?” His voice was sharp, his irritation barely contained.