Page 29

TWENTY-NINE

Sorsha

“I don’t like this,” Thorn said for what was approximately the one millionth time.

I restrained myself from pointing out that he appeared to dislike pretty much everything as a general rule. “It doesn’t matter whether you like it or not. From what you said, you can’t get into the room that’s got to hold the important stuff. So it’s up to me. No need to worry. I’ve been training for this moment my entire life.”

That was only a slight exaggeration. I tucked my ponytail under the knit cap that now hid all of my hair. Then I stretched my arms in the thin black top that was the centerpiece of my cat burglar attire, careful not to bonk my elbows in the relatively tight space of the car’s back seat. I had my pouches with all my standard equipment—sans grappling hook and rope, since the place was only one story—attached to the thin belt around my waist. Piece of cake.

I’d just keep telling myself that until I was back here with the goods.

The warrior shifted restlessly in his seat. “I could dispatch the guards.”

By “dispatch,” I assumed he meant “punch their throats in” as per his usual M.O. But even if he didn’t— “No. Ideally, we don’t want the sword-star bunch to know we ever found out about the store. If they realize we’ve gotten that far, they’ll probably scrub every trail it could lead to before we have half a chance to follow them.”

“There’s got to be something major in there,” Ruse said. “No business fills a few walls with silver and iron just for kicks.”

“I still say I should at least go into the main building with you,” Thorn grumbled. “Only the office was protected in a way I couldn’t penetrate.”

I leaned forward to poke his broad shoulder. “I need you patrolling outside the store in case reinforcements show up. It’s a huge building—I can manage to avoid two security guards.” The depot took up an entire block, the building sprawling across half and the rest a massive parking lot. From what Thorn had described, I’d have plenty of shelves and other displays to take shelter behind.

And I also needed to make sure he didn’t get trigger-happy—knuckle-happy?—and bash up the guards even if I wasn’t in serious danger.

Ruse patted the steering wheel. “I’ll be ready to jet the second you get back, Miss Blaze.” He gave Thorn a sly glance. “You, I’ll leave behind if you’re not back at the same time she is.”

Thorn didn’t look offended. “As you should. I can find my way to the motel through the shadows if need be.”

“I can too,” Snap said. “Isn’t there anything I could do that would help you, Sorsha?” He gazed at me so beseechingly with those gorgeous green eyes that I wavered, though just a little and only for an instant.

I wanted my shadowkind trio out of my way so that they didn’t cause unexpected problems during this heist, yeah, but that wasn’t the only reason I intended on going in alone. The fact that the place even had a room protected against shadowkind showed they knew they might be dealing with beings of a monstrous sort. Who knew what kind of bullets the guards were packing in their guns—or what other weapons they might have on them? The building itself could contain other defenses that would weaken these guys.

I wasn’t going to take that chance. I’d broken into plenty of buildings without getting caught. It was my specialty, really. If I went in there alone, it was only my hide on the line. If I screwed up, no one paid for it except me. I’d have been twice as nervous otherwise.

I squeezed Snap’s hand. “You already found this place for us—and I know that took a lot out of you.” It’d pained me, encouraging him to go against his fears, as necessary as it’d seemed. “I’m sure you’ll be able to help with whatever I bring back.”

Thorn was scowling, but apparently he was done arguing. “I’ll go ahead and scout out the area one last time before you head in. Wait for my signal.”

“Got it.” I poked him again. “And don’t you dare follow me in. If more guards come calling, do you really want to leave me unprepared until they’re already in the building? If you see anyone coming after me out there, feel free to dispatch them however you’d like.” If the alarm had already been sounded, leaving bodies behind wouldn’t matter, only getting out alive.

His mouth tightened, but he nodded. I thought the reminder of his responsibilities would be enough to keep him patrolling where he shouldn’t be in the line of fire. If I did my job right, there’d be no alarm and no reinforcements for him to do battle with.

He vanished, and I eased out of the car, shutting the door as softly as I could. We’d parked in a lot outside a kitchen supply outlet store where the nearest security lamp was burnt out. In the thickening dusk, I’d barely be visible in my black clothes against the black car.

I stared toward Fun Station Depot, watching for Thorn’s go-ahead. The cooling breeze tickled across my cheeks. Just to pass the time, I touched each piece of my gear in turn to confirm I had it where I expected it to be.

A light flashed in the distance, there and gone. Thorn and the mini flashlight he’d helped himself to inside the store. All clear.

I gave the guys in the car a wave good-bye, unable to see through the tint if they returned it, and loped off. The soles of my sneakers made only the faintest rasp against the pavement. I veered around to the back of the kitchen supply building and crossed the street there, dashing through the lamplight.

My pulse thumped brisk but steady. I indulged in a brief spurt of song under my breath. “I can steal it, coming to your lair tonight, oh horde.” The smile that came with the mangled lyric spurred me on.

As I reached the parking lot behind the toy store, I slowed. Thorn had given me a hand in one other way: he’d surreptitiously unlocked a door at the back of the store. I still had to make it through the stockroom, across the main retail floor, and into the office at the east end, but then I’d only have one lock to disable. The way in is iron . It didn’t matter what kind of key that special room normally took—my picks would do the trick.

The parking lot was empty other than a charity donations bin the size of a small trailer in one corner. Clothes for the Recently Deceased. Now there was a cause if I’d ever heard one. Wouldn’t want any corpses to have to wander around naked.

I slunk around the pools of security light, eased open the back door, and peeked into the dark stockroom with ears pricked. No sound reached my ears except the distant whir of traffic from somewhere behind me. Even two guards were overkill for nighttime security in a discount toy shop—reflecting the fact that the management had more they wanted to protect than just the merchandise—but neither of them hung out back here. That worked for me.

I crept between the high shelving units stacked with boxes of plushies, action figures, and Lego. Only the faintest streak of light showed beneath the door at the other end that led to the main retail area. I stopped by it, holding myself still and silent.

After a few minutes, footsteps tapped by. The guards weren’t making any effort to conceal their movements—very helpful of them. How many months, even years, had they been on the job without ever actually needing to guard anything in here?

I smiled. Complacency was a thief’s best friend.

When the footsteps had tapped away, I nudged the door open an inch to take a lay of the land. Packed shelves of playthings loomed on either side of an aisle right across from me. More stood at regular intervals to my left, but to my right, when I dared to fully emerge, I saw a cluster blocking my straight path to the spot where Thorn had said the office was.

I kept close to the end displays, peering down each aisle and then darting across the open space to make my way across the store. When footsteps tapped my way again, I ducked behind a cardboard stand of foil trading card packages. Catch ‘em all—but no one would be catching me.

Slinking onward, I was feeling particularly confident for about five seconds. I slipped past the next display—and with a whir of mechanized parts, an electronic barking sound spewed out from the nearest shelf.

I flinched and barely restrained myself from smacking the thing. A little robotic puppy was stomping its feet and emitting that awful sound right by my shoulder. Because what could anyone want more than a yappy dog that couldn’t even cuddle with you? Brilliant design.

Two sets of footsteps headed toward me, thudding rather than tapping now. I dashed for the nearest shelter: a life-size statue of a fashion doll poised next to rows of pink boxes containing her smaller counterpart. Thankfully, her ample chest and hips were more than wide enough to disguise my dark form behind them.

I held myself rigidly still, eyeing those curves. It’d better be true that these dolls were made in impossible proportions, because otherwise I definitely fell short.

The guards came to a stop by the yappy toy, which finally shut up. One of the men sighed. “Stupid dog. I swear all it takes is a tiny draft to set it off. I hope one of them haunts the asshole who designed those things.”

“No kidding,” the other said with a weary chuckle.

They poked around a bit, one ambling down my aisle, but Miss Giant Bosoms remained my savior. As I groped her butt while squashing myself farther out of view, I thought a silent Sorry! at her.

When the coast was clear, I edged out from behind her and headed for the cluster of shelves between me and my goal. They turned out to circle a play area with a ball pit, train table, and a few kiddie ride-on cars. Just beyond that spot, I caught sight of the door that must lead to the office. Bingo!

Approaching it, my heart sank. Snap had said Meriden had left a strong impression that the way into this place was iron. How could that be anything other than a key—one many shadowkind couldn’t even touch, so very convenient? But maybe that had been for the outer door? The one in front of me had no keyhole at all, nothing for me to pick or even pop an explosive into, just a flat unbroken panel next to a keypad to enter a code.

Shit. I had a code breaker device that might have gotten me in if I’d had the time, but it could take hours depending on the model—if it would even connect with this one. I couldn’t hang around with the not-so-deadly duo that long. Even if the guards didn’t pose any more of a threat than they’d presented so far, they had plenty of friends who could pick up that slack.

Standing tensed, I glared at the door. Why the hell had Meriden been obsessing about iron coming in here? It being in the walls was a way to keep shadowkind out , not let anyone in. It was too late to go back and ask Snap if he’d happened to also pick up on a sequence of four numbers or?—

Wait a second.

My pulse kicked up a notch as I bent over the lock. Sweet kit and caboodle, let this work. I-R-O-N: 4766.

The lock beeped faintly, making my pulse hiccup, and the deadbolt slid over. Yes!

I held back a fist pump of victory and pushed the door. It swung open to admit me without a squeak. Just like that, I walked inside, met with stillness crisp with an air conditioner’s artificial chill.

Not knowing whether the overhead lights would show under the door, I opted for the smaller glow of my flashlight. It caught on a steel desk mounted with a computer and monitor, a leather office chair, a couple of filing cabinets, and a bulletin board pinned with a calendar and various sales announcements.

The computer would probably contain the motherlode. I took a quick skim through the filing cabinets just in case, but they were all filled with order forms and sales reports. Sinking into the leather chair, I tapped the mouse.

The monitor blinked on—to a password request screen.

Son of a basket weaver. Of course it’d be protected, and I wasn’t any hacker. I’d never had to steal data during any burglar-ing mission before.

I typed in IRON, but that luck was only good for one point of access. The password window shuddered and informed me I needed to try again. I grimaced at it. How many tries would I get before it set off some kind of alarm or locked me out completely?

The odds of me guessing the password belonging to some people I knew zilch about was about five million to one. I could gamble with the best of them, but I knew when a bet wasn’t worth taking.

So… I guessed I’d better take the whole damn computer until I could find someone better at this part than I was.

There was only so much I could carry. I could find another monitor someplace else. I unhooked the computer unit from the screen and heaved it up under my arm.

Ooof, yeah, time to start doing more push-ups. My bicep was aching before I’d even taken two steps. The corner of the heavy metal block dug into my hip.

As I moved around the desk, I spotted a clear plastic box with a stack of CDs labeled in sharpie. What if some of the necessary data was on those? I shoved the box under my arm on top of the computer. Now I had sharp corners digging into my armpit too—wonderful.

I snuck out the door again and closed it with the softest of clicks. All I had to do was schlep this haul outside, and I was home free. Still a piece of cake.

I’d only crossed a few feet of floor when the damned dog burst out yapping again.

That wasn’t enough to throw me off. No, I had better nerves than that. But as I dashed for cover at the sound of approaching feet, the disc case that had already been wedged precariously against my side jostled out. It hit the floor with a clatter no one could possibly mistake for a tiny draft. As I swore to myself, one of the guards yelled.

Forget cake; forget stealth. It was time to run.