Page 21 of It Takes a Thief (Ring of Thieves #2)

S houlder propped against the wall, I look out over the extravaganza the King and Queen of Arcadia have thrown for their daughter’s twenty-fifth birthday.

A table loaded with desserts lines an entire wall and a fountain flows with champagne.

On the opposite side, waitstaff stand at round tables, serving up food to guests from silver trays.

A band provides the music, and couples fill the ballroom dance floor.

At the back of the room, the walls have been rolled back to open up onto the veranda which is dotted with tiny fairy lights, endless flowers and balloon bouquets.

The ever-present smell of jasmine tickles my nose, blowing in on the breeze.

There are over one hundred guests—a bodyguard’s worst nightmare—but I looked over the list and vetted every last person currently in this house. Although I’m not expecting trouble, it’s nice to have the royal guards helping me keep an eye on things.

My gaze moves over the guests, zeroing in on the woman I can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Merritt is surrounded by a gaggle of admirers and has been keeping up a steady stream of chatter for hours.

Although she’s smiling and seems engaged, I know she’s tired.

And I take full blame because I snuck into her room and kept her up all night.

With my mouth, my hands and my cock. We were both insatiable, unable to get enough, and I’m not quite sure how I’m supposed to just walk away from her once this job wraps up tonight.

Nothing about it feels right.

Her parents already gave me the go ahead to leave, and Addie confirmed a private jet, courtesy of The Man, is ready to fly me back to Denver after this shindig. But the idea of leaving makes my gut twist.

I try to chalk it up to being concerned about Merritt’s welfare and leaving her solely in the hands of her royal guards. But I know that’s bullshit.

I not only broke all three of my rules when it comes to her, I fucking obliterated them.

It doesn’t matter, though. The moment I saw her step out of her room tonight, I knew it was over.

The sparkling diamond and pearl crown perched atop her lustrous brown curls reminded me how astronomically out of my league she is, and how I’m just a washed-up fighter who has no business touching her with my rough, scarred hands.

I refuse to regret what happened between us, though. Every minute with Mer has been nothing short of heaven.

Sighing, I realize this is the first time in my life I’ve ever wanted more with a woman. The first time I’ve been ready to say fuck my rules.

But I don’t fit in here. She’s a damn royal princess and has an entire kingdom to take care of, while I’m…nobody.

“Hey, Lights Out,” a voice says, and I look over to see Jeffrey Dumas walking over.

I know it’s not fair of me to hate him, but I do.

Because he’s the man Alain and Eliza Fontaine, the King and Queen of Arcadia, have chosen for their daughter.

“Thought you might be interested in a fight happening,” Jeffrey says. “Maybe I could tempt you to get back into the cage? For old times’ sake?”

“I’m retired.”

“How much money would change your mind?”

But I shake my head. “Not interested.”

Across the room, Merritt looks up from the crowd gathered around her, gaze searching until her focus lands on me.

I recognize the plea for help. The S.O.S.

her blue eyes send me. Straightening up, I push off the wall, stalk past Jeffrey and head straight for her.

This nobody wants a first, and last, dance with his princess.

I march through the crowd, moving around clusters of guests, my eyes never leaving hers, making sure she knows I’m coming to her rescue. When I reach her, I take her hand and pull her away from everyone, saying, “The princess needs a moment.”

Leaning down, I add in a husky whisper, “And I’d like a dance, if it isn’t asking too much.”

She graces me with a true smile. “I’ll always save a dance for you, Linc.”

I’m not much of a dancer, but I’ll take any excuse to hold Merritt in my arms. We step onto the polished wood floor, and I pull her close, not giving a damn what people think.

“You look beautiful, Merritt.” My arms tighten around her, unwilling to let her go. “And the way you handle yourself is admirable.”

“Thank you.”

For a moment, we sway to the music. There’s really nothing left to say. Our two very different worlds briefly collided, it was incredible, and now it’s time to go our separate ways. Leaving should be easy. God knows, I’ve never had a problem doing it before. But this time it’s different.

This time it fucking hurts. And it’s making me really goddamn grumpy.

I’m tempted to spirit her away and not look back. But that wouldn’t be right or fair. I can’t expect her to walk away from all this.

That means this is it. Our final moments together before I board the plane waiting for me.

The light from the chandelier above catches a diamond in her crown as if to remind me it’s time to leave. To reinforce the fact that I have no place in Princess Merritt Fontaine’s life.

We both know it’s true.

A new song begins, and we keep dancing. One sad turn after another, lost in each other’s eyes and the if-onlys. Unable and unwilling to let go.

“I’m going to miss you,” she whispers, her pretty blue eyes shimmering with tears.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart.” I drag my thumb over her high cheekbone, wiping away a stray tear. “I’ll always be here if you need me.”

“Excuse me, but I think it’s time for the princess to dance with her soon-to-be betrothed,” a voice says, interrupting us.

“We aren’t finished, Jeffrey,” Merritt states coolly.

But I let her go and step back. My hands curl into fists as I send Jeffrey Dumas a scathing look. “It’s fine, Mer.”

I’m not going to cause a scene or react, even though I’d like to punch this fool’s lights out. Is this really the guy her parents approve of? He reminds me of a slick car salesman, and I hated him on sight. Probably because I’m jealous as hell.

She doesn’t love him , a voice whispers.

Yeah, well, she doesn’t love me, either.

Before I do something stupid to embarrass Merritt, I turn and walk away from the only woman I’ve ever cared about. The kingdom of Arcadia and Jeffrey Dumas are Merritt’s future. Not me. The sooner I accept that, the quicker I’ll be able to move on with my life.

I refuse to stay here and watch them dance, though. His hands on her make my skin crawl. But, once again, I tell myself there’s nothing I can do. So, I snag a cupcake and slink away from the party, hating myself, hating Jeffrey, hating this house. Hating this whole damn situation.

Up in my room, I quickly pack my duffel bag.

No point in prolonging the inevitable. But first, I find a pen and piece of paper and scrawl out a quick note.

Then I walk over to Merritt’s bedroom and place the cupcake and note on the nightstand beside her bed.

Every time I see a cupcake, I’ll forever think of Mer and the incredible way we celebrated her birthday.

Well, that’s it. My work here is done. Slinging my bag over a shoulder, I walk out and slip down a back staircase, avoiding the party guests. Outside, Leo is waiting by the car, ready to drive me to the airport.

“Ready, sir?” he asks.

I toss my bag in the back seat. “No, but let’s go.”

We get in and he eyes me in the rearview mirror. “The princess is going to miss you something fierce,” he says.

My heart does a weird sort of freefall in my chest, and I wonder if he knows about us. That we’ve been sneaking around.

“From what I can see, you make her very happy. In fact, I’ve never seen her so content.”

Sly old bastard . I’d be willing to bet my last buck he knows what’s been going on between us.

“I’ve known the princess since the day she was born,” he continues, “and I’ve never seen her light up the way she does when she’s around you.”

“What exactly are you saying, Leo?”

“I’m saying Mr. Dumas isn’t the right man for her.”

As much as I like hearing that, it doesn’t change anything. “The king and queen seem to think he’s perfect for her.”

“Hmm.”

Leo doesn’t say another word. Probably because of his loyalty to the Fontaines. And because if word got back, he’d most likely lose his job. But something in his tone—true concern—snags my attention. I pull out my phone and call Ryder.

“Yo, Linc,” he answers. “How’s the royal life treating you?”

“Ryder, I need a favor,” I interrupt, getting straight to business. “I need a full background check on Jeffrey Dumas from Arcadia. Can you do it now?”

“Don’t insult me. I can do it yesterday.”

“Thanks.” I disconnect the call, unease roiling through my gut. Suddenly, I’m not so sure I should be leaving. But I need more than a gut feeling—I need proof. A solid reason to stay.

Of course, I already looked into Jeffrey. On the surface, he appears successful and put-together, though an annoying kiss-ass, in my opinion. But my search didn’t unearth any red flags. Now, I’m wishing I would’ve dug deeper.

When we reach the airport, Leo shuts off the engine. “Shall I wait, sir?”

“Yeah, that would be great. Thanks, Leo.”

“Thank you , Mr. Decker.”

Even though he’s being slightly cryptic, Leo’s message is clear. He doesn’t want Merritt with Jeffrey, and I want to know why.

What is Jeffrey Dumas hiding?

Twenty minutes later, Addie and Ryder ring me back on a joint call.

“You haven’t left yet, have you?” Addie asks, sounding worried.

I instantly tense because The Boss isn’t a woman who worries very often. “No, I’m still here.”

“Good because I contacted The Man, and he and Ryder managed to pull up some disturbing intel on Jeffrey Dumas.”

“What?” I growl.

“The guy’s in debt up to his eyeballs,” Ryder informs me. “He’s a prolific gambler and owes a shitload of money to a lot of people. He also likes the fight scene—professional and underground.”

Merritt’s words flash through my head like a Times Square billboard: “Most of the time, I think he’s more interested in courting my parents than me.”

Because if he got his hands on the royal coffers, he could pay off his debt.

“Yeah, he recognized me,” I murmur. “Surprised the hell outta me.”

“That’s not all,” Addie says.

“You know how I tapped into the CCTV from the building across the street from where the hit and run took place? I managed to clean up the shot of the back license plate when the vehicle fled. The car belongs to Savant Holdings.”

“Savant Holdings?” I echo. “Never heard of them.”

“With a little help from The Man, we found out the company declared BK a few months ago. Guess who owned it?”

I let out a low breath. “Dumas.”

“Ding, ding, ding,” Ryder says. “He needs Merritt’s wealth to save his ass, and what better way to do that than marry into a royal kingdom?”

“And when she wasn’t returning home fast enough, he tried to scare her by nearly kidnapping her and then running her down.” Everything clicks into place. “I bet that fucker left the knife in her pillow, too.”

Fury fills me and I ball my hands into fists, itching to punch this asshole.

“It sounds like he’s a snake, willing to do anything for money and to save his own skin,” Addie states. “You need to confront him, Linc, and Merritt needs to know the truth.”

I glance down at my watch, considering my options.

Returning to the party and causing a huge scene doesn’t seem like the best idea.

I’d rather wait for Dumas at his house, catch him off guard, and nail his ass.

Plus, if he’s the one behind the attacks, and I’d bet my left nut he is, he has no reason to harm her now that she’s home.

He needs her alive in order to marry her.

“You got Dumas’s address?” I ask.

“I do, sir,” Leo states from nearby, and I tilt my chin at him.

“Never mind,” I tell my crew between gritted teeth. “I’m heading over to his place now.”

“Don’t lose your shit, Linc,” Addie warns.

“Too late,” I inform her and hang up. Then I turn to Leo. “Let’s go.”

I’m going to wipe the fucking floor with Jeffrey Dumas.