Page 6 of It Takes a Thief (Ring of Thieves #2)

A fter landing safely at LaGuardia, I secure a rental SUV for us and load Merritt’s luggage into the back.

The princess doesn’t travel lightly, and my arms have gotten a nice workout on this trip.

Fine by me since this job has my workout schedule all over the place.

Normally, I’m a creature of habit, up at the crack of dawn and exercising, but I’ve been too busy to do that since the shift from stealing valuables to protecting one.

Merritt tells me her address, and I plug it into the GPS.

It’s morning rush hour and traffic is going to be a bitch, but that’s New York City.

At least it gives me something to focus on because the moment we arrived, I began feeling out of sorts.

I haven’t been back to this city since I grew up here.

No reason to return. Because the memories? Yeah, they aren’t the best.

Two weeks, Decker. You can manage fourteen days in this place with a gorgeous princess.

I sure fucking hope so, anyway.

“What’s wrong?” Merritt asks. She must notice something is off with me because I’ve barely said two words. Since I’m not a big talker, I’m a little surprised at how she’s able to read me so well. I refuse to dump my screwed-up past on her, though. Time to put the focus back on her.

“Just thinking about how you’ve said you don’t think you need a bodyguard. How you believe the attempted kidnapping was random.”

“That’s right. I think my parents are overreacting and being overprotective.” She tilts her head, studying me. “We’ve gone over this.”

“Yeah, we have, but I’m thorough like that. Humor me.”

The light turns red and I stop the car and begin tapping my index finger on the steering wheel.

Something isn’t adding up, and it’s been bothering me that this job has been unusually quiet and easy.

Since I came on board, there hasn’t been one single threat.

Which, okay, is great, but my gut is on edge.

“It happened here in New York.” I’m really just thinking aloud, and Merritt nods. “Before that, there was never a problem?”

“No, never. There’s been no need for security because no one knows who I am or is familiar with Arcadia. There are a lot of famous faces here, but trust me, I’m not one of them. I blend right in.”

No, she could never just be another face in the crowd. Her beauty and elegance make her stand out. People may not know she’s royalty, but Merritt Fontaine shines in every possible way.

“Tell me again what happened.”

“I left yoga class with my friend, Charity, and we were going to get smoothies at this café we like. Out of nowhere, a man plowed into me. I fell and he reached down, helping me back up. At least, that’s what I thought he was doing.

Until he started pulling me away from Charity, tugging me toward a car.

I cried out, trying to pull free, and Charity started hitting him with her yoga mat.

She began screaming ‘Police!’ and he ran away.

” A shrug. “I think it was just a random, weird thing.”

“Not a targeted attack?”

“No. He took off fast and nothing has happened since.”

“So, you tell your parents, they freak out and bring you home. A day later, someone attempts to break in and steal your crown.”

“He snuck in through my bedroom window. I don’t know what his intentions were, but he must’ve seen the crown on my dresser and grabbed it. I woke up and yelled for a guard.”

“You also attacked the intruder,” I remind her in a tight voice, “which was a foolish thing to do. What if he’d been armed or hurt you or—”

“I just reacted and I threw my phone. It hit him in the face. Lucky shot. He dropped the crown and ran.”

“And he was wearing a mask.”

A frustrated sigh. “Yes. I couldn’t see his face at all.”

We’ve gone over all this before, every single detail, but sometimes retelling an incident might trigger a new memory.

Plus, I like to make sure I have everything correct.

I don’t have enough intel to determine if the attempted kidnapping—because that’s what I’m calling it—and the break-in at the palace are connected.

They happened in two completely different countries that are very far away from each other.

If nothing else happens, I can chalk it up to a coincidence. But being away from the guarded palace and in a big city puts me on edge. Danger could come at any time from anywhere, and it already has at least once. I plan on sticking to the princess like a fly on shit.

“So, ah, I forgot to tell you that I’ll be stepping out this afternoon,” Merritt says.

I arch a brow. “Wherever you go, I go.”

“You can’t go,” she insists.

The GPS indicates that her apartment building is coming up on the right. I ease up on the accelerator and hit the blinker. “You sure about that? Because it’s literally my job.”

She lets out a frustrated sound and shakes her head. “Linc, please. I won’t be long and—”

“Where are you going?” I ask, getting suspicious.

She clears her throat. “On a date.”

A surge of jealousy pummels through me. I slam on the brakes a little too hard, and she jolts forward against the seatbelt. A date? She doesn’t have a boyfriend. Just last night she was asking me to be her fake fiancé.

“You just got back. When the hell did you have time to arrange a date?” Incredulity laces my voice, as well as some frustration. I don’t want to spend the next two weeks watching her act like she’s the star of The Bachelorette.

“I’m on a dating app,” she explains. “I was talking to him on the plane.”

While I must’ve been sleeping.

It’s completely illogical, because Merritt Fontaine doesn’t belong to me, but for some reason that really pisses me off.

“It’s just for coffee and—”

“No,” I growl, pulling into the underground garage and rolling down my window. I stop beside a box and reach out, my fingers hovering over the numbers. “What’s the code to open the gate?”

“What do you mean no? You might be my bodyguard, but you are not the boss of me, Mr. Decker.”

Yeah, we’ll see about that. “Code!” I snap.

She crosses her arms and sends me a royally-defiant stare. “Not until you say I can go.”

“There won’t be any bargaining, Princess. The answer is no.”

“I only have two weeks!”

I pull in a calming breath. She’s frazzled, I’m pissed, but there’s no way I’m escorting her on a date and watching her flirt with some asshole she found through an on-line dating app a few hours ago.

“My job is to protect you, and it’s easiest to do that when you stay home.

Now give me the code or I’m driving through this gate. ”

“You’re worse than my parents,” she seethes.

“Poor baby.” I snap my fingers, which still hover beside the keypad.

She mumbles the code, and I stab my finger against each button. The gate lifts and I pull into a parking spot near the elevator. Merritt gets out, slamming the door behind her.

“Royal pain in my ass,” I grumble, sliding out of the driver’s seat.

“I heard that.” She stands there, hands on her hips, the gold in her blue eyes sparking dangerously. Those gorgeous eyes narrow. “You’re fired.”

I snort. “Nice try, but I work for your parents.”

She throws her hands into the air. “This is ridiculous! I’m a grown-ass woman who is allowed to go out on a date.”

My lips twitch. She looks so fierce and I love when she curses. Too adorable. “In two weeks, when my job is done, you can do whatever you want, Princess. Until then, I’m the boss.”

Her face falls. “If only that were true,” she whispers.

The sadness in her voice makes me pause and suddenly she looks so forlorn.

My resolve to keep her locked up in her apartment begins to crumble.

Dammit all to hell. I’m such a pushover when it comes to her, and I have no idea why.

The truth is, I want to see that feisty side again.

There’s a lot I actually want, but she’s off-limits.

“Just coffee?” I murmur. Her head snaps up and she nods. Goddamn, I’m a sucker.

She glances at the delicate gold watch on her slim wrist. “At three. I promise to be out of there by four. At the very latest.”

“Fine,” I grumble, not happy in the least about this.

But she’s right. She’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions.

I’m merely the hired muscle who’s supposed to keep her safe.

If she wants to meet up with some asshole, then I’ll tag along and make sure she doesn’t get into any sort of trouble.

Because I know she’s vulnerable right now, looking for love, and that might cause her to have blinders on.

So, I’ll do my fucking job and look out for her.

Keep her safe from any dillhole with ill intentions.

I sling my duffel bag over my shoulder and wheel her three suitcases into the elevator. Merritt places a small key in a slot, hits the top floor and we zoom upwards.

“Thank you,” she says in a soft voice, and I grunt.

Yeah, my current state: not fucking happy. But, she’s not my prisoner and I have to respect that.

The elevator door opens, and we step right into a large living room.

Already, I don’t like the fact that someone could take the elevator up and walk straight into her house.

Anyone with a general knowledge of tech could create a key card.

God knows, I’ve seen Ryder do it a dozen times.

Crossing my arms, I look around, taking note of everything. Like the good, hired hand I am.

A cream-colored leather sofa covered in a vibrant array of throw pillows sits in front of a gas fireplace. Candles are scattered across the various surfaces in the room, and artwork, mostly of flowers and the sea, adorns the walls. If I’m not mistaken, I think they’re pictures of Arcadia.

The place must’ve cost a fortune. I walk over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and pull the curtains shut more. Even though we’re fifty floors off the ground, anybody could be looking in here from a nearby building.

“I want to check out your security system,” I tell her.