Page 50 of Love At the Gates of Hell (The Seven Sinners Trilogy #1)

thirty-four

The Heist - Phase Two

Gideon gazed at Benny as she checked the gold watch around her slim wrist, her eyes raising to meet his with a shy smile.

They were inching closer to the next part of the plan, and he could see her nerves starting to settle in.

It was really the first time all night he saw any sign of apprehension in Benny, and he was impressed with how hard she was trying to hold it all together.

He reached for her, his hand curving lightly around her elbow.

He couldn’t help but step closer toward her, his other hand brushing back a lock of her hair.

It gave him a little thrill to be so intimate with her in public, to actually hold her like this.

But fuck if he didn’t like how easy it was, how natural it felt.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, her hands reaching up to fuss with the lapels of his jacket, her fingers smoothing at the satin. “Just a little nervous.”

He nodded, knowing exactly the kind of jitters going through her system. How nerve-wracking his first big job was. How worried he was he’d fail Luke, fail Frank. And now, here they were, trying to work through the biggest job of their lives.

“One step at a time,” he said. “Nerves are good. Just don’t let them overwhelm you.”

The corner of her mouth quirked. “You really are good at this, you know.”

“He’s a certified fucking therapist,” Luke muttered quietly, his appearance sudden.

Gideon rolled his eyes but didn’t make any movement toward his brother, instead keeping his gaze trained on Benny. Luke picked up an empty glass from the auction table, his shoulder nearly brushing against Gideon’s. Close enough they could whisper and still hear each other.

“What’s going on?” he asked, matching his brother’s tone.

“We’re good,” Luke said, and Gideon felt an immediate wave of relief. “But I just ran into Frank.”

Benny fixed him with a knitted brow.

“Shit, okay,” Gideon replied. “Of course.”

“Of course,” Luke repeated. “Just keep an eye out, okay?”

Gideon nodded and watched out of the corner of his eye as Luke made his way back toward the kitchen. When they were alone again, he sighed and checked his watch. A couple more minutes. Frank didn’t have to be a problem. They just had to hope they’d steer clear of each other.

“Everything okay?” Benny asked.

“Yeah, Luke just ran into an old friend,” Gideon replied. “You ready?”

9:18pm

Olivia stole a quick glance at her watch as she approached the bar.

She was definitely going to need something stronger than champagne.

She had spent almost an hour bothering the hell out of the nice, gorgeous woman from the museum, asking her all sorts of ridiculous questions before she finally drummed up the courage to see if she wanted to get a drink.

Much to her surprise, the woman said yes, and Olivia made a brief note to reconsider her typical dating approach.

Her name was Maggie and she was absolutely out of Olivia’s league, but hell if it wasn’t a fun little twist to her initial role in the evening’s plans.

She didn’t think a scam to steal priceless jewelry was the kind of meet-cute that resulted in a healthy and long-lasting relationship, but a drink was a drink.

They gave their drink orders to the bartender—a martini with a twist for Olivia, and a gin and tonic for Maggie—and then let themselves settle against the bar for a little people-watching while they waited.

A woman in a gorgeous black gown lingered at the other end of the bar, dark curls pinned up to expose the low cut of the back of her dress as she leaned in toward the other bartender.

“Are you sure you’re okay to take a break?” Olivia asked, tearing her eyes away from the stranger.

“That’s what they get for leaving me alone the whole night,” Maggie said with a shrug. “Plus, I’m right here. What could happen?”

“Totally, right,” she said, with a wave of her hand.

She tried to ignore the inching guilt she felt. So, instead, she went back to people-watching. Her eyes caught a flash of red silk, and she couldn’t help her smile as she watched Gideon lead her best friend out onto the dance floor.

“God, what a night,” Maggie exclaimed. “Did you see the Aston Martin in the lobby?”

Olivia barked out a laugh.

“Right? How do you think they even got it inside?”

9:24pm

The band was playing an old soul song, something her parents used to play on Sunday mornings while they cooked, the kitchen filled with the smell of fresh garlic and the sounds of Motown on the radio.

Benny loved dancing, had since she was too little to even know what she was doing.

But partner dancing was somewhat new for her, the true kind— not the sweaty, dive bar kind from her undergrad days.

She’d never had a partner to dance with.

It was a funny role to play, in this heist they planned.

But she trusted Gideon.

She just wasn’t sure what to expect as he led her to the dance floor, and it seemed her apprehension was obvious because a shy smile spread across his face.

The expression was so unlike him that it left her a little breathless, the way that curve of his lips seemed to reshape his face.

She was certain she’d never tire of all these little versions of himself he gave her.

Gideon wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her close, his other hand clutching hers as he brushed his lips against the side of her cheek. She could feel her body tingle at the sensation. Butterflies and nerves all wrapped into one.

“I’m not gonna step on your toes, Russo,” he said, voice hovering by her ear.

“I’m not very good at this,” she told him as their bodies began to sway to the music.

“This is one of those moments where you’re gonna have to relinquish some of that control,” he told her, before he helped them fall into the rhythm of the beat. “Do you trust me?”

She looked up, finding his hazel eyes staring down at her, warm and steady.

“Yes.”

And with a little flourish, he used his hand to twirl her in his arms, the skirt of her dress twirling along with her. She landed back in his arms, a little gasp passing through her lips. She laughed in spite of herself.

“That was perfect,” he whispered in her ear.

She felt her skin warm at his praise. But she liked the feeling it gave her, the way Gideon had seemed to work his way under her skin.

She liked him there. He pulled her in tighter against him, holding her hand to his chest as the beat of the music slowed, and Benny rested her head against his shoulder.

9:26pm

“Are you kidding me?”

Imani’s voice was dripping with disdain, her finger pointing at Olivia and the blonde.

“Oh— no, hi, baby,” Olivia said, her martini glass sloshing as she spun to face her, a sheer panic-stricken look on her freckled face. It was a really good touch, the liquid flying. “There you are!”

“Don’t you baby me,” she snapped. “I have been looking for you all night and of course I find you here with some blonde Barbie doll.”

“Excuse me?” the woman said, rearing back. “What is happening here?”

“I’ll tell you what’s happening,” Imani continued, lowering her voice. “My wonderful girlfriend here has a fun little habit of leaving me alone at parties to flirt with any pretty girl who comes her way and you just happen to be the next basic b—”

“Whoa, hey,” Olivia said, stepping forward, her hand gripping at Imani’s wrist. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, huh, baby?”

“Look, I had no idea she was—” the blonde waved her hands.

“I don’t want to get in the middle of anything, I’m, you know, I’m actually working right now so I’m going to just—” And without waiting for Imani or Olivia to say anything, the blonde barreled through them both and back toward the displays on the other side of the ballroom.

Imani watched, trying to withhold the laughter bubbling in the back of her throat.

It wasn’t until Olivia gripped her hand again that she turned to look at her friend, her eyes wide as she tried not to betray their little performance.

9:28pm

“Oh my God, oh my God, I am so so so so so sorry—”

“Jesus Christ, what the hell—”

“Will somebody get me a towel?”

It all happened so quickly, Harker had to admit he was incredibly impressed by the prowess put on display by Cleo.

One moment she was gliding through the crowd with a tray of drinks balanced on one hand, the next she was bumping directly into the poor woman tasked with watching over the jewels for the evening, Maggie something, the one Olivia had chatted up at the bar.

She was on her way back to resume her duties, and it was all just the perfect amount of disaster.

The display case holding the Heart of Fire was toppled over on its side, the door just cracked open, the necklace nearly hanging out while Cleo and Maggie tried to clean up the mess that was six glasses of champagne and a stained pink suit.

Harker gestured for another security guard as he did his best to help assist in cleaning up the mess, stacking empty champagne glasses onto the tray.

“This has been a nightmare of a night,” Maggie huffed, dragging herself to her feet.

“I feel so bad,” Cleo began, her eyes beginning to water. “I’m so sorry. Did I ruin it? Oh God, I did. I totally ruined your suit—”

The ensuing sobs were an incredible touch. Enough to draw a few curious and startled guests over to the display area. It was beginning to be hard to keep track of just who was near the cases.

“Whoa, be careful,” Maggie shouted at the other security guard who was picking up the display case. “If anything happens to that necklace, we are all going to be far worse than fired, do you understand?”

The offending security guard widened his eyes as he exchanged a glance with Harker before he slowly backed away from the case. “It’s all you, lady.”

9:28pm