Page 36 of Prettiest Little Thief (Band of Thieves #1)
Avram and Jericho tagged along with Lucas and I to the residence of Anastasia's descendant in case there was a need for translation. Plus, it was helpful that they were more familiar with the formalities of Romania.
Jericho knocked on the door, the four of us crowded on the sidewalk, waiting. There were no sounds of movement, no voices. Just complete silence behind the walls of the home.
I tapped my foot, twisting a strand of my hair.
This was it; the moment Lucas had been seeking since his sister had been locked into an abusive marriage. Rolling waves of uncertainty pummeled through me. The next steps of this mission would be solely determined by the answer this woman could give us.
Did she know where Anastasia’s chest was?
With one half of the equation safely tucked away at the villa, the rest of the keepsake could be obtained in the next few days.
“What if I have to steal from an old woman?” I whispered to Lucas. A gnawing sensation blossomed in my gut.
The door swung open before my husband could respond.
A petite, gray-haired woman stood before us. Milky eyes glared at us with disdain through small glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose. Her lips pursed tightly .
Avram took the lead. “Barev—”
“What do you want?” the woman’s voice rang out before Avram could complete his greeting.
Both of Lucas’s men glanced back at Lucas, who stood stoically and unbothered by the curtness of her demeanor.
“Mrs. Gregorian, my name is Lucas Knight. Would you mind speaking with us about one of your ancestors?”
She continued to glower at the four of us.
I cleared my throat, and her eyes drifted to me. “Ma’am, we wouldn’t be on your doorstep if it weren’t a matter of potential life or death. We won’t take much of your time.” I offered her a weak smile, hoping any semblance of the importance of the situation would convince her to allow us her time.
There was a pause for a moment as Mrs. Gregorian seemed to be thinking about it. Eventually, she stepped back and opened the door a little more, motioning for us to enter.
Jericho and Avram went in before us. Lucas gripped my arm gently just as I was going to cross the threshold. I peeked up at him, and what looked like pride was etched on his face. He leaned down and swiftly placed a kiss on my lips.
“I don’t have all day,” Mrs. Gregorian chided.
“Sorry,” I replied. Lucas allowed me to go in ahead of him.
Unlike the villa, Mrs. Gregorian’s home was quaint and heavily decorated with colorful décor. Woven tapestries lined the walls, ceramic vases sat on the side tables that hugged the patterned couches. Varying shades of oranges, reds, and blues exploded across the living room.
Our host hobbled to a couch and took a seat. Jericho and Avram stood against one of the walls, leaving the love seat available for me and Lucas to sit shoulder to shoulder.
“Let me guess, you’re also looking for Anastasia’s chest?” she said before we had a moment to break the ice.
“How did you know?” My eyebrows were downturned into a frown, confused as all heck.
“I had some gentlemen stop by about a week or two ago asking about it. Real nasty type. I pretended I didn’t know what they were talking about.”
Must have been Charles’s men.
“Then why are you telling us?” Lucas asked. His long fingers wrapped around my knee, his thumb stroking the sensitive spot through the fabric of my pants.
Mrs. Gregorian shrugged, her small frame sinking back into the cushions of her chair.
“You don’t seem as screwy as them. My brother gave it to a friend at a pawn shop before he died.
Idiot needed to pay off a debt.” She shook her head.
“I tried to get it back when I found out what he’d done with it after he died, but I can’t afford to pay Davit for it. ”
“Mrs. Gregorian—” I started.
“Call me Alina. I don’t want to be reminded of my mother-in-law.” She held up a knobby hand.
“Alina, we really need to find the chest. I’m sure you loved your brother.
” I glanced over at Lucas. His eyes were fixed on the old woman, but tension started to seep into his grip on my leg.
My eyes slid back to Alina. If I had to bring up Sarah to get her to agree, then so be it.
Not that I wanted to play on an elderly person’s heartstrings, but it was the only card I had to play.
“I did, but he was a bastard at times,” she replied with a sigh.
“Lucas, my husband, is desperately trying to get his sister out of an arranged marriage. The only way to do that is to bargain with the chest.”
“And what would I get out of this? My family heirloom?” Her gray brow arched.
“Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee we can bring it back to you. Since that is what her husband is looking for.” I didn’t want to lie to her or make empty promises.
Alina scoffed. “What could you possibly offer me in return for something so sentimental?”
This time, when I looked at Lucas, he turned to lock eyes with me. I nudged him with my shoulder.
“What can you offer in exchange for your sister’s freedom?” I asked.
“Name your price, Alina,” Lucas replied without breaking his stare, swallowing me up with his oceanic gaze.
“Two million,” she deadpanned without missing a beat.
I broke our intense staring contest and viewed the woman across from us.
“Done,” Lucas said.
She clapped her hands together and rubbed them with glee. A giggle snuck from her; the first sign of emotion other than annoyance to show through. Her short legs swung with excitement, the bottom of her dress waving with her movements.
“Don’t you think that’s a little much? No negotiation?” I whispered to Lucas.
“I would pay anything to get my sister back.”
I nodded with understanding. The same feeling was once how I was indebted to the Crimsons.
Lucas instructed Jericho to take care of the money portion. However, the transfer would not be released until we verified the chest was indeed where Alina claimed.
My husband leaned forward, bringing his forearms to rest on his knees. “Now, which pawn shop?”
** *
The pawn shop was in a shady part of town. The building itself was decaying on the outside. Chunks of the facade were missing, and the sign on the outside had missing letters. Lucas decided to let Jericho and Avram feel out how Davit felt about relinquishing the chest, with or without payment.
If that didn’t work out, we would go in and take it without asking. The latter, also known as stealing.
Lucas and I sat in the back of the car and watched the front of the building.
“Want to bet Davit will refuse to admit to having the chest?” I asked.
Lucas turned to me and arched an eyebrow. “What are we betting for?”
I tapped my lips with my fingers and thought about it. “If I win, you have to take me to The International UFO Museum and Research Center.”
“Of course you would choose aliens.” He chuckled and shook his head.
“What about you?”
“If I win, you have to put on an ice-skating show for me and all of our friends.”
My mouth popped open. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am serious. Fox, Evie, Raf.” He ticked off the names on his fingers. “Everyone. Even Jericho and Avram.”
“Avram lives in Romania. You would have him fly out just for my show?”
Lucas shrugged. “We can always have it televised. ”
“Ha! Televised? Now I know you’re joking.” I laughed. “Besides, why wouldn’t you just FaceTime him or record it?”
“Because I want everyone to know how talented my wife is.” Lucas gripped my hand. I just stared at him in surprise as he brought my fingers to his lips.
“I’m rusty.” My cheeks felt hot from his confidence in me. “But you have a deal, Mr. Knight.”
The doors to the car opened, and both men slid into their seats in the front.
“Davit pretended he had no knowledge of the chest, and we didn’t see it on the main floor. I’m thinking he has an apartment upstairs. It might be there,” Avram said.
I peered up the building, trying to determine if one of us would be able to scale the side. “Anyone got a ladder?”
Jericho and Avram both turned to look at me.
“I just thought I’d ask.”
“Did you get a chance to do a walk around the perimeter?” Lucas asked.
Jericho nodded. “Yes, Mr. Knight, there’s a small window on the backside just out of view. It’s just big enough for Mrs. Knight to squeeze through… if she wished.”
I placed my hand on my throat. “Muah?”
He gave me a pained look. “Sorry.”
“And how do you suppose I get up to the second story window? Fly?”
“There is a dumpster behind the building as well. We can move it below the window, but it might make it more obvious that someone is back there,” Avram chimed in.
I sighed, my nerves kicking up a notch. But this needed to be done. Lucas didn’t fly us all the way out here for failure. He didn't promise two million big ones for us to turn back now. This was for Sarah.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
“I’ll go in the shop and distract Davit; you two help Monroe get up to the window. If, for any reason, Davit seems like he’s going to investigate, I’ll dial Jericho’s phone.”
With our plan in place, we all exited the car and strode toward the pawn shop.