Page 12 of Their Reckless Thief (The Below #1)

DORIAN

I leaned back in my chair, stretching my legs out in front of me as I watched Celeste pacing inside the cell. She was a sight, no doubt about it… fucking gorgeous, even in this dingy basement with shadows crawling around like they owned the place.

Her long blonde hair was swept to the side, with one strand falling into her green eyes. She was slender but built like an athlete. Her brow glistened with sweat from the stress, and the hoodie swallowed her tiny frame. The way she kept chewing on her lower lip…damn near sinful.

I should’ve been focusing on other things, like, oh, I don’t know, the fact that this woman broke into Vincenzo’s mansion and got her ass caught.

But no. There I was, sitting in this basement, with the hottest woman I’d ever met locked in a cell, and all I could think about was how she had no idea just how deep of a mess she’d gotten herself into.

She had a fire in her. It was in the way she moved, the way she spat venom when she spoke, the way her eyes—Gods, those eyes—held nothing back. She didn’t seem scared. She seemed fucking pissed .

“What were you thinking ?” I asked, more out of curiosity than anything, twirling a dagger between my fingers as I watched her.

She stopped pacing and turned to me, with one eyebrow raised. “Thinking?” she echoed. “I wasn’t thinking. That’s the whole problem, isn’t it?”

I chuckled, tilting my head. “You’re telling me you broke into the house of one of the most dangerous men in The Below without a plan? Come on, Celeste. I know you can’t be that stupid. You have a reputation for a reason.” Or so I’d heard.

She didn’t answer right away, just stood there with her arms crossed over her chest. I could see the gears turning in her head.

There was something she wasn’t telling me—something that felt a little too honest. Maybe she was losing a grip on her own situation.

And damn it if that didn’t tug at me in the weirdest fucking way.

Finally, she sighed and leaned against the cold stone wall.

“Honestly? I don’t have anything left to lose,” she said quietly, her voice dropping low enough that I almost had to strain to hear her.

“This was supposed to be my last job for a while. Enough money to buy out and live a life that didn’t involve people like you, plus extra.

I was going to cover my rent and my friends’ rent for a while.

Fill our pantries. Experience true freedom. ”

I blinked. I hadn’t expected that. There was a realness in her tone, like she’d resigned herself to the fact that this might be the end for her. It was a bitter truth, and it cracked something in me. A tiny fucking crack, but it was enough to make me rethink this whole thing.

“You’ve got some nerve,” I said with a smirk, trying to keep things light, keep myself from feeling… I don’t know what. “Most people would be pissing themselves at the thought of crossing Vincenzo, and here you are, being all noble and shit.”

She shrugged, but the corner of her mouth twitched. “I guess I’m not most people.”

“No, you’re not.” I dragged my gaze over her again, slower this time. “You’ve got a lot more fire than most do, for one thing.”

She rolled her eyes, and I grinned wider, leaning forward on my chair, elbows on my knees.

The tension between us crackled like a lit fuse ready to go off.

But I wasn’t about to make a move. Not here, not now.

I had to keep my shit together. More importantly, I had to keep my eyes on the prize: finding out what the hell she knew.

“Listen,” I said, tapping the edge of my dagger against my palm, “you broke into the house of a mafia lord, heard things you shouldn’t have, and somehow, you’re still breathing.

That’s impressive, I’ll give you that. But you’re in over your head, Celeste.

What did you really think was going to happen here? ”

“I thought I was going to get the score,” she said flatly. “Get in, get out. No one was supposed to be here. I had a vision that no one would be here.”

I shook my head, biting back another chuckle. “Bad luck, love. We are very much here.”

She rested her head against the wall, her eyes fluttering shut for a second before opening again. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Oh, absolutely,” I said, the corner of my mouth quirking up. “But I’m also curious. You’re pretty damn good at what you do. Luca told me the stories. You’re the one who’s been scoring on some of the hardest-hitting guys in The Below. For a human? That’s impressive as hell.”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she just stood there, her gaze shifting to the floor, and then I saw it—the exhaustion, the weight of whatever had brought her here. She was tired. Tired of running, tired of fighting. And as much as she tried to hide it, I could see through the cracks in her armor.

That’s when I knew she wasn’t lying. At least, she wasn’t lying about everything.

Celeste finally lifted her head, studying me like she was piecing together a puzzle. “And what about you? You seem pretty comfortable playing bodyguard for one of the most dangerous men in The Below. What’s your story?”

I leaned back in my chair, my eyes locked on hers. The question wasn’t completely unexpected, but it still caught me a little off guard. Not many people cared to ask. Usually, I was just the muscle, the charming distraction, or the one handling the dirty work no one else wanted to touch.

“My story?” I twirled the dagger in my hand, letting it spin through my fingers before catching it by the blade. “Well, darling, I’m not just a pretty face, though I know you’ve probably noticed that already.”

She rolled her eyes, but a faint smirk played on her lips. “Obviously. But what do you do ? Besides babysitting the people who get thrown into this hellhole?”

I chuckled. “Babysitting? That’s a new one.

I like to think of it as... managing security.

Keeping the peace. Making sure no one tries anything stupid.

” I leaned forward, my smirk slipping into something a bit more serious.

“I’m the lord of the nightlife. I run all the clubs, the gambling, and the fighting rings for Vincenzo.

You wanna have fun in The Below? You’ll be walking through one of my doors eventually. ”

Her eyebrows lifted slightly. “So, you’re in charge of... entertainment.”

“Something like that.” I grinned. “But I’ve got more going on than just the nightlife. If there’s money to be made, I’m in the mix. And let’s just say my role makes me pretty valuable to Vincenzo.” I winked at her. “Though tonight, it seems I’ve been demoted to babysitting .”

She laughed. “I’m sure you love that.”

“Absolutely,” I said with a grin. “It’s my favorite thing in the world—babysitting thieves who break into mafia strongholds.”

She smiled, a flicker of amusement cutting through the tension. “Speaking of strongholds, I was at a casino earlier tonight for a gig. Is it one of yours?”

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Which one?”

“The one with the obnoxiously overpriced drinks and the vampires who look like they’d suck your blood just to avoid a bad hand. I think it was called The Midnight Den or something cheesy like that.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds about right. That’s one of mine.”

Her lips curved into a wry smile. “Figures.”

“Gotta keep things interesting,” I said with a smirk. “Running a casino’s one way to do that. Keeps the nights lively.”

“Must be hard to keep all that in line.”

I shrugged. “It’s a balancing act. But if anyone tries to pull something, we handle it. Swiftly.”

“So, what happens to me? Do I get handled swiftly?” There was a hint of flirtation in her tone, and something primal churned inside me.

I grinned. “Depends. You planning on cheating me, too, love?”

She smirked. “Maybe.”

“Good,” I said, flashing a wicked smile. “I like a challenge.”

“I’ve heard of you.” Her lips curled into a weak smile. “You’re a wolf shifter. You know, I’ve never seen anyone shift. I mean, I’ve seen plenty of shifters in both of their forms, but I’ve never witnessed the process of them shifting. Why don’t you provide some entertainment for me?”

The audacity of this fucking woman.

I shrugged. “Why the hell not?”

I slowly removed my clothes, picking up on her increasing heart rate.

I didn’t actually need to undress. My clothes were stored in a pocket realm when I shifted and returned to my body when I shifted back.

But I couldn’t resist performing a striptease for my little prisoner.

Maybe she would like what she saw. I ignored the desire coursing through my veins and shifted.

Within seconds, I felt the familiar tingle of my body shifting. My senses were heightened as I stretched into my gray wolf form. I pranced around, my fur grazing the bars of her cell.

She applauded. “Truly fascinating.”

I quickly shifted back and pulled my clothes on. “Glad I could entertain you.”

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

I shrugged. “It’s more of a tingle.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes. She refused to look at me, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from her.

Her eyelids drooped as her body finally gave in to the fatigue that must’ve been gnawing at her.

After all, she’d been through a hell of a lot.

I grabbed the extra blankets and pillows I’d brought down earlier and covered her up.

Something in me resisted the idea of leaving her here like this. Cold, vulnerable. But I had my orders, and Vincenzo wasn’t the kind of guy you disobeyed unless you had a death wish. I made sure the cell door was locked, double-checking the mechanism just in case.

Before I left, I lingered at the door. Watching her. Wondering why the hell I didn’t want to leave her.

I shook it off. I had work to do. And whatever weird shit was happening in my head… Well, I could deal with it later.