Page 5 of Their Reckless Thief (The Below #1)

The air around it hummed, almost singing with power. Stepping through it always felt like the briefest second of weightlessness before the other side hit you. It was a small shift in gravity. A blip in time.

As I got closer, the magic brushed against my skin, a warm, tingling sensation like static electricity.

Carl stood in front of the tear on the other side, as usual, but I could only see a sliver of him from this side.

“Back already?” he said, as I climbed through the tear. “It’s getting rowdy out here tonight.”

“Aw, Carl, you worry too much.” I grinned, pulling a small bar of chocolate from my pocket and tossing it to him. He snatched it out of the air without missing a beat.

He glanced at the wrapper, his gruff expression softening as he tucked it into his coat. “You know my weakness.”

“Of course, I do. It’s how I stay your favorite.

” I winked at him as I adjusted the collar of my leather jacket.

I was dressed for stealth—tight, black leather that allowed for quick movement, my twin blades strapped to my thighs, boots laced up just right.

My attire was a reminder of what I was about to do and how I’d need to be quick and undetectable. My life depended on it.

Carl smirked, but I saw the faintest hint of a blush creeping up his neck. “Don’t go spreading that around. I have a reputation to uphold. Stay out of trouble, Celeste,” he yelled as I continued walking, but there was a grin in his voice.

“Me? Trouble?” I winked. “Never.”

The streets pulsed with an energy that never really slept. Creatures of all shapes and sizes moved through the shadows, some blending into the background, others standing out with sharp, predatory glares. Tonight, none of them were my concern.

I was on a mission.

“Viv, I’m in,” I murmured. My boots echoed faintly on the cobblestone streets as I made my way through the narrow alleys. I kept my pace steady, scanning for anything that might be out of place.

“I still don’t like this,” Vivian’s voice crackled in my ear, disapproval lacing every word. “A solo heist, no backup, and at the house of one of the mafia lords? This is reckless, Celeste, even for you.”

“That’s what makes it fun,” I replied, smirking even though I knew she couldn’t see it. “Come on, Viv. We’ve got this.”

“ You think we’ve got this. I’m just the voice in your ear, trying to stop you from getting yourself killed.”

I sighed, ducking beneath a low-hanging sign as I rounded another corner. “You’re not going to stop me, are you?”

There was a pause. Then, reluctantly, “No. But that doesn’t mean I won’t complain about it the whole time.”

I smiled to myself, appreciating the protective edge in her tone. Vivian was my rock, the one person I trusted implicitly, even if we didn’t always agree on everything. And right now? She was the only one in my ear. Not Roberto. Not anyone else.

“Look, if this goes well,” I said, my voice softening a little, “we’ll have enough to cover rent for the next year. For all three of us. And then some.”

“You think Will needs his rent covered? That little stray’s practically swimming in his online poker winnings.”

I snorted. “Yeah, but he blows it on gadgets and—oh, hang on.”

I stopped short as my phone buzzed in my pocket. Glancing down, I saw the screen lit up with a name I didn’t particularly feel like dealing with right now.

Roberto.

Fuck.

I didn’t have time to speak with him, but he’d keep calling incessantly if I didn’t answer. I took a deep breath, tapped my earpiece to mute Vivian, and answered. “Hey, Roberto.”

“Celeste.” Roberto’s smooth voice was laced with that familiar undertone of suspicion. “Where are you?” The question was sharp and probing, as if I hadn’t just walked out of his office less than an hour ago.

I rolled my eyes, glancing around the shadowed streets of The Below. “I’m busy tonight, remember? Why?”

“You’re not working on something for me, are you?”

I kept my tone light and playful. “Actually, I’m on a date.”

There was a pause, then a soft, disbelieving chuckle. “A date? You hate men, Celeste.”

“I hate most men,” I corrected, leaning into the banter as I quickened my pace down the narrow alley. “This one happens to be tolerable.”

Roberto let out a low, skeptical grunt. “Tolerable, huh? Well, let’s hope he knows what he’s getting into.”

“I’m sure he’s capable of surviving the night,” I quipped, slipping into the familiar rhythm of our back-and-forth. I could feel his suspicion through the phone, thick and probing, like he was trying to hear right through my lie.

“You know I don’t like being left out of the loop,” Roberto added, his soft, firm voice reminding me that he was always watching, always wanting control.

I forced a casual laugh. “It’s a date, Roberto. Relax. I’ll catch up with you later.”

The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken questions. He was testing me, seeking a crack in the lie, but I wasn’t giving him anything.

“Fine,” he said finally, but his tone made it clear he wasn’t buying it. “Don’t stay out too late. And, Celeste?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t make me wait too long to hear from you.”

The line went dead before I could respond, his warning hanging like a blade over my neck. Maybe my aura had told him more than I realized when I saw him at his office.

I let out a slow breath and unmuted my earpiece. “Well, that was fun.”

Vivian’s voice crackled back instantly. “He’s nosy as hell.”

“Let’s get this done before he decides to track me down.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Celeste,” Vivian said.

I chuckled. “Isn’t that why you love me?”

She sighed. “Only on the days you’re not trying to get us killed.”

If I pulled this off, I’d get the prize, pay our rent for a year or more, and have enough left over to keep me and Vivian—and Will, our adopted little brother—safe for a long while.

“Trust me, Viv. We’ve got this,” I said softly, my steps quickening as the tear in the Veil disappeared behind me. “Tonight’s just the beginning.”

The thought of possibly becoming financially independent, of no longer being tethered to Roberto, made my heart stutter.

I was all in.

The streets of The Below stretched out before me like a winding labyrinth of darkened alleyways, flickering neon lights, and danger lurking at every turn as I slipped through the darkness.

Above me, signs for underground clubs and elaborate bars flickered, casting flashes of light onto the strange assortment of beings roaming the streets.

A fae with silver skin and eyes that glowed like embers brushed past me, his gaze lingering before he vanished into the crowd.

A pack of shifters prowled nearby, their large, imposing forms dominating the space as they stalked through the darkness with the confidence of predators.

The air was heavy with the scent of magic, blood, and smoke so thick it was almost suffocating.

There was a twisted, eerie beauty to it all—the way magic seemed to hang in the air like an electric charge, the neon signs reflecting off the wet pavement, the constant hum of energy that never truly faded. It kept me sharp, kept me alive.

The district I found myself in was Vincenzo Moretti’s territory, the epicenter of nightlife in The Below.

It pulsed with life, even in the dead of night.

Every corner held a new secret, every shadow whispered promises and threats.

I navigated through the chaos, weaving past crowds that spilled out from high-end clubs like The Serpent’s Embrace, where music throbbed and laughter drifted on the air like smoke.

I passed a bar called Luna’s Lament, its golden glow spilling out onto the street, drawing a line of eager patrons.

They’d be in there for hours, lost in mind-altering cocktails that promised to take the edge off a life lived in shadows.

I didn’t need to go inside to know the kinds of deals being struck at the back tables or the secrets whispered over glasses filled with glowing elixirs.

I moved quickly, scanning every face, every shadow, every flicker of movement. This wasn’t the place to let my guard down.

Shifters prowled in packs, their eyes gleaming with hunger.

Vampires moved like wraiths, barely more than flickers in my peripheral vision.

And then there were the demons, blending in with the crowd, their dark auras simmering beneath the surface.

They thrived here, drawn to the chaos like moths to a flame.

Even the quieter parts of Moretti’s territory had their own kind of danger.

I paused outside a restaurant called Midnight Rose, where creatures dined on delicacies that were more about magic than flavor.

The scent of rich spices and charred meat mingled with the floral notes of the night-blooming jasmine that decorated the windows.

It was almost enough to make me forget, for a moment, that this was a world where trust was a luxury no one could afford.

I passed a group of Veil Guards patrolling up and down one of the side streets.

Even though they were supposed to keep things safe and controlled in The Below, they often turned a blind eye to criminal activities, especially in some of the more formidable mafia lords’ territories. Lords like Vincenzo Moretti.

Roberto had trained me to survive in places like this. He always said you had to learn how to move in the shadows, to be both predator and prey, because in The Below, one wrong move could mean the end.

Roberto. Even thinking about him now, after that phone call, left a bitter taste in my mouth.

He had been everything to me once—a father figure, a mentor, the person who’d pulled me off the streets when I was a scared, hungry kid with nothing.

He’d found me after my parents disappeared, after I’d fled the system and scavenged for scraps to stay alive.

He’d seen something in me, something he said no one else had.

He'd called me his little “doll” even then. Told me I was special. A rare find. A project. He’d sent me to the best schools, made sure I was trained, not just in technology and hacking, but in the art of survival.

Combat. Theft. Manipulation. By the time I was old enough to understand what I was becoming, it was too late. I owed everything to him.

But I wasn’t a fool. I knew he hadn’t saved me out of the kindness of his heart.

No, Roberto was always playing the long game.

He liked to think of me as his masterpiece—a human girl with psychic abilities and a tech genius who could outthink anyone, outfight most, and outplay the rest. He had created me, but I had learned something along the way.

No one fucking owned me. Not even Roberto.

That was why I was out here, sneaking around behind his back, plotting a heist that had nothing to do with him.

I turned down a quieter street, the bustling noise of The Below fading behind me as I made my way to Vincenzo Moretti’s mansion.

The information I’d gathered from my vision was solid—at least, it appeared to be.

Vincenzo, the mafia lord who ran the blood cartel, the drug trade, and half the damn factions in The Below, was supposed to be conducting some big meeting off-site tonight.

My vision had shown a brief flash of empty hallways and unguarded doors. Easy money.

I’d experienced psychic visions since I was a young child, though I hadn’t realized what they were until Roberto explained it.

He’d recognized how special that trait was in a human and had spent a lot of time and money helping me understand my visions and how to interpret them.

I wasn’t a magical being. Hell, I wasn’t even a stray.

I vaguely remembered my parents mentioning my great-great-grandmother, Rachel, who, according to stories passed down by each generation, had the same gift.

There were moments I wished I could speak to her, to have someone else who understood what it was like to be a human and to live in the human world yet wrestle with a gift I never asked for.

It sure as hell came in handy, though.

The mansion loomed ahead, an extravagant display of wealth and power.

Its massive iron gates stretched high, flanked by tall, grotesque stone statues of mythical creatures.

A soft glow emanated from enchanted lanterns glimmering with an otherworldly energy that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

No doubt, this place was fortified with magic.

The kind of magic that could ruin your day if you didn’t know how to avoid it.

Just like in my vision, I approached the side gate. It was unguarded, exactly as I had seen. A wave of relief washed over me. This was going to be easier than I thought.

“You’re sure about this?” Vivian’s voice crackled in my ear, breaking the silence. “This place looks like it could fry you just for walking too close.”

“I’ve got this, Viv. Trust me,” I whispered, scanning the perimeter with sharp eyes. “No guards, no alarms. Exactly like in my vision.”

“Yeah, but visions can change. And this place gives me the creeps.”

I rolled my eyes. “Relax. I’ve got it under control. A quick in-and-out, then we’re set.”

Taking this big a risk based on my visions was dicey.

The future was never set in stone. Creatures were fickle and could change their minds, which resulted in new realities.

But I wanted to trust the flashes, the visions I received.

They were like a puzzle that always came together just in time.

I had seen the vault with the multitude of treasures inside.

And most importantly, I had seen that it would be mine before the night was over.

But now that I stood in the shadow of Vincenzo Moretti’s empire, something cold slithered up my spine.

Even in the dead silence of the estate, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was walking into something dangerous.

Even though it was a risk, every mission I went on for Roberto had the potential for significant danger, so I might as well take the risk for myself and Vivian and Will.

I took a deep breath and put my hand on the gate, ready to push it open.

“Time to see if the visions were right,” I muttered and stepped into the lion’s den.