Page 94 of Their Reckless Thief (The Below #1)
CELESTE
The day of the heist had finally arrived. It was time to see if all the time we spent preparing would work the way we intended.
The cold hit me as we stepped through the Veil, a shiver cutting straight to the bone as we crossed from the charged atmosphere of The Below into the muted world on the other side.
The human air—thinner somehow, lighter, and devoid of the thrumming energy I’d grown used to—tasted flat on my tongue, and the only scents I caught were that of the asphalt and damp city grime.
It felt oddly unsettling, as if the Veil had taken something from me in exchange for passage. I pulled my jacket tighter, not just to stave off the chill but to ground myself in the familiar warmth of fabric against my skin, a small armor against the disorientation the human world now brought.
My heart raced. There was a lot riding on this. Failure wasn’t an option. Not for them, not for me. For years, I’d trusted no one but myself and Vivian, but now… now I had Luca, Dorian, Vincenzo. They believed in me in ways I was still learning to believe in myself.
“Celeste.” Carl’s voice pulled me back, and I turned to face him, catching sight of polished leather shoes shining under the dim glow of the alleyway lights.
Far too refined for the gruff gatekeeper I knew.
I took full inventory of him: new suit, shiny new watch on his wrist, and an air of confidence I’d never noticed before.
“Well, well, Carl,” I said, a smirk tugging at my lips. “Look at you, dressing up for us.”
Carl glanced down, his smirk mirroring mine as he tapped one of the shoes on the ground, looking far too pleased.
“You like them? I got a raise.” He winked at Vincenzo, who stood nearby with his usual unreadable expression, though I caught the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth, a ghost of amusement.
“A raise, huh?” I cocked an eyebrow as I shot a look at Vincenzo.
Vincenzo’s face softened a shade, his gaze briefly warming. “Even guardians need incentives and rewards for loyalty.”
I smiled. Vincenzo must have pulled some strings to get Carl a raise after his assistance with Roderick.
Carl chuckled, nodding in farewell.
Vincenzo gestured for us to follow, his stride purposeful as he led us through the narrow corridor between the Veil and the city.
The dim light from the human world seeped in slowly, casting a muted glow over our small group, and the noises of the city washed over us—the muffled drone of traffic, footsteps echoing off nearby buildings, and the smell of concrete and rain. All familiar yet completely unnerving.
A sleek, black sedan waited at the curb, the engine purring quietly.
The driver, faceless behind tinted windows, sat motionless, a silent sentinel ready to bear us into the heart of our mission.
I took a deep breath, centering myself and letting the chill of the human air seep into me as a reminder of the stakes—the line between worlds we had crossed.
“This the getaway car?” Dorian asked with a mischievous grin, though I could see the tension in his eyes. He shot me a look, an attempt at humor that did little to ease the thick atmosphere around us.
“I didn’t want to use a vehicle that could be traced back to us. The driver will wait for us and then disappear. He’s been compensated well.” Vincenzo sounded calm, almost detached, but I knew better than to take his tone at face value. This was as close to caution as he ever let himself get.
Luca moved forward and pulled open the door, his hand brushing against mine as he waited for me to slide in. His touch lingered, warm and solid, as I got in. He settled beside me, his presence unwaveringly steady amid the growing unease crawling beneath my skin.
Dorian was next, filling the space on the other side of me with his familiar warmth, his knee brushing mine in the tight confines of the backseat.
Vincenzo took the front seat, his profile sharp against the glow of the city outside, like he was already calculating the path we’d have to take, the lines of attack and escape forming in his mind.
Silence fell over us as the streets passed in a blurred smear of light and shadow.
I watched as the city unfolded outside the window.
This place used to be familiar, yet now it felt distant.
The people on the sidewalks were oblivious to the hidden world only a few steps behind us.
They moved through their lives, unaware of what lay just beyond, of the creatures lurking in the shadows or driving quietly down their streets.
“Bet you missed all of this, didn’t you?” Dorian asked. “The human world and all its chaos.”
A small smile tugged at my lips, but it felt brittle. “Maybe a little, but right now? It just feels like a battlefield.”
He gave my hand a brief squeeze, momentarily staving off the chill that had settled in my bones.
“Tonight is not a night for mistakes,” Vincenzo said. “You all know what’s at stake.” He didn’t look back at us, but his words struck deeply. “We do this right. We get in and out. No deviations.”
“Understood,” Luca said. His hand brushed against mine on the seat, a silent reassurance as I felt the tension simmering beneath his composed exterior. There was a resolve in his touch, a promise that whatever happened, he wouldn’t let me face it alone.
The driver navigated through the city with practiced precision for the next hour, until Vivian’s voice crackled through the comms, sharp and clear, a familiar presence even from afar. “Final approach coming up. Everyone set?”
Dorian and Luca murmured their affirmations, and I nodded even though Vincenzo couldn’t see it. I twisted my fingers together in my lap, each beat of my pulse a silent mantra—steady, ready, prepared.
This was it.
The stray’s family estate was a marvel and a fortress.
Its architecture was grand yet deceptively simple, designed to blend with the human world, though I could sense centuries embedded in each brick, each winding curve of the stone path that stretched out before us.
Towering iron gates bordered the perimeter, shadowed in darkness but gleaming under the security lights that punctuated every few yards along the way.
The surrounding walls rose tall, ivy creeping up their sides, an illusion of softness that barely masked the laser sensors and silent alarms woven into their design.
“Ready, sweetheart?” Luca asked softly, his voice carrying an undercurrent of intensity.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied, exhaling harshly.
My fingers tingled with anticipation as I pulled out the hologram device Vivian had sent with me, a sister device to the one back at Vincenzo’s mansion.
She was there, watching our every move, ready to send updates in real time.
Through my earpiece, I heard her steady voice, precise and calm.
“Entry point’s coming up, Celeste. You’ll need to disable the perimeter cameras within a ten-second window. There are two patrolling guards. They’ll be out of sight for exactly three minutes. Got it?”
“Got it,” I whispered, adrenaline cutting through the calm. My heart was pounding, each beat reminding me what was at stake.
Vincenzo stepped forward, taking his position beside me, his presence solid and reassuring.
He reached out, the briefest touch at my back, and I felt the quiet strength he radiated.
Beside him, Dorian cast me a quick, lopsided grin, his eyes glinting with excitement.
“Piece of cake, right?” he murmured, his fingers brushing against mine for a fleeting moment, offering comfort.
I nodded and focused on the hologram’s shifting red dots, which marked the estate’s weak points and represented a specific security measure.
I tapped into the device strapped to my wrist, bringing up my own interface.
With Vivian’s guidance in my ear, I disabled the first set of perimeter cameras, watching them flicker out one by one.
“First set down,” I whispered.
“Nice work,” Vivian said. “Now keep moving. The next camera is positioned twenty feet to your right. Disable it and the surrounding motion sensors before they recalibrate.”
I reached the designated area, fingers dancing over my device as I manipulated the security feed, redirecting the live footage to loop for the next three minutes.
The second set of cameras blinked out, and I could feel the tension in my shoulders ease.
Timing was critical. One wrong move, and we’d have the entire estate on high alert.
Just as we reached the outer edge of the estate, the low growl of dogs echoed from the far side of the property.
Vivian’s voice broke in, calm but with a hint of warning. “Remember the dogs. They’re trained to sense supernatural energy, so minimize any power use.”
I signaled to the guys, glancing around at them. “No magic here. We’re on our own for this one.”
Vincenzo’s eyes narrowed, understanding without question.
Luca nodded, his expression resolute, though a flicker of concern passed over his face as his gaze landed on the shadowed figures prowling nearby.
He and Vincenzo spread out, covering the angles as Dorian crouched low, alert for any sudden movement.
The guard dogs were close now, the deep thuds of their paws echoing through the silence.
I pulled a small device out of my jacket pocket.
Vivian had slipped me the sound emitter before we left.
It was specifically tuned to confuse the dogs’ senses.
I pressed the button, and the device emitted a barely perceptible frequency.
The dogs hesitated, raising their heads as though trying to catch a scent that had suddenly vanished.
The sound disoriented them, buying us a few precious seconds.