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Now, as my heart feels as if it might burst from all the love it tries to hold in, the truth finally sinks in.
At last, I have everything I’ve ever dreamed of. It’s all mine.
25
NIK
“Easy-peasy!” Kat whispers to herself as she quietly steps into the dimly lit chamber, swinging a large, nondescript cloth bag over her delicate shoulder.
She hasn’t spotted me sitting in silence in the empty room. As far as she is concerned, I’m supposed to be over a hundred miles away—and I was. But my meeting ended earlier than expected, so I returned home and decided to sit back and relax until Kat returned from her outing.
“Did you get anything nice?” I ask her, my voice loudly rumbling through the penthouse’s empty foyer.
With an almost imperceptible gasp, Kat freezes mid-stride before slowly turning to face me, a far-too-wide grin plastered over her face.
“Nik…” she says, concealing her shock at seeing me. “You’re home early, my love. What a wonderful surprise!”
While eyeing the bag she is now subtly hiding behind her legs, I dryly say, “I’m sure you paid for all that.”
After blinking twice, Kat seems to decide there’s no point in denying the obvious. With a sigh, she rests her free hand on her hip. “Maybe not with money or anything of the sort, but I’d say that I earned it fairly. In a way. I mean, I certainly paid for it with the sweat off my back.”
I study her for a moment, from the top of her head—where not a hair is out of place—to the tip of her designer six-inch heels. She rolls her eyes at my incredulous expression. “Figuratively speaking, of course, miliy.”
With a tired but amused sigh, I rub my hand over my jaw. “Who did we steal from today, Kat?”
“No one you need to worry about,” she says, with a dismissive wave of her hand. “This guy A.J. told me about.”
“This guy?”
Kat shrugs. “A.J. said he broke her heart and that I should knock myself out as far as he was concerned. Since we owe her through the heat death of the universe for saving our lives repeatedly, I figured the least I could do was oblige her. Just this time, of course. And since you were busy with work, I thought you’d be happy if I kept myself busy to ease the pain of being away from you.”
“I am. But I also have half a mind to heat your ass for endangering yourself. Again.”
Kat scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Oh, please! Nobody even saw me. The fool probably won’t even know I took something of his for months. You should’ve seen his place, Nik. What a mess.”
I sigh. “Let me see what you have,” I say at last. It’s the damnedest thing—no matter what kind of new havoc this madwoman wreaks around me, I can’t stay mad at her to save my life. Especially not now, with our new life together, when she’s all smiles and kisses whenever she sees me around the penthouse.
This isn’t Kat’s first heist since we officially moved in together. I strongly doubt it will be her last. I might as well make peace with my fate, pleading to all deities listening to help me keep her unharmed. And to grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change—like Kat’s devil-may-care attitude when it comes to her personal safety. At this point, Kat knows I’ll let her get away with anything. That’s why I had no choice but to spread the word that if even a hair on her perfect head is harmed, somebody is going to beg me for the mercy of a quick death. She’s perfectly aware of this fact, of course. And she doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of it at the slightest inconvenience or provocation.
Kat saunters over to me, practically skipping across the marble floors before dropping her lush ass on my lap. Barely containing her grin, she proudly offers me the bag.
Curious, I glance inside. The small collection of colorful gemstones—diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and even a few blood-red rubies—astonishes me.
My perplexed expression delights her, and she shrugs, placidly saying, “What can I say? He and I are in the same line of work. I guess there’s some truth to that saying about no honor among thieves, after all.”
With an impressed whistle, I shake my head, returning her loot. “Not bad, milaya. Not bad.”
“Right? Especially not for an afternoon of light work. What can I say?” She sighs with feigned modesty. “It’s not much, but it’s honest, dishonest work.”
“Speaking of honest work,” I innocently say, “did you give any thought to my suggestion that you should consider devoting some of your time to charity work?” Kat gasps in outrage, clutching her jewels to her chest. “I’m just saying—it could be a good use of your time. It’s not as if you need to take on any more jobs, milaya. I have more money than even you can ever spend.”
“Is that a challenge? Because it sounds like a challenge.”
I ignore her interruption. “And who knows? You could find a cause that is dear to your heart. Maybe helping young girls with an attitude problem who can’t seem to stay out of trouble to save their own lives? I feel like that could be your calling.”
Kat narrows her eyes at me. “You’re teasing me,” she says accusingly.
With a small laugh, I nod. “Unless, of course, you happen to agree with me.”
