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I did my best to ignore him, adjusting my own napkin so the corners formed a diamond as I liked. My fork was slightly askew and I quickly adjusted it, all the while nodding as the man beside me spoke.
While the second course was served, I excused myself, grabbing my clutch as I headed down the hall. With a glance behind me, I made sure it was clear before I made a beeline for the stairs. The coast was clear and I hurried down the hall to the room Snatch had indicated.
After shutting the door, I walked over to the painting that hid the safe. I pulled on a pair of thin gloves I kept in my clutch, then removed the painting from the wall. A grin split my lips as I stared at the magnificent safe in front of me. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
The first step was the retinal scanner. I couldn’t do that without Snatch. “Come on,” I murmured as I waited for him to join me. The door opened seconds later and Snatch entered, hurrying over to me.
“Sorry. Some duchess wouldn’t stop talking to me.” He pulled out his phone and held it up to the scanner. Blowing out a deep breath, he nodded. “Are you ready?”
“As ever.”
He took a minute, hooking up to the safe through a hidden panel I hadn’t seen. Within seconds, he grinned at me, showing that his phone was now connected to the computer within the safe.
“I told you it would work.”
He was about to lift his phone when I placed a hand on his arm. “What happens if the scanner doesn’t work?”
“Alarms will go off and we’ll be discovered.”
“Right, so no pressure.”
“Relax, I’ve got this.”
He wiped the sweat beading on his forehead and raised the phone again to the scanner. The blue lines turned on the screen, measuring the retina on his phone. One by one, lines clicked into place until finally, the light turned green.
“Step one done,” he shrugged.
The screen indicated the fingerprint scanner was next. I pulled out the slide and held it to the screen. Snatch was doing something on his phone, and then he showed it to me. He was manipulating the data somehow. I was in awe of his skills, but didn’t have time to stare in wonder. We had to finish the job.
The light turned green again, and this time, a small tray popped out.
“You’re up,” he said. “Last one.”
I adjusted the ring on my finger, turning it around so I could open the casing and let the small drop of blood flow onto the tray. There was hardly enough blood to fill it, but luckily, the light turned green and the safe popped open.
Sitting inside were the most gorgeous eggs I’d ever seen. Adorned in rubies and diamonds, I could see now why they were treasured by the Imperial Russian Family.
Very carefully, I reached into the safe and grabbed the first one, holding it gently in my hands. It was absolutely brilliant. Even in the dim lighting, the jewels sparkled.
“What did I tell you?” Snatch laughed, grabbing his own.
“It makes you want to keep it, right?”
“No, I still want the money,” he chuckled. “Come on, let’s get out of here. We can look at them later.” He grabbed the third egg and pulled out three padded pouches, tucking them inside each one. Then, we placed the three pouches in one larger bag. “Now we just walk out the front door.”
I shut the safe, replacing the picture. It wasn’t quite straight, and much to Snatch’s chagrin, I took my time making sure it was level. But as soon as we took a step toward the door, alarms sounded throughout the building. Snatch turned to me, shaking his head slightly.
“Rooftop,” we both said at the same time.
We took off for the door, but as I passed a table with small figurines, I couldn’t help but stop and reorganize them. They were sitting all chaotic on the table, so I lined them up from smallest to tallest—two inches from the edge of the table.
“Raven!”
Snatch shot me an irritated look and I abandoned the table to follow him. We ran down the hall to the attic access. Snatch yanked the door open, stepping aside as I raced past him, hiking my skirt up so I didn’t trip on the fabric. I heard the door shut behind me as I reached the top, then ran to the far door, jerking it open as I raced out onto the rooftop. We reached the edge just a minute after the alarm sounded.
“We need to—” I barely saw Snatch’s fist coming at me as I turned. But the metal object in his hands…that I got a close-up view of just before it smashed into my head. I dropped instantly, the light fading from my eyes. The last thing I saw was Snatch standing over me with a blank expression as I faded.
14
