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RAVEN
I stared into the darkness of the hotel room, waiting for my chance for revenge. My head still throbbed and the cut on my head hadn’t been stitched yet, but that was the least of my problems.
Snatch had gotten away with fifty million dollars, and he used me to do it. Not only that, he messed up my manicure. I didn’t get them very often, so it really pissed me off that he ruined the last one I’d had in the past year.
I pressed the ice pack to my head, reveling in the cold spreading through me. If I managed to survive the next forty-eight hours, I would do everything in my power to ensure Snatch had a very painful—very slow death.
The door clicked open and he walked through, whistling as he flipped on the hall light. Dressed in his classic leather jacket and torn jeans, you wouldn’t think to look for him at a hotel this swanky. That’s precisely why I started at all the most expensive hotels.
Finding out what name he was staying under was another problem. I started with the name he’d given to Allsebrook at the party. David Clark. He would never be stupid enough to use the name. That’s when I remembered a name he’d used on a previous job we’d worked together. It was from years ago, just as he was getting into the business. He was young and green, and it was very likely his real name. He didn’t have the sense back then to use an alias.
That’s what brought me to this hotel. Daniel Williams. I would only ever know him as Snatch, but knowing his given name was power. If I wanted to, I could call the police and have him arrested, but that went against all of my personal codes of conduct. It was just bad luck to rat out a fellow thief—even if he did try to kill me.
He walked further into the room, still whistling as he tossed his key on the table. Walking over to the bar, he poured himself a glass of scotch and came into the living room, grabbing the remote off the coffee table. His gaze momentarily flicked over the magazines I’d neatly arranged on the table and the hotel binder that sat perpendicular to the corner. It was only when he sat down that he finally saw me sitting in an armchair in the dark.
“Shit!” he gasped, holding his glass to his chest.
I flicked the switch on the lamp, smirking at the horror on his face. “Miss me?”
“Raven…” He swallowed hard. I could see the wheels turning in his head. How had I survived? I should be dead. How did I know where to find him? Had he left something behind? Would others be looking for him?
I shoved to my feet and slowly walked around to sit across from him. The panic on his face gave me a sense of satisfaction I didn’t know was missing from my life. I couldn’t remember another time I had ever felt this much joy just from the way someone looked at me.
“So, I see you made it off the property in one piece. I did as well, in case you were wondering.”
“How—” He swallowed hard, then lifted the glass to his lips and downed the contents.
“How did I survive?”
He nodded slowly.
“Nicholas jumped in the water after me. Very gallant of him.”
He looked around the room expectantly, but no one else came out. I was all alone.
“I know you’re wondering where he is. You’re wondering if you’re safe, if you should run. I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”
“Are you going to kill me?” he finally asked.
I quirked my lips to the side in thought. “You know, I haven’t figured that out yet. Turnabout is fair play. But I wasn’t planning on working any more jobs with you where I could use you and then stab you in the back. Or throw you off a roof.”
“So…you’re not going to kill me?”
“What do you think is fair?”
His eyes widened as he stared at me. “Like…you want an answer?”
“Sure. What would you do if someone did that to you?”
“I would forgive them. We all make mistakes,” he said weakly.
“Murder isn’t something I can forgive easily.” I pushed to my feet and smiled at him. “Lucky for you, I don’t want to kill you. I want something much worse than that. I want you to suffer.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed in anticipation. Small beads of sweat formed on his brow, dripping down the tip of his nose. “How…how will you make me suffer?”
I stepped between his legs and bent over until my mouth was right by his ear. “By taking away the one thing you desperately wanted.”
When I stepped away, I saw the fear in his eyes. “You…you can’t.”
