Steal My Heart (WAYHAUGHT)

Chapter 11

Champ would be around most of the weekend. Waverly knew she would need to come clean with him eventually, but she needed time to process everything. She was unsure whether she had made the right decision. It felt right, but was it simply an emotional response to everything that was happening? She needed to process it with a cool head. So many thoughts. So much information.

She sat moving a piece of lettuce around her plate. Champ had finished his lunch ages ago. He had been talking to her, without realising she was lost in her own thoughts. Looking up, having asked her a direct question and getting no response, he saw she wasn't paying attention. Something was different about her.

"Babes, you OK? You seem really quiet."

"Oh. Sorry. Yes, fine. Just feeling a little under the weather."

She realised she would need to keep up the appearance of the interested girlfriend for a while longer.

"I'm glad your deal went through. When will you know about the bonus?"

"Soon. I was thinking we could go on holiday. Joe is taking Chrissy to Florida with his bonus. We could join them, or go somewhere ourselves. What do you think?"

"Sounds great. I'm cool either way."

Champ put Waverly's less than bubbly response down to her not feeling too well. She looked pale and tired. She didn't seem in the mood the past few days, certainly not since he returned from Italy. A holiday would do her the world of good, he concluded.

Nicole sat in her lounge thinking about Waverly. She knew she wouldn't see her again till Monday, when Champ left for work. She couldn't risk texting her. She had warned her to delete all their messages in case Champ or someone read them. Waverly's phone buzzing with a sexy message would not help the situation.

Waverly knowing about her life was a huge risk. Nicole wondered if subconsciously she had wanted her to find out, leaving the safe open for this to happen. She was usually extremely careful about locking it. The irony. A safe breaker having their own safe and locking it! Why had she left it open?

Had she wanted Waverly to find her journal?

Either way, the truth was out. Her life now included Waverly. Telling Doc would be an interesting conversation. He could be worse than her father on occasions. Too protective, not in a paternal way. More the way you treat an investment. Cool, dispassionate, monitored.

How close should Nicole bring Waverly into her life? That was the bigger question. The less she knew about each job, the better. That way, if Nicole was ever caught, if Waverly was ever suspected of involvement, she could truthfully deny any knowledge. This might protect her from punishment. She promised Waverly she would keep her safe. The best way would be to keep her at arm's length when it came to the thefts.

Admittedly, Waverly now knew about the journal, the Picasso, Procter and Monet she was about to steal. But, she wasn't directly involved in any of those crimes. Her alibi, should she ever need one, was simply she didn't know what Nicole did, assuming she was a legitimate seller of antiques.

Naiveté can be a useful 'get out of jail' card, especially when waved by a beautiful woman.

Or, Nicole could simply disappear. That would certainly keep Waverly safe, but it would destroy her. Waverly needed to trust Nicole as much as Nicole needed to trust Waverly. It would be the glue to keep their life together. And they were going to need a lot of glue for this to work. Waverly would be entering a world where the meaning of trust was distorted.

How do you trust someone who steals for a living?

Monday couldn't come soon enough. In the meantime, she had her next theft to plan.

The preparation and execution of each robbery needed to be faultless. This next piece was located in The National Gallery, in Trafalgar Square. Claude Monet's – Irises. Doc was particularly interested in seeing this piece once acquired. His client, a Middle Eastern man, with a passion for very expensive paintings, matched by a reluctance to pay the exorbitant prices such pieces now commanded. He would rather have something for a fraction of its value, to gaze upon in his own private setting, than have it on display to friends and family, knowing he had wasted tens of millions of dollars on its acquisition.

For Nicole, this would simply be another job for her. No pleasure derived, other than the satisfaction of carrying out her work without being caught. The theft of the painting Waverly had admired was completely different.

Stealing for love made Nicole feel ecstatic.