Steal My Heart (WAYHAUGHT)

Chapter 13

"There. That woman. Jeremy, go back. Play the last part of the security footage again from Tate Modern."

Dolls had seen something.

"There. Do you see her? The tall red head. Now, play the footage from The National Gallery. See her? It's the same woman. Can't be. A woman. No."

Jeremy sat looking at the footage, still unsure what Dolls had seen.

"She could be an art student?"

Dolls looked at him, the way a teacher looks when a student makes a comment that clearly hasn't been thought through.

"We're looking for a woman. Fuck. Probably Russian. Those bastards are clever."

"Jeremy, get onto the Art Loss Register. See if they have any known Russian females in their database fitting the description of this woman."

The Art Loss Register is the world's largest database of stolen art. A computerised catalogue of lost and stolen art around the world, located in London.

Nicole did not yet know she was being hunted. Her movements were always careful. But, this is London. Cameras everywhere. Not enough spray paint to get her out of this mess.

Her movements had been registered. As much as she wanted to fade into the background, her height and distinctive hair had been spotted by Dolls. You can't get away with being invisible with her kind of beauty. The only upside in all of this. Dolls was interested only in Nicole. He had failed to take account of Waverly.

The Art Loss Register didn't have anyone fitting Nicole's description in their database. They quickly made a profile. They contacted other museums and galleries around the world to ask them to review their security footage one week before any major theft occurred.

In every instance Nicole appeared.

Dressed impeccably.

Easy to miss.

She now was a marked woman.

Once your eyes adjust to looking for something, to looking for someone, you cannot help but see it, or, in this case Nicole.

It's the game played with children. Spot the red car. Suddenly, every red car becomes visible.

Suddenly, every red haired woman standing in front of a stolen painting becomes visible. Many wondered why they hadn't seen her before.

They lay in bed, the morning having been spent indulging in their favourite pastime. Nicole knew she needed to start making preparations to move on.

"Waves. We need to start thinking about leaving London."

Waverly was quiet.

"Oh, right. I hadn't thought that far."

Waverly suddenly felt a panic wash over her. Nicole sensed it.

"Hey, it's OK. Look, we have a few days, a week tops to sort out how you want to leave."

"Can we not stay?"

"Oh, Waves. I wish we could. We need to keep moving. It's part of the deal with me. I promise you, you won't be bored. But, you will have to get used to not being in one place too long. I need to watch my footprint. The cities I steal from have lots of cameras. I need to keep my movements to a minimum."

So much information for Waverly to process. "Can I tell Wynonna I'm leaving?"

Nicole wasn't sure how to handle Wynonna. She knew she was very protective of her youngest sister, after the loss of Willa. She was wary of Wynonna doing something to keep Waverly from going with her.

"I can't stop you saying anything to Wynonna. But, I would say don't."

Waverly looked shocked. She knew this might be part of the devil's bargain she was making with Nicole. But, Wynonna was her other soulmate. The thought of abandoning her without saying goodbye.

Nicole knew Waverly would have some hard decisions to make as part of the new life she had chosen. One of them was how to deal with Wynonna.

"My angel. Will any explanation about what we're about to embark on together be enough to satisfy Wynonna's curiosity?"

Nicole had a point. Nothing Waverly could say would stop Wynonna thinking the worst. Worst still, stopping her from leaving.

"OK. I can text her from our next location. Yes?"

"Sure. But, I need to get you a secure phone."

Nicole could sense she was scaring Waverly. "Hey, it's no big deal. You keep your number. It just means your phone can't be tracked. OK."

Nicole paused. The bigger issue needed to be addressed.

"Waves. You need to think about what you say to Champ."

There were tears in Waverly's eyes. The reality of her decision to go with Nicole now hitting her.

"Waves. Oh, Waves. I know this is huge for you. There's so much for you to grasp. I promise you it'll all be worth it. We just need to figure out how to extract you from this life. That's all."

Waverly hugged Nicole. She knew she wanted to be with her. Being with her was simple. Working out how to untangle herself from her old life was the complicated part. It would take strength. Something Waverly wasn't sure she had in abundance right now. Nicole knew this. She also knew Waverly needed to do this on her own, if she was ever to stand in her own power.