Reluctant thief Baz Barret is tasked with stealing from the formidable archaeologist Rei Collingwood--who happens to also be his college crush and rival--but when Rei goes missing after the burglary, Baz must find her before he's blamed for her disa...
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Baz had to go feed his cat.
It was both his fumbled excuse to get out of the hospital and actually true. Cali was probably starving and Gwen didn't need him hanging around while she spoke tersely to lawyers over the phone. Her reasons for bringing him along no longer applied. Rei answered the phone, but she didn't stop in for a visit.
Baz let himself into his warehouse, half-expecting a SWAT team awaiting him there, ready to arrest him for Rei Collingwood's kidnapping. Nothing made sense. How could Rei be kidnapped if she simply answered the phone when called? How could there be a ransom demanded for someone who hadn't begged for help while confirming a dying man's wishes? How could a would-be kidnapper be connected to the burglaries? Baz performed one and not the other. He was 100% positive on that point.
He fumbled with the lock longer than usual, his hands still shaking. Panic nauseated him, alcohol not quite flushed from his system.
Immediately, Cali was at his feet, meowing her wishes at him fervently. Pouring her kibble was such a mundane task to perform while his heart wouldn't stop pounding.
It was one thing to worry about any evidence of his presence in Rei's penthouse. It was another to add that to anything he may have ever left while running Jasper's errands. Baz couldn't stop himself from mentally reliving every incident for a potential mistake, something that would point the police straight in his direction.
He paced around the apartment, pulling things out of his storage room-turned-closet, packing for something even if he didn't quite know what it was. It felt like the right thing to do. Running away looked better and better the more things stacked against him.
But where would he go? Back to Iowa where his parents lived? To France to start over? Could he change his name? Get a new identity? How did a person get ahold of fake IDs? Where did he start when trying to erase his life?
Baz was just a criminal by mistake. He didn't have the connections that might let him pull off an elaborate escape.
Cali padded to him, weaving around his legs. Baz dropped onto the edge of the bed, trying to massage the ache out of his skull. Running away couldn't be plan A. At best, it was a wobbly backup.
If he could just ensure his innocence in Rei's kidnapping, then... maybe his life wasn't completely over. He'd never been caught for the break-ins.
If he ran, he'd always be running. A lifetime of looking over his shoulder. A week of it was killing him. Baz couldn't last through decades of paranoia.
Cali nuzzled at his hand, demanding he stroke her fur. Baz obliged, his heart rate slowly returning to something reasonable. It was too early to launch into full-on panic mode. There was still a shred of hope on the horizon.
Baz continued packing, throwing the blackest of his black clothes into a backpack.
Cheng planned to meet the demands of the ransom. There would be a rendezvous. If Baz couldn't find Rei first, maybe he could find out who would demand ransom for her. He packed his cowl and his split-toed shoes and his sport camera.
