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 shouldn't have been surprised. Maybe he truly had plateaued. Nothing could shake him more than the day already had.
"What did the police have to say?" Jasper asked.
"Well, they're absolutely convinced that the man I saw this evening is behind the rash of break-ins," Cheng said, "if only they knew who that was."
Jasper shifted. "I'm working on it."
"You said the same about finding Rei," Cheng said, "and all you've managed to do is lose your spy."
Jasper had lost him. Jasper didn't know where Baz was. In the flurry of unwelcome realizations, that one was a relief.
"Jasper, I'm starting to believe that you never had a proper exit strategy for this scheme of yours. Tell me, did you really concoct it to boost our sales, or were you simply more interested in seeking revenge? Your partner tricked you into selling out of the business, didn't he?"
Jasper bristled. Even from Baz's view he could see the tension in Jasper's body, his shoulders shrugging defensively.
"Both," Jasper replied, "and I did have an exit strategy, but then your sister disappeared. I can't plan for everything."
Baz's head whirled. In a roundabout way, he'd been working for Cheng the entire time. It hadn't occurred to Baz to concern himself with what security system he cracked into. He didn't pay attention to the little stickers that announced it in windows.
It also hadn't occurred to Baz to consider any other motivations for the crimes. It was a linear equation as far as Baz was concerned. He stole the artifacts because someone wanted the artifacts. Why would he consider anything else?
"I've been patient. I've let you have your fun—"
"It worked, didn't it?" Jasper interrupted. "Profits are up this quarter."
"None of that matters if you don't fix this. Rei will ruin it. I know she will. Everything I've done and everything you've done to become a success will be for nothing if she doesn't cooperate," Cheng said, "and she'd rather go down on a sinking ship than do what it takes to stay afloat."
"You make us sound like pirates," Jasper said.
"Maybe we are."
The silence hung uneasily between them as Jasper considered what he might say next. Baz had always thought of himself as an outsider next to Jasper. They belonged to different worlds, but next to Cheng, it was obvious that Jasper wasn't born into it either. Cheng carried the nobility of birth. He was expectant and, watching him demand results, Baz honestly believed that Cheng thought that enough money would solve any problems. If he just glowered at Jasper long and hard enough, the other man would be inspired to produce results.
Had Cheng ever truly worked at something? Or did he just outsource to others, letting people like Jasper come up with solutions to somehow outsmart and underhand the competition with schemes instead of genuine superiority? He had people like Baz slip into houses, defeat security systems and prove them inept instead.
