Until they nearly turned a corner and almost ran smack into a guard. He grabbed Mira and pulled her back. “There’s someone standing in front of the library door,” he whispered to her.
“Can you take him?”
He gave her an incredulous look. “What?”
“You’ve taken down an FBI agent.”
“I was hyped up on adrenaline.”
“Well, can you get hyped up on adrenaline again?”
“Making a Molotov cocktail would be less risky.” He peeked around the corner again. This man was much bigger than Stuart, and he looked more competent too.
A click came from behind him, and he turned to find Mira holding her father’s silver lighter, the lid flipped open. “I was kidding.”
Her big eyes looked up at him. She handed it to him. “You’re taller. Hold it up to the smoke detector.”
He nearly kissed her. Of course. They should have thought about setting off the fire alarm ages ago. It would get everyone out of the house, temporarily.
He pushed the lighter gently away. “There’s a better way.” He jogged back the way they had come and found a fire alarm box on the wall. It was odd to see one in a private residence, but this place was huge, and Wyatt did house valuables. He opened the lid and yanked. The sound was low at first, but gained steam as it echoed through the upstairs.
He came back to Mira, who was peeking around the corner. He joined her and watched as the guard spoke into his wrist, then shook his head and left his post. As soon as he was out of eyesight, Naveen nodded at Mira.
The doorknob turned under Mira’s hand. They entered quickly and Mira closed the door behind them. She used her phone flashlight to illuminate the place.
Bookshelves lined the walls and big cushy chairs and couches dominated the room. It was a place he’d love to include in his mental blueprint for his own future home, except he didn’t have millions to blow. “We did it,” he said. They’d done it easily.
Too easily.
“There’s no way he keeps his precious treasures in this room, with no security, no lock, and no alarms,” Mira said quietly, echoing his thoughts. She found a lamp and turned it on. The delicate glow bathed the leathery books and shelves. “Sunil must have been mistaken.”
“There could be a secret room here.” He pulled out his phone and examined the blueprints again. Then he looked up at the ceiling. It was popcorn in here, which was odd, given the sleek modern finishes of the rest of the home. Also odd was that the blueprint showed three stories, but he’d counted four outside. His grandmother would be very proud of him for noticing that. “Look for an attic entrance in the ceiling,” he whispered.
“Naveen?”
“I bet there’s a seam somewhere.”
“Naveen.”
He looked away from his ceiling perusal to find her frozen in front of a bookshelf. “What?”
“Maybe this guy is cocky enough to leave his treasures out in the open.”
He came to stand next to her. There, between the shelves, was a small glass box with the diamond necklace that they’d spent their entire night risking their lives for. “Holy shit,” he whispered.
The fire alarm stopped, but his phone ring took its place. The vibration in his hand shocked them both. He spun away and answered it, not realizing until he did that it was a video call. “Naveen, I woke up to a missed text from you, I was worried—” His mom stopped. “Was that . . . that wasn’t Amira that was just behind you?”
Fuck. He looked over his shoulder at Mira, who stood frozen after having taken two giant steps out of frame of his camera. “Uh. Yes.”
“Interesting.” His mom drew the word out. “Very interesting.”
“Mom, we’ll talk about this later.”
“We most certainly will.” His mom’s eyebrows were pushed so high, they’d nearly disappeared under her hair. “I didn’t know you were still in contact with her.”
“Yeah, it’s a recent thing.”
She lowered her voice. “She was your first match from Hema.”
“I know, Mom.”
“I liked her very much.”
He grimaced. His mother had loved Mira. “I know. Mom, don’t worry about it, I’ll call you later, I wanted to make sure you were fine.”
“Where are you? What’s that fake necklace behind you? It’s so gaudy. Wait, are you in a jewelry store? Is there one open late?” Her voice rose. “Naveen, why are you texting from a Nevada number, are you buying your ex-girlfriend a fake diamond ring in Las Vegas and getting married in some tacky ceremony?”
“No, no—”
“Wait,” Mira whispered. “Did she say fake?”
“Of course I said fake, I can spot good jewelry ten miles away,” his mother said loudly. “Just like I can spot a real Vermeer, like the one next to it. Though that’s odd, I thought that one was stolen years ago, I must be rusty on my art history. Amira, if my son is buying you diamonds, please make sure they’re real. I can’t be embarrassed like that.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Mom, I’m going to call you back.”
“Wait!”
He paused. “Yes?”
Anxiousness drew his mom’s face tight. “I know what this is. My sweetie, it’s okay.”
Mom, stop calling me your sweetie in front of Mira. “What’s okay?”
“I know why you reached out to me. Your grandfather said you called him, too. Now I see you in Las Vegas with your ex and lying about a date. You found out, didn’t you? Your brother didn’t purposefully keep the baby a secret—”
“Wait, wait. Baby?” He took a few steps away from Mira without even thinking about it. “Kiran had a baby?”
She stopped, like she realized she’d said too much. “Payal’s six months along. I thought you knew. Oh no.”
He puffed out his cheeks. “I did not know.” He wasn’t sure exactly what he thought about this, beyond shock, but he was abruptly reminded of where they were when he shifted, the floorboard creaking. Right. They were in the process of stealing jewelry from an extremely rich man.
Fake jewelry? No. Impossible. “I have to go, Mom. We can talk about this later.”
She nodded meekly. “Please call me back. If not tonight, then first thing tomorrow.”
“I will.” He shook his head to recover from the curve ball she’d thrown him. “Make sure your alarm’s on. You’re okay, right?”
“Not with fake diamonds for your new girl. I demand you have the wedding I dreamed of for you, Naveen! Not some Elvis dancing schmancing one.”
“There’s no wedding,” he said, mildly desperate. “Goodbye Mom.” He hung up, both thrilled she was fine and horrified by the whole conversation.
He turned to Mira. She was watching him with detached interest. “Your brother is having a baby?”
“It seems that way.”
“Congratulations. Is Payal his wife?”
“Yes. His wife.” Naveen shifted his weight from one foot to another. “My ex-fiancée.”
Loud footsteps cut off any response she might have made. They froze for a second, then Mira reached behind her and unzipped her dress. The fabric sagged on her front, and he barely had a chance to process that before she launched herself into his arms.