Her life depended on it in more ways than she could count.
When noon rolled around, she knew that there was a guard shift switchover at the security desk. A few of the guys would leave for lunch or be done with their shifts for the day. It was crucial that she make it as believable as possible, as heists went. Not one single doubt could be raised for Steiner, or their whole plan would tumble down to nothing. Without getting Steiner, Interpol was going to arrest her, and any chance she had of having those cute little babies with York would evaporate.
Josie pulled the vase Steiner wanted out from one of the larger safes. It was a beautiful piece that had been well preserved over the years. But York was right, there was nothing special about it. Museums all across the world had similar ones. Even the pattern that decorated the edges was basic for the eleventh century. It was clear that Steiner really did want to use this as a test to see if she could successfully steal from the Warwick Bank.
She carried the vase to the table where a few other items were laying in wait to be cataloged. She pretended to look for her pen, looking around the table and on the ground. It was cleverly tucked into her pants, but the sleight of hand would never have been caught by the cameras. Especially not during a shift change at lunchtime. Josie retrieved her purse from the corner, plopping it down on the table with a fake grumble about disappearing pens. She riffled through the bag, her back shielding the purse and vase from view.
It took but one second to place the vase inside the bag, but she grabbed the pen that was laying in the very bottom, raising it overhead.
“Ah-ha!” She cried out in victory. She pushed the purse farther down the table, and she continued logging some pieces for about thirty minutes.
By one o’clock, Josie had replaced all of the Warwick items in the safes, and she was making her way back up the elevator.
This was it.
The moment of truth when she would literally walk out of the bank with an eleventh-century vase with no one the wiser.
Well, apart from the owner of the vase and the bank.
“Have a good afternoon,” Vern said to her with a warm smile as she dropped off her keycard to him.
“You, too, Vern. I’ll be in tomorrow again,” she added for good measure for the other guards that were monitoring the screens.
Josie could have sworn that one of the men was eying her with particular interest, but she cast out the thought. She was just being paranoid. With one final wave to Vern, Josie made her way to the exit.
It happened quickly and without any incident. She walked to a side street, where there was a car waiting for her. She got into the driver’s seat, gently placing her large purse on the passenger’s side. It took a few minutes to sync her phone to the car’s hands-free system, before she could start the drive out of the city.
The drive would take nearly two hours with traffic, but that was fine. They had calculated that much time when coming up with the plan. Josie wanted to text or call York to let him know that it had gone well so far, but she had to curb the desire to hear her man’s voice. They would be together soon enough. When she was about an hour away from her destination, she dialed Steiner’s number.
“I have something for you,” she said to him, putting in as much frustration as she could into her tone. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Steiner chuckled before hissing out his words. “Good, good. Where are you?”
Josie rattled off an address. “Meet me on the far side of the private beach in an hour. I’ll give you what you asked for.”
“No, bring it to me. I’ll text you a location.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot? No way, Steiner. You’re coming to me, or the vase gets shattered.”
He hissed at her, but he had to agree if he wanted the vase. He began to argue, stating that he could easily have one of his cronies maim Mia.
“You know I don’t do second locations,” she interrupted. “I’m the pro here, and you know I don’t trust your slithering ass.”
“Fine. But you should know, any funny business, and your precious grandmother and best friend are going to get it. It’ll only take one push of a button from me, and they’ll both die.”
“I wouldn’t put them in danger,” she growled. She wasn’t lying.
There was no way she would have left her family and friends without security. Steiner might have thought he had the upper hand, but York had his own security people. They were surrounding her Gammy and Mia, and her family’s store. Even if something did go wrong, and Josie got hurt, she was confident that her family would be safe.
“Fine,” Steiner said, after some more pointless arguing.
The rest of the drive was less than pleasant. Josie was convinced she was being followed. Well, she was being followed, but that did nothing to ease her stress. Usually, during heists, she was stressed out, but it was a calm sort of pressure. The kind that brought clarity to each action.
That wasn’t it at all in this moment.
There was no clarity, only incessant doubts and fears playing through her mind. She had too much riding on this going well. Too much to lose.
The pressure didn’t ease as Josie was pulling into the parking lot for one of the resort spas. It had a pretentious name that made her snort. She parked her car and grabbed the bag, before making her way to the other side of the resort, where there was a private beach.
Three guesses as to who owned the property…
The Warwicks, of course.
They didn’t need an audience for what was about to take place, should things go sideways.
They wouldn’t. They couldn’t.
So, of course, that’s precisely what happened.
Chapter Twenty-Two
York
From his vantage point up the beach, York watched as Josie made her way down to the water’s edge. He, along with Armstrong, was hidden in a small line of trees, downwind from where Josie stood. It was the only position they could hide in to keep from being spotted and smelled by the shifter guards Steiner always had with him.
Just under the surface of his mind, York’s dragon was pacing at a dangerous speed. The beast wanted out, and he was furious their mate was being used as bait. No matter how many times York tried to tell himself it was the only way, that Josie would have thrown a fit if she wasn’t involved in this, it did nothing to ease the dragon’s fury with the plan.
Especially not when he could see the hard set of Josie’s shoulders as she waited on the beach. She looked paler, and York was pretty sure he could see her shaking from his hiding spot in the trees that lined the beach, just beyond a large swatch of high golden grass. He looked down at this phone to check the time for the twentieth time in a minute.
“He’ll be here,” Armstrong assured him. “We just need a bit of patience.”
Right. He was short out of patience.
Thankfully, it was just then that the sound of helicopter blades, cutting through the air, resounded over the sound of the beach’s waves. York didn’t even bother hiding his grin of triumph. Steiner had played right into their hands. The snake had brought a flying mode of transportation, because he had no idea Josie had a dragon on her side. York could outfly the contraption, no problem.
“You were right,” Armstrong said. “He did fly in.”