“Simple, Marianne. We stall,” Kat said.
“I know Garrett, child,” Marianne said. “I’ve known him since he was no older than you. And, believe me, if that man wants something, it will be quite hard to stop him.”
Hale took her hand. “Marianne, can you trust me?”
“Of course,” she said. Then a strange look crossed her face.
“What is it?” Hale asked.
“I just keep thinking that if your grandmother were here now…”
“She’d be pretty disappointed, huh?” Hale asked, head down.
“No.” Marianne took his face in her hands. “She’d be having a fabulous time.”
For the first time in days, Hale smiled, and a sharp feeling shot through Kat, the possibility that maybe he might come back to her. That maybe, just maybe, Hale might not be entirely gone.
“Okay, we have work to do,” Eddie said, shuffling toward them. He turned to Kat. “Shouldn’t you be casing a bank?”
“I have my best people on it.”
“I wouldn’t call Angus and Hamish your best,” Eddie said. “But they’ll do. And you.” He pointed at Hale. “Isn’t it time you went home?”
Home. It was easy for Kat to forget that Hale had one when, in fact, he had several.
“Oh,” Hale said. “Right. See you at the gala?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Kat said. She watched Hale move into the shadows of the building, nothing but footsteps retreating, beating out a pulse somewhere deep inside of Kat, telling her it was too late to stop now.
Chapter 29
Katarina Bishop didn’t like dresses. It wasn’t a feminist statement. She would never judge anyone who felt the call of a twirly skirt or toile-covered confections. But once a girl gets a bow caught in a security gate at Buckingham Palace, it stands to reason that she would be a no-fuss, no-muss, jeans-and-T-shirt type of female. Unfortunately, it was not a jeans-and T-shirt type of night.
“Stand still,” Gabrielle told her. She squeezed the smaller girl by the shoulders and tugged on a string.
“Ouch,” Kat said.
“You’ve got a little waist,” Gabrielle said. “That’s good. At least something’s smaller than your boobs.”
“Well,” Kat said, “that’s a relief.”
Gabrielle shrugged. “Don’t shoot the messenger.”
“Shooting wasn’t what I had in mind.”
Kat wanted nothing more than to take off the gown and burn the high heels that Gabrielle had picked out for the occasion, but every thief knows that camouflage is half the battle, and Kat was standing on the brink of enemy territory. She needed all the help she could get.
“What kind of company has a black-tie-optional product launch?” Kat asked.
“The Hale kind,” Gabrielle said, not looking up. “And it’s not a launch, it’s a gala. And from what I hear, it’s going to be a huge homage to Hazel or something; so, even without the con, this is a big night for Hale. And you’re going.”
“Are you scolding me?” Kat asked. She had to wonder if this was what it felt like to be a teenage girl with a mother.
“I’m telling you that Kat-the-girlfriend has work to do. Tonight isn’t just about Kat-the-thief.”
“I know,” Kat said.
Gabrielle stepped back and eyed her cousin. “Because you realize you just sent him back into the lion’s den, don’t you?”
Kat thought about the dark look that crossed his face every time he saw a picture of his grandmother, of the loneliness that lived behind those eyes, and said, “I know.”
“With his family.”
“I know,” Kat said one final time.
“And old friends…” Gabrielle didn’t finish the thought. She just looked Kat up and down. “I bet Natalie’s wearing heels tonight.”
“Good for her.”
“Come on, Kat.”
“I’m not worried Hale’s going to cheat, Gabrielle.” Kat studied her reflection in the mirror. “I’m just…”
Gabrielle took a step back, but she wasn’t looking at Kat’s dress or her hair. She stared squarely into her cousin’s eyes and said, “Spill.”
“I’m not sure. It’s just… Do you think he’s doing okay?”
Gabrielle considered the question, and when she answered, she spoke carefully, like the words themselves might easily bruise. “I don’t know, Kat. I really don’t. I’m lucky. I’ve never lost anyone. But I am curious—two weeks after your mother died, how were you?”
Kat stared into the mirror and tried hard not to think about the answer.
Chapter 30
When Kat, at last, saw the main entrance of Hale Industries, the lobby was filled with towering arrangements of flowers on every table, an orchestra playing near the stairs. But walking through the door with Gabrielle, Kat looked around at the people who filled the party, all decked out in their finest gems, and she realized she’d rather be in the alley with Silas than at the party with these people any day.
She was, however, alone in that opinion.
“Ooh,” Gabrielle said when a woman walked past in a diamond and emerald choker. “I want it.”
“No,” Kat said.
“Oh. What a pity.” Then one elegant hand reached to smooth his lapel and slip a business card into his pocket. “My number,” she said. “For when you change your mind.”
When Kat watched her walk away, the clock that had been running inside her head began to tick louder and louder until she thought her mind might explode.
“Gabrielle?” Kat swallowed hard. “How soon do you think we can rob the Superior Bank of Manhattan?”
Walking through the party, Kat couldn’t help but think that she really didn’t have time for a party. She had things to do, places to see. Prototypes to steal. She was just starting to plan her escape when she heard her name shouted through the crowd.
“Kat!” Natalie screamed and threw out her arms, pulled Kat into a massive bear hug, and Kat remembered why she wasn’t friends with many girls. She was a lot of things, after all, but hugger wasn’t one of them.