City of Saints & Thieves(43)

I wonder about a lot of things.

? ? ?

Mrs. Greyhill finally lets Michael go because she and Mr. G have to leave for a dinner party. Michael doesn’t tell me what she’s said to him, and I don’t ask.

After they’re gone, we retreat upstairs but have to keep the door to Michael’s room open. Maids have been tasked with checking in on us, and they pass by too frequently to allow talk about “the case,” as Michael continues to call it. We try to get by whispering, but eventually it becomes so frustrating that I decide to call it a night.

I leave Michael still poring over the UN and police files, carefully adding to his notes. I’ve told him most of what Donatien told me—mainly focusing on the fact that he’s convinced Mr. G did it. I leave out the part about Donatien warning me away from Michael.

In my room I send Boyboy a text to call me when he and Bug Eye are on their way and flop down on the bed. I pull the photo of my mother out of my pocket and stare at her face until it starts to lose shape. Her smile becomes too wide, her braids too twisty. In the background the flower vines grow thorns and start to flex and curl and slip around the girls’ arms like snakes crushing prey. The other girl whispers in Mama’s ear and they laugh. Tina, Mama says, come here.

I try to tell her that I can’t, but my mouth is sewn shut like Donatien’s scar. I want to reach for her, but my arms and legs are held tight by the vines.

Tina!

She starts to laugh, and then she throws back her head so that her mouth is a chasm, and then she begins to scream.

I come to my senses with a jolt. For a second I flounder in the dark. I hear the scream again, except it’s not a scream, it’s just my phone buzzing. I fumble until I find it, my arm all pins and needles. “Boyboy?”

“Finally.”

“What time is it?”

“Midnight! I’ve been trying to call for half an hour. You too busy with Prince Charming?”

“Mavi! I fell asleep.”

“Great. It’s so nice to hear you’re taking this seriously. Are you awake now? Ready to go back in?”

I flip on a light and blink into it. “Yeah,” I mutter, still seeing the afterimages of my dream before my eyes. I shiver. “Give me a sec. Where’s Bug Eye?”

“Driving. Pissed you didn’t answer.”

I slap my cheeks lightly, trying to wake up. “Can you hack into the security cameras and make sure everyone is tucked into bed?”

“Already on it.”

I hear Boyboy’s fingers tapping over the line. While I’m waiting, I find dark clothes in Jenny’s closet to change into. “Well?”

“Anyone ever told you patience is a virtue?”

“Only my mother, about a million times,” I say, adjusting the phone as I pull a top over my head.

“Glad it sank in. Okay, Michael hasn’t left his room, but the Greyhills aren’t in their bedroom. It looks like maybe a car is gone.”

“Perfect. They must still be at their dinner party.”

“I’ll try hacking into the security firm they use for their car and see where their GPS puts them. Hang on.”

I turn to the mirror and only then notice that what I thought was a black top is in fact black covered in dark red kissy lips. I make a face. I can just imagine Boyboy’s reaction if he could see me now.

Oh well, it’s not a fashion show.

It’s a robbery.

“Boyboy? Are you ready? I’m heading out.”

“Wait! Don’t you want to make sure they’re not pulling in the driveway right now?”

I fidget while the seconds tick by. Finally Boyboy says, “Security puts them a few miles away in Miambu. Okay, I’m putting the interior cameras on a loop starting now.”

“All right, here I go.”

“Just a sec. Bug Eye wants to talk to you.”

I hear the phone change hands, and then Bug Eye’s deep voice. I wait for him to chastise me again, to warn me not to mess up, but he just says, “You got this, Tiny Girl. Soon as you’re done, you can get out of that house. Get back to real life.”

“Yeah,” I say, not quite sure how to answer. “I’ll call back once I’m in the office.”

After I hang up and put my phone into my pocket, I shake my arms and legs out, getting loose. When I slip into the hall, there’s no light coming from under Michael’s door. Creeping back through the tomblike house, I feel my pulse quicken. The familiar surge of adrenaline brings a smile to my face. Everything suddenly feels right. This is what I know. This is who I am. A thief. A good one. This time I’m not leaving until all Mr. Greyhill’s secrets are mine.





TWENTY


Two minutes later the office door lock is picked and I’m in. “Too simple,” I whisper when I call Boyboy back.

His voice crackles over the line. “Just listen out for lover boy creeping up on you again.”

I snort. “Lover boy?”

“Hey, girl, I just call it like I see it. That boy is sweet on you.”

“You met him for, like, two minutes,” I say, wondering if Bug Eye is listening in. I reach the other side of the dark room by the light of my phone and switch on the desk lamp.

“You forget that I—genius—therefore very perceptive.” Boyboy’s voice cuts in and out. “—too bad you’re—totally mess his family up. You two would—cute couple.”