Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society #3)(52)

“What kind of question is that?”

“No. Seriously. You’re the planner. Simon’s the genius. The Bagshaws are the muscle. And Gabrielle is…Gabrielle. But what am I, Kat? I’m the guy who writes the checks.”

“No. You’re the most naturally gifted inside man I have ever seen. And I was raised by Bobby Bishop.” She made him look into her eyes. “I don’t care about your money.”

“What if we don’t get it back, Kat? What if Genesis is gone?”

“Then we keep trying until we do get it back.”

She wanted the words to work, to soothe, but Hale just shook his head.

“When I heard that my grandmother had left the company to me, I was…proud.” He laughed a little. “I didn’t want it. I didn’t need it. I didn’t really understand it…but it meant something to me.”

“I know.”

He moved closer. “I thought I was special. Turns out, I was just an easy mark.”

“No,” Kat snapped. She put her hands on his chest and felt the heat of his skin through her fingers. “If you don’t want to be a victim, don’t act like one.”

It was fairly safe to assume that that was the first time anyone had ever spoken to W. W. Hale the Fifth in that manner. Kat was also fairly certain it wouldn’t be the last.

“I might lose my grandmother’s company.”

Kat gave a smile and held Hale tight. “You won’t lose me.”





Kat had learned from a very young age never to be surprised by what she found in Uncle Eddie’s kitchen. She’d seen it filled with exotic birds and black-market doctors treating dog bites, and at least once she’d walked in on Uncle Felix slipping into a dress and cursing the lack of women in their family.

But Kat had never seen the kitchen stunned before, and yet that was exactly the scene she found the next morning when she finally made her way downstairs.

“What do you mean Hale is out of money?” she heard Hamish asking as she walked down the hall. “Because, by ‘out of money,’ what you really mean is…”

“Is he going to have to give up the jet?” Angus asked.

“Boys.” Kat’s father’s voice came floating toward her. “I just don’t know.”

“But—”

“Hamish.” Kat rolled her eyes and shook her head, and they all turned sleepily toward where she was ladling herself a bowl of oatmeal. “He’s not out of money. Or, not really out of money. Garrett has just cut off his credit cards. And his bank account. And taken most of his cash. And—”

“But the jet?” Angus asked a little wistfully.

Kat was just about to answer when another voice cut her off.

“I’m officially on the Hale Industries Do Not Fly list.” Hale was there, standing in the doorway, and it felt to Kat like the room went even quieter. “So…hi, everyone.”

There was Bobby and Eddie, both Bagshaws and Gabrielle. Marcus appeared behind Hale’s shoulder, and his presence meant one thing: you simply cannot buy loyalty.

“So this is the young man who has intentions toward my little girl.” Bobby shifted in his seat and crossed his legs.

“It is not so fun on this side of the table, is it, Robert?” Uncle Eddie huffed, and Kat had to remember that once upon a time her mother had been the dark-haired girl in that kitchen, and her dad had been the stray she’d brought home. She watched the two men looking at Hale as if they’d never before laid eyes on him.

“He’s better-looking than the last vagabond I had to take in,” Eddie said, standing and carrying empty bowls to the sink. “I’ll give him that.”

The insult slid off of Bobby like water. “So, you know, kid, according to thief culture, if you’re going to court Kat, you now owe me two dozen goats.”

“It’s a dozen,” Eddie corrected.

“Yeah, but Kat’s worth two,” Hamish said with a wink.

Through it all, Hale said nothing. Then, finally, he smiled. “I’m afraid I’m all out of goats at the moment, but I’ve got some ruby cuff links you can have.”

“No.” Bobby shook his head. “It’s goats or nothing.”

“Sorry, Kat.” Hale shrugged, disappointed. “It was fun while it lasted.”

“Don’t look at me.” Kat threw up her hands. “I’m officially ignoring all of you.”

“Seriously, kid.” Bobby extended a hand, and Hale took it. “I don’t know whether to say congratulations or I’m sorry.”

“Hazel was a great lady,” Eddie added from the other side of the room.

“I wish I’d known her,” Bobby said.

Hale flashed his easy grin. “You would have liked her. Everybody liked her the instant they met her. Isn’t that right, Marcus?”

The butler stepped forward. “It is indeed, sir. Mrs. Hale was, if you’ll pardon the term, a charmer.”

“So she could have been an inside woman, huh?” Bobby asked.

“The best,” Hale said, and for a second, that thought filled the room. Hale wasn’t the boy who’d lost a fortune in that moment; he was the kid who’d lost his grandmother. And that made all the difference.