Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society #3)(64)

“I wish I’d known her.” Kat picked up the album that showed an image of Hale’s grandmother on her wedding day, standing between Reginald and her new husband.

“Have the boys found him?” Eddie asked, and Kat shook her head. The old man drew a deep breath then leaned back in his chair. “Your young man will be fine, Katarina.”

“I know,” Kat said.

“All young men must find their way. Yours is just a little off course at the moment.”

“He misses Hazel.”

Eddie nodded slowly. “I’m sure he does.”

And then Eddie struggled to his feet. Kat hated those moments—the seconds, really, where his hands would shake or his knees subtly refused to bear his weight. There was nothing as painful to Katarina Bishop as the gentle reminders that she was not the only member of her family who was growing older, that someday she too would be left with nothing but a book full of pictures and memories.

“If I lost you…” Kat’s voice broke. She couldn’t meet his eyes, so she stared down at the flames.

“You’re not going to lose me, Katarina.”

“Promise?”

Eddie gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Would I lie?”

She wanted to believe him, to know that it was true. But there were some things even the great Uncle Eddie couldn’t stop—and fate, as it turned out, was one of them.

“Go to sleep, Katarina. This thing we do tomorrow…it is not an easy thing.”

“Is it the right thing?” she asked.

He nodded. “It is the best thing. And that is all any grifter can hope for.”

She heard him shuffle down the hall. A moment later, a door opened and closed, and Kat was left alone with her thoughts and the fire and the spinning earth that was slowly making its way toward tomorrow.





Anything that can go wrong…will. It was the law of the grift, the rule of the con. If the mark is told to come alone, he won’t. If you’re supposed to have three exit routes, you’ll be lucky to get one. And never, ever believe a weatherman when he says it isn’t going to rain.

So Kat was more than a little surprised to see the sun so bright and clear overhead as she stepped out onto the wide scenic area overlooking the falls. Mist clung to the air, and a rainbow formed over the waters below, and it was beautiful, there at the top of the world. She might have actually enjoyed it if her whole body hadn’t been trembling.

“Deep breaths, Katarina,” Uncle Eddie said. “It steadies the nerves.”

As was her habit, she took her uncle’s advice.

At least two dozen tourists were already there, posing for pictures with the falls at their back, plugging quarters into the big old-fashioned machines that could let a person see right down onto the rocky shores. Kat counted ten cars and one school bus, but none of them belonged to the man who had completely ruined her May.

“Maybe he’s not coming,” she said, jamming her gloved hands deeper into her pockets.

“He’ll be here,” Eddie said. He sounded so certain, so sure, so at home there at the end of a job.

“What if this is the wrong call?”

“It is the only call, Katarina.” He gave her a long look that she’d never seen before. He sounded different, not like he was talking to his niece, but like he was talking to a peer. “This is how it ends.”

“Thank you.” Kat reached out and took his hands. “Thank for doing this. Thank you for always being there for me.”

“That, Katarina, is my job.” He looked out over the horizon. “And my pleasure.”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

“Kat?” Simon’s voice was in her head.

“Blasted contraptions.” Eddie flinched and poked a finger in his ear, but Kat stopped him before he could pull the earbud out.

“What is it, Simon?” Kat said.

“Our guy is heading your way.”

She looked at Uncle Eddie. “It’s showtime.”

The two of them stepped away from the road and watched a black SUV pull into the overlook, its big tires crunching in the gravel. Kat stood waiting for her first sight of Garrett, but instead, the driver’s-side door opened, and the goon from the night before stepped out.

“Hands up,” the hired thug said, and Kat had to laugh a little. The thug, however, didn’t see what was funny.

“Old man. Teenage girl.” Kat pointed between her uncle and herself, but the goon didn’t seem to know that, for all their skills, neither Eddie nor Kat were really known for their physical prowess, so he patted them down just the same.

“They’re clean,” he yelled, and only then did the back door open.

“Yay,” Kat said when Garrett emerged. “You’re here.”

“You’ve got a smart mouth,” he told her.

Eddie shrugged. “It runs in the family.”

“Oh yes,” Garrett said, stepping slowly around them. “Uncle Reginald. Or is it Edward? It’s so good to see you again.”

“Can we get this over with?” Kat asked.

Garrett held his hands out wide. “You’re the boss.”

“Did you bring it?” Kat asked.

“You’ll get your money.”