Page 59 of Cops and Robbers

“Don’t play dumb with me. You will pay for this.”

The threatening tone sent Raz’s hackles rising. Heat ripened up his spine in a fiery burn.

“Please step back, Mrs. Sinclair,” Caige whispered calmly, his voice as penetrating and deadly as a bullet.

“Insolent little thing. You even need a guard to fight your battles for you.”

“Trust me. I can take care of myself. He’s doing that for your safety, honey.” Her lips smacked together before air whisked by as if she blew the woman a kiss. Marking your next target, Kate?

“I can squish you beneath my boot,” Mrs. Sinclair hissed.

“Louis Vuitton. Can’t say I’d be too ashamed of that.”

Sid laughed and Raz flicked his ear.

Sid jerked away. “Sorry. This catfight is making my day.”

“I’ll need you to come with me,” An authoritative masculine voice said from Kate’s side. “Ziegler would like to see you both.”

“Oh?” Kate said. “I wonder why.”

Kate’s cavalier attitude did nothing to soothe his worry. What would Ziegler do to her? That was information Matsuda himself needed. A snort came across the line as if from Mrs. Sinclair.

“I don’t know how she does it,” Sid murmured, a half-cocked grin tilting his cheeks.

“She’s a talented actress—that’s for sure,” Raz said. Especially when her fear of failure wrapped around his throat like a boa.

How are you going to get out of this one, Kate?

What’s taking Clyde so long with the encryptions? Kate paced the small drawing room Ziegler’s guard had placed her and Caige in after Clyde stole information Ziegler wanted. At least she wasn’t with Mrs. Sinclair, who’d rightfully accused her and wanted her dead. Or maybe that would have been more entertaining. With each sweep of the space, her assessing gaze kept lingering over a pair of panda figurines displayed on a china cabinet. Pure sterling silver. It was the most expensive item around that she could fit in her clutch.

“He sure likes to make a woman wait,” Kate drawled as she sauntered closer to the expensive prize. Her fingers tingled. Caige seemed off in his own world, staring at a book he took from the bookshelves, but Kate could feel his gaze heating her back.

“Sorry, Kate-san,” Clyde said into her ear, understanding her message had been for him. “I’m in Ziegler’s hacker’s system still, but I’m having difficulty finding what we need.”

With boredom getting the better of her, she exaggerated a sigh, placing her arms on the countertop as she cocked her hip to the side, butt blocking the wall-mounted camera behind her. She winked at the baby panda, real silver wires appearing like actual fur. Dragging her arm back, squeaking it lightly along the glass counter, she pulled the figurine until it fell into the clutch she had left gaping open. It landed safely within the bag on her next breath.

Gotcha! She kept her smile inside as she turned, resting her elbows back on the counter.

“Put it back,” Raz growled.

“What?” she squeaked before she could stop herself.

“Whatever you just stole, return it.”

Strife warmed a path up her neck. Her grip tightened around her clutch. She wanted to ask him how he knew, but it didn’t take long to feel the flowing emotions through their connection. Damn link. It’s not like I intended to keep it.

“I’m bored, okay,” she said.

Turning, she dropped the bag on the cabinet as if needing to pull something out. With her frame blocking the camera, she slid the baby panda out. When she placed him down, she poked him closer to the mother panda.

“Found the access point for the submarine’s security cameras,” Clyde said through the Micron Ear. “Securing the connection now. It may take a moment.”

She nibbled her lip. Hopefully, he’d secured it before Ziegler found her device.

Goosebumps prickled up her back.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Caige said from beside her, eyeing the figurines. She hadn’t even heard him move, just felt his uneasy presence.