Reluctant thief Baz Barret is tasked with stealing from the formidable archaeologist Rei Collingwood--who happens to also be his college crush and rival--but when Rei goes missing after the burglary, Baz must find her before he's blamed for her disa...
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Chapter Eight: The Phone Call
Hunting for seat sales soothed Rei.
It wasn't money standing between her and the next available flight out of the country, but there was something about the hunt for the best price that she found exhilarating. There was no harm in imagining going back to Machu Picchu for $359, round trip. Or maybe she could venture to the land of off-shore bank accounts. Or East Asia, where she would blend in better than she would anywhere else. She could fly to China and slip into the population of millions, polish her Mandarin and rebuild a life far away from the security firm she and Cheng were supposed to run together.
What the hell was her father thinking in the first place? Who gave their children a company for their 21st birthday? That wasn't a gift. That was a test.
Rei closed out of the flight deals menu. She couldn't go, but she could dream and even dreaming lost its appeal after a while. She instead scrolled idly through news updates until that bored her, too.
The outside world's problems weren't hers. Her problems involved being on the brink of going stir-crazy, feeling like Rapunzel with a wifi connection.
She couldn't leave. Not yet. Rei also couldn't stand to leave herself vulnerable to the push and pull of other people attempting to persuade her to their side. It was coming. She knew it better than anyone else. She knew Angelo Ferrero was sick before anyone else did. She had been there when he had collapsed. It made her sick to think of all of the people more preoccupied with staking their claim on his assets than with him. Money was money. His money meant little more to Rei than anyone else's did.
Money, Rei had long been well aware, was her family's first and most impressive child. Cheng was an acceptable middle child. Rei was just a black sheep.
She sighed, sliding off her stool to wander to the fridge. There were leftovers, pizza boxes, and Styrofoam containers from the wealth of fast food she had delivered. How long had it been since Rei spoke to someone who wasn't bringing her all things cheese, grease, and MSG in exchange for a handful of cash? Was it really just a couple days?
She grabbed the takeout box from the second shelf, throwing it into the microwave. Another day, another meal of reheated Chinese. The numbers counted down in red across the display and Rei twisted her computer around.
As it turned out, while her father was in the hospital, Gwen decided making gossip column news was her priority. The man in the paparazzi photo on her screen was almost familiar. It wasn't a great angle and there wasn't much chance to get a look at his face while it was pressed against Gwen's. Whoever he was, hopefully he had the presence of mind to know that Gwen never got attached and for Gwen, public forums were low-budget photoshoots.
Rei rolled her eyes. The microwave beeped.
***
It was a good day. The sun was shining in through the windows into Baz's quaint kitchen. The appliances didn't talk to him or make ice for him, but they kept things cold or made them warm and that was more than enough. Even his cat slunk out from her hiding places to weave around his feet.
