Hustle (Book 1 in The Hunted Hearts) - SYTYCW Winner #action #comedy #romance

Heist | Chapter 2

Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

Heist By Claire Chilton

2

The Job

Ellie tied her dark hair up into a ponytail and then checked how she looked in the mirror. The chambermaid's uniform looked awful. The black dress had a frilly white apron attached to the front of it. She peered down at her black sensible shoes, which were also part of the uniform.

Great, I look like someone's grandmother.

With a sigh, she plucked the hat out of her locker, which was more like a white frilly napkin that had been shaped into a tiara. After battling to get it to stay on her head, she scowled at the uniform.

Gosford Park, here I come.

She slipped an earbud into her ear. "Jimmy, can you hear me?" she muttered in a low voice while glancing around the locker room to ensure she wouldn't be overheard.

"Yeah, I gotcha. How's it going?"

She felt a moment of relief to hear Jimmy's voice. Even though he was her younger, adopted brother, she always felt safe when he was around. "I look like Queen Victoria's fucking maid."

Jimmy chuckled down the earbud. "Take a selfie. I need a good laugh."

She grinned. "Bite me."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She heard her father's voice. He sounded worried.

"I can handle it," she muttered as she closed her locker. Her pulse was racing, but that was to be expected. She was running her first con on her own. In the past, she'd always been an extra with her father leading the con. This time she was going in on her own. Luckily, adrenaline was pumping through her veins, which seemed to be overpowering any nervousness.

"If you get in trouble, just let us know. You're not on your own." He sounded concerned.

"It'll be fine," she said as she hurried out of the staff room and headed towards the elevator.

She stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the penthouse. There was only one resident in the penthouse, the owner of the Starling hotel chain, Jerry Starling. Starling owned hotels around the world, but he resided in this one, which was in his home town of Manchester. He'd built his empire off the back of organized crime, and it was time he paid his dues.

Starling was dirty enough to fall for a con, but he was also rich enough to avoid the simple ones. To get him to bite, they needed leverage.

After breaking into the employment agency that controlled his payroll, Ellie was now an employee of the Starling Hotel and perfectly placed to dig up some dirt.

She watched the numbers on the elevator panel go up as she pulled her ID card out of her pocket and gripped it in her sweaty palm. She tried to shake off her nerves, but her stomach felt as if it was in a vice.

You've seen dad con his way into a bank vault before. Chill out. You can do this.

"This ID card better work," she muttered to Jimmy.

"When have I ever forged something that didn't work?" Jimmy said. He sounded offended.

"Okay, fair point." Jimmy sucked at face-to-face cons, but when it came to hacking and forging, he never got it wrong.

The elevator doors opened, and she strolled out into the hall. She glanced down the corridor to check it was empty before hurrying towards the housekeeping closet. She swiped her card through the lock, and it flashed a green light. She opened the door and pulled out one of the trolleys, which was loaded up with clean sheets, towels and cleaning products.