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I had no doubts I was in the right place. The neon sign outside the door even said John's, not to mention the place matched the co-ordinates scribbled on the inside of the folder Carl had given.
Nerves fluttered in my stomach as I approached the double doors to enter the bar. As much as I wanted the thrill of doing this, a small part of me didn't want to break the rules again. On the other hand, I'd done it once, what difference would doing it a second time matter? It wasn't like Andrew Wellesley didn't deserve it. I'd seen the information in the file. Not only had he, allegedly, tried to usurp the queen, but he'd also tax dodged, left a string of broken hearts in his wake, and done a lot of other dodgy deeds. Paying off a pregnant housekeeper was among those.
I sucked in a deep breath and pushed open the doors, striding into the bar and projecting a fake confidence I definitely wasn't feeling.
Carl raised a hand and waved me over to a table he sat at with two other men, each of them no older than he was, each of them well dressed. Just like Carl himself. I briefly wondered if their sense of style was financed by hustling but decided it didn't matter. Just by being here, I'd decided to join them. It didn't matter if this was the norm for them, it just mattered what it meant for me.
"Good evening, gentlemen." I nodded to each of them in turn, hoping that was the right thing to do. I was always torn in social situations. It was safe to say that not wanting to get anyone else into trouble was only half the reason I'd pulled my con alone.
"Katerina, I presume?" A blond man with five o'clock shadow that could have made a nun drool held out his hand.
Gingerly, I took it. "I prefer Katie."
"Katie, then," he purred.
A shiver ran through me as his voice warmed my entire body.
"I'm Dean," the third man put in.
"Samuel," the blond added. "I don't use Sam."
I nodded. I could understand that. I hated people using my full name, it felt too unnecessary formal, but he probably worked the other way. Only people who earned it got the pleasure of calling him Sam.
"And you've already met me," Carl said, leaning back in his chair just like he'd done while in the conference room. That must have been one of his personal habits then.
Conscious of his eyes on me, I dropped Samuel's hand.
"Would you like a drink?" Dean asked.
"Dry white wine, please," I answered. A part of me wanted something stronger, but I doubted knocking one back in front of them would have gone down well.
"I take it you're agreeing to be part of our plan," Samuel said.
"Carl didn't really give me a choice." I threw him a look that I hoped screamed of disapproval.
He chuckled low in his throat. "That file I gave you had more than enough information to use against us. Don't blame me for wanting to be here."
We all stayed silent for a moment.
"Alright, I want to be here," I responded. "I find the idea thrilling."
"Would you like to know a secret?" Samuel half-whispered.
I nodded, nervous to find out what it was.
"We all like the thrill too."
"It's the best bit," Dean added, setting down a large glass of wine in front of me, followed by beers for the others.
"You've done this before, then?"
The three of them exchanged glances.
"We do this all the time," Dean answered. "Always with marks with questionable morals."
"Not that we're doing it for that reason," Samuel put in. "They're just less likely to report things as stolen if they don't risk getting caught out themselves."
"Understandable." I wasn't too sure what to make of that. A part of me liked the idea of becoming justice of some kind, but it didn't make what we were going to do right by any stretch of the imagination. And yet, I still wanted to go through with it. "So, do I get to know the plan?"
"Kind of," Carl responded. "We don't fully have one yet. We were waiting to see if you were on board."
"Me?" I squeaked. Reaching for my glass of wine, I took a sip to try and cover up my nervousness.
"There are some things that run a lot smoother if a woman is involved."
"How have you managed that before?" I asked, mostly through curiosity. I had no idea how a crew of conmen worked. Maybe they had some women on the side that would do the dirty for them. But if that was the case, why would they need me? Unless it was just about toying with me because they could.
"Mostly we've just found ways to avoid it. We're resourceful and we don't take on cons we know we can't do," Samuel answered.
"What's different this time?" If I hadn't asked, I would have regretted it. I also probably deserved to know. It wasn't like I was just doing this completely risk-free. If we failed, the consequences for me were just the same as for the rest of them and I wasn't about to forget that.
The three men exchanged glances and for a moment, I thought they might not tell me.
"This time it's a bit more personal," Carl answered eventually. "We need to take revenge on him and this is the best way to do it."
"There isn't a better way than conning him? You have evidence of some of his own wrongdoing, could you not hand that over to the authorities and let them handle it?"
"And where would be the fun in that?" Dean smirked as he finished asking.
"I suppose there isn't any. It just seems less risky to you than inviting someone unknown to the group." I had no idea why I was playing devil's advocate. I wanted to be part of this and feel the same thrill I had on Saturday again. So why was I trying to stop that from happening with questions like that? It just made no sense.
"We considered it," Carl responded, leaning forward so the candlelight flickered over his face. I was sure some people would find the move intimidating but all I could think about was how sensual the light looked as it cast sultry shadows across his skin.
"But?" I whispered.
"We weren't sure how much of it would actually stick," Samuel answered. "There was a chance he'd make it all go away and we'd be left with even less than we have now."
I nodded. It was the same reason I'd decided to con Walter instead of just going to the police with what I knew about his tax fraud.
"And what he did..." Carl bunched his hand into a fist, a quick look of anger darting through his eyes, unmistakable even in the dim light of the bar.
I took another sip of wine, using it to steady my hand again. I'd have to be careful not to get used to using a wine glass to centre myself. I didn't want to end up on the slippery slope down to alcoholism if I could help it. I'd seen what that reduced people to and held no desire to be seen like that myself.
"So what ideas do you have?" I asked, looking around the table as all three of them relaxed. I filed that information away. It wasn't in my best interests to push on why they wanted to get revenge on this way. Though I was certain it would come out eventually if I kept my eyes and ears open. At least, that was my theory. I'd have to see how it actually played out.
"You don't have a boyfriend, do you?" A flirtatious smile flitted across Dean's face and sent my stomach into knots. It looked like I might need to be careful with more than just my questions at this rate. Nothing could be more dangerous than me falling for one of them while we needed to work together.
"I don't, no. Why?"
"How do you feel about going on a date?" Samuel asked.
"With who?" Somehow I knew that despite the current thoughts whizzing around my head, it wasn't going to be one of the three men in the room. More was the pity. All three of them were attractive in their own way and I wouldn't kick any of them out of bed. Not that I'd be getting the opportunity to do that.
"Earl Andrew's business advisor." Dean's smiled turned from flirty to devious in a split second.
"And just what am I supposed to be doing on this date with the Earl's business advisor?" I leaned in, waiting for them to fill me in on what I needed to know.
"That depends on how well you think it's going. It might take a couple of dates to get him to the place we want," Samuel whispered.
I nodded. That made sense. If we needed him to trust me then it wasn't going to happen instantly.
"I have one condition." I held up my finger as if to drive home my point.
"Yes?" Carl prompted.
"I won't sleep with him. Even for the con."
"Agreed," Dean blurted as the other two nodded along beside him.
Good. At least I wasn't going to end up feeling like I was selling myself. Even if it was for a good cause.