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Well shit, Blue mused, eyeballing the situation from the little alcove she ducked into to stay out of sight. When she discreetly followed Nash—into the diamond exhibit, her favorite after-all—she hadn't realized that Marco was already in the room.
Stupid, really, focusing on one thing, one person. She knew you needed to be conscious of your surroundings at all times. She felt a little niggle of concern when Marco Cruz's hulking, beefed-up body guards cornered Nash into another exhibit, blocking the doors so no one could see or get in. This was going to be a problem, she thought, as she took another sip of her wine.
Of all the people in the world who she would not have wanted to be alone with—it was those two. Both would be pissed at her, but for totally different reasons. She often wondered if they were heartbroken as well, thinking about them often but never coming into contact with either man in the five years since she'd left.
Blue had been Marco Cruz's third and best apprentice. He found her the same way he did all his acquisitions—through rumors and word of mouth. When Blue met Marco, she had been the young, beautiful Madam Grala, clad in gypsy skirts and scarves, selling empty promises and dreams for the traveling circus. Marco witnessed the dramatic flare, and the underhanded pickpocketing of her show. He then seduced her away from the big tent with promises of being squired off to exotic locals in search of the prettiest and largest scores.
The problem for Marco was after he'd freed Blue from her poor lifestyle, he couldn't put the brakes on. She continued to pull off her own heists—bigger and more rewarding than the ones he pursued. Their partnership had cost Marco more than a few baubles, thanks in large part to the support of Butters.
Only one man had known where she disappeared to and that was Butters. He came with her because she relied so heavily on their partnership. Marco never appreciated their friendship, nor could he stand the idea of being replaced. Four months after Marco secured Blue's partnership, Butters joined her company despite what the 'master' said.
Of course, Butters was the only person alive to catch Blue during one of her heists and, in her opinion, should have meant something to Marco. Blue acknowledged that sneaking into the Enclave developed into a bad idea when she fell from the top of the fence surrounding the community. Thank God for Butters' awesome catching skills.
After their dramatic meeting and the momentous snatch out of thin air, Blue confessed her reason for climbing the ten-foot tall security gate—to pull off the heist of her dreams. Blue envisioned herself draped in glittering diamonds—instead of focusing on what she should be doing. Fortunately, Butters had walked out of the guard house and stopped her falling progress.
The truth was convincing a security guard to leave his soul-sucking job and joining the ranks of famous cat burglars wasn't that hard. Blue and her newly formed crew of one, executed the perfect heist with the ease of long-time friends.
No more memory lane, she ordered. Focus.