Read Online Double Crossed by Ally Carter - Free Book Online Page B

didn’t answer. He was too busy walking down the main hall, guiding Kat into a dim room that she had never seen before. Moonlight cascaded through the windows that lined one wall. There were bookshelves and leather sofas, brandy decanters and the stale smell of old cigars and even older money. There was no doubt in Kat’s mind that it was an important room. For important men. And yet Kat brushed past Hale without a second thought…until she saw the painting.
    Stepping toward it was like approaching a window into another country, another century. She studied the rich colors and strong brushstrokes. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, staring at the work of an Old Master in the moonlight.
    “It’s Vermeer.”
    Kat turned to the boy who lingered in the doorway. “It’s stolen.”
    “What can I say?” Hale eased behind her and studied the painting over her shoulder. “I met a very nice man who bet me that he had the best security system in Istanbul.” His breath was warm on the back of her neck. “He was mistaken.”
    Kat stayed perfectly still as Hale walked to the desk in the far corner of the massive room, picked up a telephone and said, “Marcus, we’re home. Could you get some—Yeah. The library.” He held his hand over the receiver. “Do you like corned beef?” Kat glared at him, but he only smiled. “She loves it!” he exclaimed. He hung up and collapsed onto one of the leather sofas as if he owned the place, which, Kat had to remind herself, he did.
    “So,” Hale said with a slow, easy grin, “did you miss me?”
    A good thief is always a great liar. It’s part of the skill set, the tools, the craft. And at that moment, Kat thought it was probably a very good thing she’d walked away from the life, because when she said, “No,” Hale just smiled wider.
    “It really is good to see you, Kat.”
    “You might want to remember who I am before you try to con me.”
    “No.” Hale shook his head. “ You might want to remember who you are. You want to go back to Colgan, is that it? After I saved you from that place?”
    “Colgan wasn’t so bad. I could have been normal at Colgan.”
    Hale laughed. “Trust me: you would never have been normal at Colgan.”
    “I could have been happy at Colgan.”
    “They kicked you out, Kat.”
    “Because you framed me!”
    Hale shrugged. “Fair enough.” He stretched his arms over the back of the couch. “I sprung you because I’ve got a message for you.”
    “Doesn’t your family own a cell phone company?”
    “Only a little one.” He held his fingers an inch apart to illustrate his point. “Besides, it’s more of a face-to-face kind of message.”
    “I thought my dad wasn’t speaking to…” She trailed off. Hale shook his head. And suddenly Kat understood everything a little better. She dropped onto the couch opposite him and asked, “So how is Uncle Eddie?”
    “He’s good.” Hale nodded. “He sends his love. He says the Colgan School will rob you of your soul.” She started to protest, but Hale stopped her. “But that’s not the message.”
    “Hale,” Kat exhaled, growing weary.
    “Kat,” Hale mimicked. “Do you want to hear Uncle Eddie’s message or not?”
    “Yes.”
    “He says he’s got to give them back.”
    “What?” Kat was sure she hadn’t heard correctly. “Uncle Eddie’s got to give what—”
    “No. That is the message. And I quote. ‘He’s got to give them back.’”
    Kat shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
    “There was a job, Kat. A week ago. In Italy.”
    “I haven’t heard about any jobs,” Kat insisted before remembering that she’d been out of the world. The loop. The life. She knew what the Colgan cafeteria was serving every day this month, but this…
    “Private collection,” Hale continued. “Very high-end paintings. Very high security. Very high risk . Two—maybe three—crews in the world could have done it, and—”
    “My dad’s at the top of the list?”
    Hale shook his