Taken by the Greek Billionaire(29)

“Cheerful,” he said and Penny laughed.

“Only the best round here.”

He parked behind a monstrous merc even more impressive than his and eyed the hotel with a fair few misgivings. It looked as though it had been built in the eighties and left to slowly decay ever since. A faded multicolored carpet was visible next to the open doors where a huge sign said, ‘Auction, Prince Room, Six.’.

Various people milled about, some looking a bit worse for the wear, some looking distinctly shady and Sebastian had to fight the urge to grab Penny to him and call his security or better still simply drive away. But he’d promised to do this, and he always kept his promises. Besides, in return she’d tell him whatever he wanted. Why that was so important he didn’t know, but important it was.

“You have the money?” she asked, interrupting his whirring thoughts.

He nodded. “And we’re here to buy what?”

“Property,” she said.

“A property auction?” he asked, wondering again why the hell she needed a property and what made it so important that she’d had to steal to get the money for it. The only thing he could think of was that she wanted somewhere else for her and her sisters to live. That made sense. Their current home was atrocious, and maybe her sisters were younger and it was her job to provide a home for them? He’d ask, he decided, along with all the other questions that were stacking up one after the other.

“Yep.”

“But why here?” he asked pointing to the building. It was far from being anywhere close to any sort of auction he’d ever been to. “Who on earth is going to come here?”

“People that live around here, and don’t be such a snob.”

Though she had a point he ignored it. “I am far from a snob,” he said, “And if you keep talking like that, Penny, I will spank you senseless when we get home.”

She sighed and opened the car door. “Promise?”

They began to walk up the stairs, her bag slung over her shoulder, the money tucked away in his jacket pocket—in the form of a check book now though not a pile of cash that would barely fit.

“This is an auction for local property,” Penny said, pointing to the sign. “A whole bunch came on the market a few months back but they haven’t sold. They’re in the heart of my area and those that live there can’t afford them and those that do won’t want them.”

“Because of their location?”

“Right. We’re talking in the heart of a council estate in one of the most deprived areas in the country. Who’s going to develop here? There’s no money, nothing. The guy that’s selling them has tried this as a last ditch effort. It would have been easier if we could have bought it before auction, but we didn’t have the cash.”

“Because you hadn’t stolen it yet?”

“Right.”

“Then why not attempt your heist sooner?” he asked.

She shrugged, pulling him forward into what could be described as a reception area, could but barely warranted the title. “There were…other factors.”

“And these are?”

“None of your business.”

Sebastian took her arm and turned her around so that their gazes met. Hers were flushed, excited, he suspected his were too. Madness. “You promised answers. You want this money open your mouth.”

Her eyes widened. “In the lobby? Really, Sebastian? You can’t wait till we get back to yours?”

He couldn’t help but smile. His thief had a quick wit about her that already he found himself enjoying. “To talk. You knew I meant that.”

“I did.”

“So talk.”

She shrugged and began to walk forward into the Prince Room, though the pauper might have been a better fit. It was hideous, all fake wood and ripped chairs.

“The money I took from you will pay for the building but it’s a wreck,” Penny began. “We need money to do it up as well. To get the facility up to standard, and we had to wait until everything lined up to get that money before the plan kicked into action. I didn’t rob you before this weekend because I couldn’t. My sister’s weren’t ready yet to do their part. They had to wait for…things to line up. We could have done it one at a time but our feeling was that it was better to just go all out and let the chips fall where they may.”

He could barely get what she was saying there, but no matter they had time. Instead he picked up on her other words. “You keep saying we, you mean yourself and your sisters?”

“Yes.”

And it all became clear. Sebastian stepped back and shook his head, surprised that he hadn’t added everything up sooner. And there he’d been thinking her sister’s were dependent, young, needing her…hell he’d even begun to justify her actions in his mind. Make excuses for her. “God….”