Taken by the Greek Billionaire(7)

Penny looked over the cash pile in its vacuum pressed bag, taking up a significantly smaller space than it would normally have done. Judging by the thickness and taking into account the bag, she suspected there was about a hundred thousand and it was then that her hands started to shake slightly. To hold so much money in her palms! To think what this money was going to do in the end! It was unbelievable.

She took a steadying breath and opened one of the side compartments of her bag. The cash went in there, barely fitting. Torch back in her mouth, she eyed the safe again. Even with her own special laser it could take maybe two or three assaults before the safe’s lasers blanked out completely. That would trigger the alarm, which would bring most of the Met screaming through the doors.

Carefully she repeated her actions until another hundred grand was in the opposite side pocket—barely fitting even in its compressed state. Stunned to have so much money on her, Penny bit down on her lip, wondering whether to try a third assault. It was touch or go as to whether the beams would take it or activate their silent alarm.

Be safe. Be careful. We’re counting on you.

Rachel and Lyra’s words echoed through her mind and Penny heeded them. Tempted though she was she knew she had enough. About twenty grand too much in fact. She tucked the laser back in her bag, closed the safe, and set about re-screwing the keypad.

Was there time to put all the glass figurines back in place? Penny eyed them by the torch light and frowned. She had to. Otherwise he’d know immediately. Hadn’t she gone for this safe in the hope he wouldn’t realize for a while? Not putting the glass people back would negate that, and she might as well have gone for one of the bigger safes.

She picked up the first one, some sort of Nymph and placed it on the table in front of the safe. It was so tall it reached halfway up. Then the next and the next…there were about a dozen in all. Each depicted some sort of mythical creature and their considerable assets, each shielding the safe in their own way. They were probably worth a bomb and Penny was tempted to take the one showing three sisters. They looked eerily like her, Rachel, and Lyra. She held the figurine in front of her, the torch light shining off its angles, enchanted by the workmanship.

Nope. Too big to carry and besides they’d never be able to sell it.

She placed it on the remaining space on the table instead, took the torch out of her mouth, and secured it in her bag. A weird sort of calm settled across her now. She was still amped up on adrenaline of course but now that the worst was over she could feel her body anticipating the end. Once she was out of the house it was done. Her biggest score in all her twenty-five years. Outwitting one of the richest men on the planet. She almost wanted to laugh but shook her head instead. Just a few more minutes….

She turned to leave, exhaling slowly to steady herself as she did so, only to be halted by an odd dragging sort of sound. She paused before stepping forward, only then realizing that was totally the wrong thing to do. The edge of her waist bag, where the compressed hundred grand was stashed, caught the third sister, the one that looked just like her.

Penny watched in horror, unable to move quickly enough, as the figurine tumbled to the hardwood floor. Its based shattered and the noise was unnaturally loud. Penny jumped and cursed.

Of all the stupid…. She shook her head, adrenaline zipping through her body once again, banishing the almost calm of just moments ago. Her mouth was dry, her heart racing. She moved as quickly and silently as possible across the room. She would go into the corridor, down the staff staircase and back out the door. She was okay, she told herself. No one was home. Nobody was in the house to hear the tinkle of the breaking glass. The security people were three floors below her. She was okay.

And then the door to the safe room opened.





Chapter Four





By the light from the hallway Sebastian could see a shadow moving across the parquet floor of the safe room. He sucked in a shocked breath and felt his body flood with adrenaline. Someone was in his house! Though he’d heard the noises he could barely comprehend it. No one had ever so much as breached his garden wall before. It was impossible to. CCTV surrounded the house. The walls were fitted with trip wires, the doors with silent alarms, hell everything was locked up as tight as it was possible. It had to be. Sebastian did not like being surrounded by security people, or staff at all for that matter, but he knew his home was an obvious target and so he’d done whatever he could to deal with any potential problems.

How had the thief gotten in? How?

He pushed the door open to its widest arc, flooding the room with light, and growled. “What the fuck are you doing in my home?” He wasn’t quite sure why he asked the question because it was obvious, but ask it he did. “What have you taken?” he demanded.