Reluctant thief Baz Barret is tasked with stealing from the formidable archaeologist Rei Collingwood--who happens to also be his college crush and rival--but when Rei goes missing after the burglary, Baz must find her before he's blamed for her disa...
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Baz should've known that for all his usefulness, he would always make a better scapegoat than anything else. In any appearance he made in security footage, he was nothing but a black silhouette, darting through dim light. He never suspected his anonymity would be his downfall, yet there was Jasper, just enriching the lie that Baz had kidnapped Rei Collingwood.
He lay flat against the boat deck, listening to the exchange take place just a few yards away. His heart pounded, as if pumping blood faster and harder to his brain would help him think more clearly. It did not.
"I said no police, didn't I?" Cheng said.
Baz had followed the cop car from Sundial. How far away was it now? How closely were they monitoring the situation? Did they have Cheng bugged? Were they only listening at a distance?
Baz raised his head again, practicality fighting off the flood of panic surging its way through him. He needed all the information he could get. Everyone knew more than him and it was getting tiresome to be out of the loop.
Cheng unbuttoned his jacket, splaying it wide to silently show Jasper something. He let the bag slip from his shoulder, kicking it in Jasper's direction.
"There's the money," Cheng said. He raised his hands up in surrender, his suit bunching at his shoulders.
There was a pause before Jasper crouched to unzip it, rifling through the money inside. The rustling carried easily in the quiet, the only other sound the ocean beating against boat hulls.
It was uncanny to watch Jasper move, somehow awkward in his Baz-disguise. Jasper was made for stiff suits, not the athletic wear Baz lived in. It was like watching a poorly made copy of himself.
"This isn't enough," Jasper said, speaking pointedly close to Cheng.
"What?" Cheng asked.
Jasper adjusted the cowl, leaning even farther in. "I asked for more."
"I didn't have time," Cheng protested stiffly. He sounded more indignant than afraid, too much of that argumentative tone in his voice that Baz was getting used to overhearing. Baz wallowed in the tension in Cheng's voice, skin prickling in the cold.
There was something very wrong about the whole thing.
"I suppose it's alright to only receive part of your sister back, then," Jasper replied. Baz gritted his teeth.
"No..." Cheng said, but Jasper was already swinging the duffle bag over his shoulder.
"No deal," Jasper said, backing away. Cheng kept his hands high.
No sign of Rei. There was no indication of any other people. There had never really been a plan for a trade. How could there be, when Jasper didn't know where she was?
Jasper stepped backward calmly, keeping his eyes on Cheng, one hand lingering by his hip. Did he want Cheng to believe he had a gun? There wasn't room for it in his silhouette. The clothes that were meant to be sleek. That was the whole point. They didn't hide very much. The whole charade was becoming more and more ridiculous. Was this how Jasper thought Baz acted?
