Chords, Cars, and Cons

Prolouge

Prologue:

Amanda Summers was a billionaire. Well, a billionaire inherent, but that was just a technicality. Her family had made their fortune by stealing. It wasn't the noblest profession, but it was a profitable one.

Now, she and her brother were probably set for life. They didn't have to pick a lock or shut down a state of the art alarm system ever again. The key words, of course, were: have to.

However, the Summers children had discovered that heists were a high. Getting away with it was more addicting than any type of drug. So, despite the danger, they kept on stealing and conning and thieving.

Mandy and Russell thought they were as immortal and invincible as any twenty-year-old was, and tonight was no exception.

Mandy was in the Hawthorne mansion, able to get through the high-tech security with a kiss. Or rather, lots of kisses. The Hawthorne job was a long con, and it required pretending to be in love with a mob boss's son.

Julian Rodriguez hadn't been easy to fool. He was handsome and smart, not exactly the party-hard type. He knew that he was an avenue to his father's wealth and his priceless (and illegal) collection of art.

"Good-night, Julian," breathed Mandy, watching as her boyfriend slumped over on the couch, his drink dropping from his lax fingers.

No, Rodriguez Jr. had not been easy to fool, but that didn't change the fact that he was lying unconscious in his own home. None of the staff was here and Rodriguez Sr. was in Rio right now. Football was an exploitable weakness.

Mandy blew out a deep breath and slid the priceless engagement ring off her finger, setting it on the coffee table. The staff was gone because it was only supposed to be her and Julian. The long con and been pulled off. Mandy was going to be walking off with a Monet, not down the aisle.

She pulled her buzzing phone out of her pocket. The text from her brother read: So how's our little bride-to-be?

She smiled and replied quickly: Calling off the wedding.

That was the code that triggered the shut down of the security surrounding the mob boss's room of priceless art. Russell had hacked into the system and taken it down without triggering an alarm.

Mandy zip-tied Julian to the coffee table to slow him down, duct-taped his mouth shut, and tossed his phone just out of reach. Then she sauntered out of the room and made her way to Eduard Rodriguez's office.

Humming, she pulled out a can of spray-paint from her purse and zapped the security camera. Then she removed the front of the keypad safe-guarding Rodriguez's door, crossed a few wires, and entered the office.

Julian had told her about the entrance to his father's private collection, but he had been purposely evasive. Even in love, Julian had not been a fool.

She smiled slightly and made her way behind Eduard Rodriguez's desk. It had only been a matter of fitting the puzzle pieces together. Julian had told her where the door was, and Eduard had given her the key.

"A Tale of Two Cities," Eduard had told her. She had come over that night for dinner and the mob boss had been a little too liberal with his wine. One slip was all she had needed. "That book changed my life," he had continued.

"And it's about to change mine," Mandy murmured to herself.

She reached forward, running her fingers along the spines of priceless first-additions. Slipping a couple into her bag wouldn't do any harm. She shook her head, focusing on the task at hand.