'You are going to help me acquire something very valuable,' he spoke close to my ear, his breath fanning down my neck.
I looked up at the paintings in front of us, all worth millions of pounds, and then at the spot on the wall where one was missing...
'A couple of years ago we stole the Portland tiara. An easy job; was done right under their noses. You were fantastic that evening, babe,' he continues, turning his head up to face Babz before she leans down to kiss him.
I'd heard about the incident on the news. Thieves had broken into the Portland Collection Gallery in Nottinghamshire in November of 2018 one evening and took the tiara and a brooch, leaving within 90 seconds before security could catch them. The piece is diamond encrusted silver and gold, given to Winifred, Duchess of Portland in 1902 to wear to the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. So they'd stolen from royalty before and gotten away with it. That's reassuring at the least, though that was on a much smaller scale than this.
Hoppla! Dieses Bild entspricht nicht unseren inhaltlichen Richtlinien. Um mit dem Veröffentlichen fortfahren zu können, entferne es bitte oder lade ein anderes Bild hoch.
My eyebrows furrow, recalling the details of the incident. 'Weren't four people arrested for that?' I quiz, watching Zayn and Babz's interaction.
He nods, pulling his mouth away from hers. 'Those four are in this room,' he announces, giving me a slight smirk as he turns his gaze to Harry. There were five of them, though, my mind concluding that George couldn't possibly have been in on it. He would have been much too young.
'How did you get away with it?' I continue, wanting to know more. It's an exciting story, that's true.
Harry takes over, allowing Zayn to have his time with Babz. 'There was no evidence of our involvement other than a few people potentially seeing us in the area that night.'
I nod, watching as he leans back over the desk to open a draw. He pulls out a box of cigarettes and a lighter, pushing the ashtray towards the side closest to me before lighting a cigarette.
Louis goes to sit on another chair close to me. 'We had an alibi too. We were at a party in the area. Harry weaselled his way into the bed of a local girl and got us an invite. We slipped out for no longer than 10 minutes.'
The mention of Harry sleeping with someone made me blush uncontrollably. He smiled at the statement, flicking some ash into the dish as he let Louis tell the story. I couldn't help but stare at him, watching his every move as he inhaled the smoke and nodded along to the details of their crimes. 'What about home searches? Surely they would have tried to find it?'
Harry exhales some smoke, letting the cigarette rest in the ashtray so he can adjust some of the rings on his fingers. 'That's why we have a wider team to help. They clear out anything before the police can, without leaving a trace. Most of the time we don't even keep the items for that long, just sell them.'
'Except for you!' Babz chimes in, her arms wrapped around Zayn's chest as she nuzzles her face into his neck.
Harry rolls his eyes. 'I like to hold onto memorabilia every now and again, that's no secret.' His words make me think of the Monet he told me he stole. I wondered if I could see it sometime. 'Any money that we have is stashed away in secret bank accounts overseas not in our names. It's very easy to get around the system.' He picks his cigarette up again, taking a drag of it. 'And the plans for these things are always kept here, which no one knows about anyway.' He exhales the smoke out, and I watch as it dances around the room, letting the taste of it into my own mouth.
