A Beautiful Heist by Kim Foster Read Free Book Online

Wesley Smith over the rim of his glass. He didn’t trust new people. This man was no exception.
    Wesley reclined in his chair and spoke. “Before we get into it, Barlow, I want to know why you’re doing this.” He rubbed his chin and cast Jack a direct look. “I’ll be honest. Mr. Cole says you can be trusted, but I need a little more convincing. So tell me, what’s in it for you?”
    Jack studied the other man’s thin face. He saw in Wesley’s countenance the same dislike and distrust that he, himself, felt. If they were to work together, they were both going to have to deal with that.
    “Did Mr. Cole tell you who my father was?” Jack asked.
    “Nope.”
    Jack shrugged and looked up toward the coffered ceiling. “His name was John Barlow. But his alias, and the name he was known by in your circles, was John Robie.”
    Wesley’s eyes went wide. “Well, fuck me,” he said. “That’s you? But—everyone says that Robie’s son didn’t want to have anything to do with him.”
    “That’s true. I didn’t.”
    “So why do you care now?”
    Jack sipped his whiskey again and attempted to formulate the words. It was a good question, one he’d asked himself many times. “Because he was my father, I suppose.” Jack left it at that, but it wasn’t that simple. Jack’s father had been a career criminal. And in spite of being the sort of man Jack came to despise, Jack knew there was one part of him that was honorable at its core. And it was something he’d died trying to do. That was the part Jack felt compelled to honor.
    Jack had more than atoned for his father’s sins by becoming an FBI agent. But he had a different guilt to deal with now. He’d rejected his father. And in doing so, he’d broken his heart. Jack had been his only son, and they hadn’t spoken since the day Jack left home.
    Jack’s stepmother had pleaded with him a few times to reconsider. He refused. And once she passed away, there was no further contact between father and son. They were estranged. There was a part of Jack that always assumed they would reconcile someday. It certainly didn’t occur to him that his father would die. Then one day Jack received a letter. After that, everything was his.
    “Can we get on with things, here?” Jack said irritably.
    “Sure thing, Jack.” Wesley smiled that toothy smile, like fingernails on a chalkboard for Jack. “So. There are two involved parties, other than us.”
    Two parties? Jack thought. He felt fresh doubt. Nothing about this was going to be simple. “Involved in what way?”
    “The family that calls themselves Gorlovich is one party. They have the Fabergé Egg. But we don’t know where they’re keeping it.”
    “And the other party?”
    Wesley regarded him carefully. “Have you heard of the group known as the Caliga Rapio?”
    Jack’s jaw tightened and he felt a prickle go up his spine. “I know about them.”
    “Well, they’re the other party.”
    Jack nodded grimly. This job had just become a lot more difficult. And dangerous. But how could he walk away now, after everything he’d heard? An image flashed in Jack’s mind of what would happen should the Caliga get their hands on the Gifts. His stomach turned sour.
    “Are they here also?” Jack asked. “In Seattle?”
    Wesley nodded. “They’re close. They know it’s here. They know the Gorlovich family has it. And, we’re afraid, they just might know its exact location. Which is what we’ve got to figure out.”
    At this point Wesley handed Jack a file with further information. Jack began thumbing through pages of intel, photographs of the Gorlovich family members, details of their endless series of homes and office buildings and warehouses. This search was not going to be easy.
    “So I’m wondering,” Wesley began as Jack scanned pages. “Sounds like you couldn’t stand being in the same room as your father. You gonna have a problem working with a thief now?”
    Jack turned a page. “Not all criminals are