Planet Heist (The Dunham Archives Book 1) by J.D. Hale Read Free Book Online

Mahar, indecision lacing my brain and clouding all my decisions.
    In short, this wasn’t a good time to mess with me.
    I slammed the door behind him without turning.
    “Don’t screw with me. You either walk out of here and never see me again, or in two minutes you can be decaying on this floor.” I growled to the waited I couldn’t see. I felt strong hands on my shoulders, one Salah’s and the sturdier obviously Rowan’s, and he was squeezing my shoulder.
    I heard the idiotic waiter take out his cell phone. He was about to dial security when I whipped around, grabbing his phone, and stared him straight in the eye.
    “That’s not a good idea. Trust me.” I growled.
    “What are you going to do? I’ve got a head on you. You’re tiny; I could take you. I’ve seen your posters and I could haul you to jail and get a reward.” He responded.
    I pull a knife that had been strapped under my tank-top and press it to his throat. A look of rapid terror spread on his face, his sparkling blue eyes wide in horror.
    “Now, what did you have to say to me?” I smiled sweetly.
    “Nothing.” He gagged out.
    “Oh? I think that since you have nothing to say, you have nothing to live for.”
    “I’m not ready to d-”
    This is one of the most typical lines I’ve heard from captives on their death beds.
    So I reply with a classic line.
    “You’re not ready to die?  Then you shouldn’t have lived.” I grimaced, plunging the dagger into the small of his back. I felt Salah’s hand withdraw sharply from my shoulder.
    Rowan’s, on the other hand, didn’t flinch – he was used to my ruthless ways. I slowly pulled my knife from his still blushing flesh and wiped it on his blue jeans, leaving a streak of crimson on his leg. Glancing fleetingly at his face, I watched the life leave his eyes and the color fly away like a frightened bird. With his legs no longer supporting his body, the waiter plummeted to the hard stone of the kitchen, blood slowly pulsing out of his fresh wound. The stench of flesh combined with the air of death was in the room.
    “Kai? Calm down.” Rowan gripped my shoulder more tightly and turned me around. My breath was heavy and quick, and the erratic beating of my adrenaline-pumped heart echoed through my body.
    My fury still had not subsided at Mahar.
    “I just…I cannot believe he wants the Xeron!” I yelled. I had to hope the door was soundproofed, but if it wasn’t, so be it.
    “Kairee, listen. We have to give it to him.” Salah said with conviction.
    “ What?! ” I stammered at him, “You want to give up our glory? This was your plan anyways. Why would you want to write it off to someone else?” I snapped.
    “You know what he’ll do if we don’t agree to give him the Xeron, right?” Salah seemed surprised that I didn’t understand all his thoughts.
    I was shocked. Salah’s no mind reader, so I must have missed something
    “He’ll tell the universe about the plan. We won’t be able to get in the Institute with or without his help.” Salah reasoned, “The place is already going to be crawling with police, security guards, and tourists. We’ll have to do everything we can to get in, and we don’t want them to know we’re coming.”
    “He’s right,” my brother said, sincerity in his eyes as he looked into mine, his tone softening, “This is big. We have to do this, and it has to be done right. My only question is how Mahar knew that we’re going to steal the Xeron.” Rowan said, his eyes narrowing.
    “Oh god.” I breathed, realization seeping into my head.
    “Thanks Rowan. Listen up: we have to take him back for questioning after we get a map of the tunnels. I never told him we were stealing the Xeron. That means somebody knows, besides us.”
    “So the twins make another enemy.” Salah said.
    “An enemy we need to find. Before we steal the Xeron.”
     
    June 15 th 8:40 am
    Cairo, Planet Earth: Egyptian Bistro
    “So, how about those maps?” Rowan asked Mahar.
    I