You Again by Carolyn Scott Read Free Book Online Page B

windscreen at the Haywood-Smith house and it wasn’t until several excruciating minutes had passed that her body began to relax.
    Good.  Hopefully she was thawing out.
    “Too little too late.”  The casualness with which she said it stabbed him straight in the heart.
    Only fools hope. 
    “Let me explain first,” he said.  He waited, expecting her to cut him off but she remained silent, tight again.  “Today I realized what a first class asshole I had been to you when I found out who your family were.”
    “Today?”  She grunted.  “And you call yourself a detective.”
    He sucked in air between his teeth.  This wasn’t going so well.  It didn’t look like she was about to throw off all her clothes and admit her undying love for him.  “What I said ... the reasons I gave ... well, they were—."
    “Don’t.”
    “Let me go on, Lil.  Your family—.”
    “Don’t.  Really.”  She pointed to the iron gates across the Haywood-Smith drive.  They were opening.  “Someone’s leaving.”
    He reached for his night vision goggles and focused on the Ferrari.  Max Haywood-Smith was driving, his wife in the passenger seat. 
    “It’s both of them,” he said, training the goggles on the car as it sped off down the street.  “Let’s go.”  He hung the goggles around his neck then reached through the gap between the seats to grab his backpack. 
    “Now?”
    “No better time.”  Although right in the middle of his apology was damned inconvenient.  He’d have to try again later.
    If she let him.

 
    CHAPTER 7
     
    Luke got out of the SUV, closed the door then opened it again when he saw Lily was still inside.  “Coming?”
    She blinked at him from the passenger seat.  “Yeah.  Sure.  Just give me a minute to, ah, get ready.”
    He waited while she pulled on her black cap, checked herself out in the rear view mirror, adjusted her hair and grabbed her backpack.  Why was a master thief’s daughter nervous about breaking into a place she’d already broken into? 
    “It’s okay, Lil,” he said.  “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
    “I know,” she said after a moment.  She cast him a wobbly smile and his heart did a little flip.  God, she was beautiful.  “Let’s go.”  She got out of the car and strode across the street, purposeful and confident once more.
    “That’s my girl,” he murmured to her retreating back.
    “I’m not your girl.”  Lily pulled her cap down low and stood to one side of the security camera attached to the Haywood-Smith’s gate.  She held a black rag in one hand which she threw up towards the camera.  It missed its mark and fluttered back to the pavement.
    “Want me to have a go?” he asked.
    She scooped up the rag.  “No.”  Her next throw was perfect and the cloth covered the camera.  She started towards the gate but stopped.  “Do you think they’ll have installed some new cameras since the last time I was here?”
    “I doubt it.  Not enough time to do it properly for one thing and they probably think they’ve got it covered with the hidden camera.”
    “Where is it?”
    “Inside the mouth of one of the gargoyles carved between the window arches.  From there it takes in the driveway and front porch.”
    “So we should go round the back,” she said.
    “We don’t know if there’s more cameras there.  At least we know where this one is.  Come on,” he said, linking his hands, “I’ll give you a boost.”
    “I can do it myself, thanks.”
    He watched as she scrambled up the gate like a kid climbing a tree.  Every time she took another step up, her jeans tightened over her butt.  He smiled then shook his head because it seemed ridiculous to be admiring her ass when he was about to lose his job.
    She swung over the top of the gate and landed softly on the ground on the other side.  He followed her up and over. 
    “We’ll go through there,” he said, nodding towards a dark clump of trees on their left.  “The