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"Simple, Marianne We stall," Kat said

"I know Garrett, child," Marianne said "I’ve known him since he was no older than you And, believe , it will be quite hard to stop him"

Hale took her hand "Marianne, can you trust e look crossed her face

"What is it?" Hale asked

"I just keep thinking that if your grandmother were here now…"

"She’d be pretty disappointed, huh?" Hale asked, head down

"No" Marianne took his face in her hands "She’d be having a fabulous time"

For the first tih Kat, the possibility that ht coht not be entirely gone

"Okay, we have work to do," Eddie said, shuffling toward the a bank?"

"I have us and Hamish your best," Eddie said "But they’ll do And you" He pointed at Hale "Isn’t it time you went hoet that Hale had one when, in fact, he had several

"Oh," Hale said "Right See you at the gala?" he asked

"I wouldn’t miss it," Kat said She watched Halebut footsteps retreating, beating out a pulse so her it was too late to stop now

Chapter 29

Katarina Bishop didn’t like dresses It wasn’t a fee anyone who felt the call of a twirly skirt or toile-covered confections But once a girl gets a bow caught in a security gate at Buckingham Palace, it stands to reason that she would be a no-fuss, no-muss, jeans-and-T-shirt type of female Unfortunately, it was not a jeans-and T-shirt type of night

"Stand still," Gabrielle told her She squeezed the s

"Ouch," Kat said

"You’ve got a little waist," Gabrielle said "That’s good At least so’s smaller than your boobs"

"Well," Kat said, "that’s a relief"

Gabrielle shrugged "Don’t shoot thewasn’t what I had inh heels that Gabrielle had picked out for the occasion, but every thief knows that ca on the brink of eneet

"What kind of company has a black-tie-optional product launch?" Kat asked

"The Hale kind," Gabrielle said, not looking up "And it’s not a launch, it’s a gala And froe to Hazel or soht for Hale And you’re going"

"Are you scolding me?" Kat asked She had to wonder if this hat it felt like to be a teenage girl with a irlfriend has work to do Tonight isn’t just about Kat-the-thief"

"I know," Kat said

Gabrielle stepped back and eyed her cousin "Because you realize you just sent hiht about the dark look that crossed his face every tirandmother, of the loneliness that lived behind those eyes, and said, "I know"

"With his family"

"I know," Kat said one final time

"And old friends…" Gabrielle didn’t finish the thought She just looked Kat up and down "I bet Natalie’s wearing heels tonight"

"Good for her"

"Co to cheat, Gabrielle" Kat studied her reflection in the mirror "I’m just…"

Gabrielle took a step back, but she wasn’t looking at Kat’s dress or her hair She stared squarely into her cousin’s eyes and said, "Spill"

"I’ okay?"

Gabrielle considered the question, and when she answered, she spoke carefully, like the words theht easily bruise "I don’t know, Kat I really don’t I’m lucky I’ve never lost anyone But I am curious--teeks after your mother died, hoere you?"

Kat stared into the mirror and tried hard not to think about the answer

Chapter 30

When Kat, at last, saw the main entrance of Hale Industries, the lobby was filled with towering arrange near the stairs But walking through the door with Gabrielle, Kat looked around at the people who filled the party, all decked out in their finest gems, and she realized she’d rather be in the alley with Silas than at the party with these people any day

She was, however, alone in that opinion