“Stealing batteries would have been a serious mistake. I saved you from being obvious and getting yourself caught.”
“Never been caught before.” She raises her eyebrow at me again.
Again, the look sends a pleasant shiver down my spine, up my thighs, and focuses on my crotch. I have to shift positions to keep my hardening dick from being noticeable through my jeans. I pull my jacket around me to make sure I’m properly covered and not making a fool of myself.
“At least you were smart enough not to go back.”
“I haven’t gone back because I had to cut my second rope. I need another one before I can get over the wall again, and it takes time to make it.”
“Oh, that’s right!” I snap my fingers, grin, and then point at her. “You still owe me a back massage for that.”
“In your dreams.” She rolls her eyes.
My mind wanders to just such a dream, and I have to shift positions again.
“Just make sure you don’t go back there,” I say. “I’m not giving you another warning.”
“I don’t need your warnings,” she says with a glare. “Why do you think you get to hoard everything they have for yourself? I have just as much right to it as you do!”
“Do you now?” I ask softly.
“I have a right to whatever I can get away with.” She gives me a self-righteous smile. “A girl’s gotta make a living.”
“Not in this valley, you don’t.”
“The Thaves’ town isn’t in the valley,” she says with a shrug. “It’s on a plateau. Either way, now that I know you’re around, you won’t catch me again.”
“Don’t press your luck.” I shake a finger at her.
“In my experience, there’s no such thing as luck.”
Her words strike a chord in me. It’s not the words themselves as much as the tone and the delivery. They give me a sense of having heard the exact same words said the exact same way before. It only takes me a moment to place the phrase.
She’s quoting Star Wars!
I blink a couple of times as I stare at her. A typical Thaves citizen would have little access to actual motion pictures—the expense of the electricity alone is more than almost anyone can afford—and yet here she is, actually quoting a movie from over a hundred years ago. Even with my upbringing, movies were a rare and treasured experience. I only recognize the quote because Star Wars had been one of my favorites.
I have no idea what to think of this new information or how to use it to my advantage. I want to know more about her and where she comes from, and my patience is gone. I need to understand who she is and why she’s here.
“You ever want to walk away from this?” I ask, turning my attention back to her. “If you do, I suggest you start talking. Otherwise…well, we’re going to have a problem.”
“Are we?”
“Yes, we are.” I lean back a bit and stare at her intently. “Thaves aren’t appreciated in this area, and you’ll be seen as a spy. We’ve had our issues with Thaves infiltrating our community, and we don’t want you around. If you can give me a clear understanding of who you are and what you’re doing here, maybe I can get you out of the area alive.”
“What makes you think I’m one of them?”
I consider her words carefully as well as—more importantly—her tone. The way she says “them” with vaguely disguised venom is a clear giveaway. Though she was obviously raised with Thaves, she doesn’t consider herself to be a part of that life any longer. She also doesn’t profess herself to be a Naught, which makes me wonder how long it has been since she has had a place she considered home.
“Well, ‘your worshipfulness,’” I say with a smirk, “let’s just say you gave yourself away. How I know isn’t as important as the knowledge. People here know me and trust me. They will believe what I tell them, not some outsider who clearly doesn’t belong.”
Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open as she realizes I recognized her movie quote and responded in kind. She glares at me with clenched teeth. She grips her hands into fists a couple of times before standing up straight.
“You are the one with the problem,” she says distinctly.
“Me?” I tilt my head and grin at her. “What problem could I possibly have?”
“Well, son of President Harrison LaGrange, I know who you are.”