CHAPTER ONE

“You are the worst thief I have ever seen.”

Felix Morales frowned, stopped walking, and dropped the black duffel bag he was carrying on the ground. I winced at the clank-clank of the items inside the bag banging together.

“Why would you say that?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I sniped. “Maybe the fact that you’re tromping through the woods like you are trying to kill every single blade of grass under your feet. Not to mention hacking through the bushes with your sword like we’re on a jungle safari. And then of course, there’s the talking. There is always the talking. It’s a wonder you don’t pass out from lack of oxygen.”

His eyes narrowed. “And what is wrong with having a little light conversation while we hike through the woods?”

“Light conversation? You’ve been talking nonstop ever since we left the mansion.”

“So?”

I threw my hands up in the air. “So you actually have to stop talking and be quiet to be a thief! That’s why!”

Felix gave me a mulish look and started to cross his arms over his chest—until he realized that he was still holding on to his sword, the one he’d been swinging around like a machete for the past twenty minutes. He glared at me, but he finally slid the weapon into the scabbard belted to his waist. Well, that would cut down on some of the noise. Now, if I just had some duct tape for his mouth....

Felix stabbed his finger at the guy standing with us, who was busy setting his own black duffel bag onto the ground, although with far less noise than Felix had made. “And why aren’t you lecturing him about being quiet?”

“Because Devon can actually walk through the woods without cracking every single branch he steps on.”

Felix snorted. “You’re just saying that because the two of you have been sneaking around the mansion sucking face for the last two weeks.”

I tensed, still not used to having a relationship with a guy, much less talking about it with that guy’s best friend. But Devon Sinclair stepped up and slung his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close.

“And it’s been the best two weeks of my life,” he said, grinning at me.

With his black hair, bronze skin, and dark, soulful eyes, Felix was undeniably cute, but Devon was the one who made my heart race like a tree troll hopping from one branch to another. The setting sun filtering in through the leaves brought out the rich honey highlights in Devon’s chocolate-brown hair, even as it cast his handsome face in shadows. But it was his eyes that always hypnotized me—eyes that were the same deep, dark evergreen as the forest around us.

I laid my head on his muscled shoulder and leaned into him, letting the heat of his body soak into my own and his sharp, tangy pine scent seep deep down into my lungs. So far, being with Devon had been a wonderful dream, and sometimes I had to remind myself that we were really—finally—together.

Who would have thought it? Not me, Lila Merriweather, the girl who’d been living on the streets for four years before I’d gone to work for the Sinclair Family earlier this summer. And I’d never expected to fall for Devon Sinclair himself, the Family bruiser and the son of Claudia Sinclair, head of the entire Family.

I might be a great thief, but I wasn’t so great when it came to people, preferring to pick their pockets than to make friends with them. But Devon had steadfastly ignored and overcome all my defenses, just by being the kind, caring, genuine, loyal guy he was. I hadn’t done a single thing in my life to deserve him, but now that he was mine, I was going to care for and protect him as best I could. Technically, being Devon’s bodyguard was one of my jobs within the Family, but he watched out for me just as much as I did for him.

Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like I’d gone soft or anything. I still picked plenty of pockets on the streets of Cloudburst Falls, West Virginia, and I wasn’t above snatching phones, cameras, and other shiny things from people who could afford to lose them. After all, a girl had to keep in practice. But now I did most of my thieving for the greater good and with a little mob muscle behind me. Like my job tonight. One that Felix was jeopardizing with his constant chattering and tromping around.

Felix rolled his eyes. “Enough with the lovey-dovey stuff already,” he groused, grabbing his duffel bag and hoisting it onto his shoulder again, making more clank-clanks ring out. “I thought we had places to break into and stuff to steal tonight.”

Instead of letting me go, Devon wrapped both arms around me and pulled me even closer. “And you’re just jealous that Deah’s not here, or you would be doing the same thing with her.”

Felix huffed. “Please. I would already be kissing my girl and telling her how beautiful she is—and that’s before I took her for a moonlit stroll. Totally working my romantic A game from start to finish, which I intend to do the second we sneak into the compound and meet up with her. So, if you’ll excuse me, my lady awaits.”

He snapped up his hand in a cheeky salute, then whirled around and started stomping through the woods again, making almost as much noise as he had before. He might have put away his sword so that he wasn’t hacking through the bushes anymore, but he started muttering instead. Felix wasn’t completely happy unless his mouth was going a hundred words a minute, even if he was only talking to himself.

I sighed. “I don’t know whether to strangle him or admire his confidence.”

“Relax, Lila.” Devon turned so that he was facing me, his hands dropping to my waist. “Felix will quiet down once we actually get close to the mansion. He knows how important this is. We all do.”

I nodded. “You always know just what to say to make me feel better.”

He grinned. “That’s part of being a good boyfriend, right?”

I looped my arms around his neck. “The best boyfriend.”

Devon stared at me, his green eyes glimmering like dark emeralds. My gaze locked with his, and my soulsight—my magic—kicked in, letting me look into the depths of his heart and feel all of his warm happiness flooding my chest as if it was my own emotion. In a way, it was my own emotion since I felt the exact same thing whenever I looked at Devon, whenever I heard his voice, whenever I made him laugh or smile or brightened his day in any way.

I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. Devon’s arms tightened around me, and he kissed me back, our lips coming together time and time again, until I felt as though we were spinning around and around in dizzying circles, even though we were standing still.