the first couple of years of active duty, he’d read enough, seen enough, to know his country wasn’t always on the side of right. And, well, being a mercenary had at least allowed him to pick his jobs.
But that’s not why he was here in the Salinger mansion, eating dinner with his friends, listening to a middle-aged con man work hard to be the Uncle Danny that the younger people needed.
He was there because what they were doing mattered. Because Josh Salinger had the highly quixotic idea of putting a bunch of thieves and con men and mercenaries together and being Robin Fucking Hood.
Hunter could get behind that.
He could get behind that with all his soul, especially because his heart—Grace—would follow Josh Salinger into hell.
“We’re behind you,” Hunter said. “Josh’ll be back when he’s back. We won’t leave him hanging.”
Stirling—who rarely spoke unsolicited—surprised them all then. “It’s like you were saying about reputation,” he said softly. “After our last job, for Felix, we have cachet. And we’re the good guys. We need to keep on being the good guys. And that will happen whether Josh is here or not.” He let out a sigh. “But we want Josh here.”
Hunter glanced at Grace to see how he was taking it. “Where’s Josh again?”
Danny let loose a small smile. “He’s undergoing some tests. Felix and Julia are with him in the hospital. He should be back in the morning.”
Grace stared at him. “And we’re just sitting here? Why aren’t we in the—”
Hunter caught his elbow. “Let’s get Danny his plan first, Grace. Then I’m sure Danny will let you go see Josh.”
Danny gave Hunter a grateful smile. “It’s not like we could keep you out,” he said frankly. “But Hunter’s right. Plan first, then you and I can go give Felix and Julia a break. What do you say?”
Grace grunted. “The plan is simple. They’re meeting in the display room behind the newly refurbished kitchen. The one with the label Hidden Masters because it’s hard to get to, so they figure they’ll put things there nobody wants to see. There are giant ventilation shafts to and from the room, because, well, it’s the kitchen. Hunter and Molly can be catering for the main event to run interference, Stirling does coms so we know what’s going on. Chuck’s in a van watching Stirling’s back, ready to run in and help. Felix can direct the show, since Danny’s busy. Felix shows up, looks all supportive and shit, says snarky things with Julia, and Chicago thinks he’s there for real. While he’s doing that, I go in and figure out where the gem is going and steal it from whoever wins it in the auction. Then we watch all the bad guys run around like headless chickens and laugh because we caught Sergei selling it and probably doing other scummy things so we can turn him in. Can I go see Josh now?”
Everybody—including Hunter—turned their attention to Grace in shock.
“Is that what that room is?” Chuck asked. “I figured it would be in the Picasso gallery, since that was closed down.”
“Everybody in the world wants to see that weird picture of the naked lady,” Grace argued. “That would be a shitty place to hide something.”
“The library?” Molly asked.
“All the books have to be protected. Temperature controls, humidity controls. I could do it, maybe, but holding an auction would be a nightmare.”
“Why not the conference room?” Stirling asked.
“Because why break into a museum if you’re not going to see art?” Grace retorted. “This guy likes to stage things. It’s stupid. Stage a ballet—don’t stage a thieves’ auction. But he’s stupid because a carved gem is sort of over the fucking top. Whatever. I’m over it. Can we go see Josh now?”
Danny’s eyes were wide.
“Hunter, could you, perhaps, look over the plans with Chuck and see if you like this idea? I think we can add some wrinkles that might keep Sergei tied up and arrested for some time after, but if we can lock down our approach—”
“Then I can go see Josh,” Grace said stubbornly. “Can we go?”
Danny looked at Hunter. “Please make him eat.”
Hunter looked at Grace. “Please finish what’s on your plate.”
Grace shoved a forkful of risotto into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “I’m eating,” he said. “Just—”
“We’ll take you there as soon as you’re done,” Danny said, and Hunter saw some of the tension easing from Grace’s face and neck.
He knew two things then. One was that Danny was really worried, and the