one last time to focus on her son. “Please tell me, Connor. I think I need to know. And Poppy’s right, I think you need to tell us.”
She gestures to the couch with an open hand and pleading eyes.
I can feel Connor trying to decide, his heart pounding against my back. I won’t make this decision for him or even encourage him one way or the other. It’s his call.
He can keep throwing grenades, precisely aimed to do the most damage, or he can begin to truly explain, with softer words and truth.
But when he moves toward the couch, taking my hand to bring me with him, I’m relieved. I think he’s got a chance at repairing things with his mom. His dad is an entirely different issue, but if he can get his mom to listen, I think it’ll help them both.
Sitting down, Connor takes a steadying breath.
“It started in high school. I was doing stupid shit, shoplifting and pickpocketing. The reasons . . . don’t matter now. Some of the stuff you know, and some you don’t. That’s when I got busted and you bailed me out. After that, I was hurt, really hurt, so I moved on to bigger and better jobs—stealing art.”
“Art?” Evan asks, and Connor nods. “Like The Thomas Crown Affair?”
“Something like that, I guess, but a lot less sexy,” Connor answers, which I disagree with, but I’ll keep that to myself for now. Connor looks back at his mother. “I got good. Really good.”
Debra is listening intently, and though he’s not looking at Connor, Robert is paying close attention too.
“I worked my way up, starting with pieces worth thousands of dollars, then hundreds of thousands of dollars, and worked for some really shady people.”
Caylee pales, her chin trembling. “That sounds dangerous, Connor.”
He nods. “It was. A few times, I figured I’d had it.”
Debra lets out a soft cry at that and takes Robert’s hand.
“About ten years ago or so, I was on a job, and an agent found me. He could’ve arrested me right then and there, but he saw an opportunity for both of us. I’m not bragging, but I’m good at stealing. I feel like Granddad’s watching over me every time.”
That gets Robert’s eyes to focus on Connor. “Dad?”
Connor nods, addressing his father for the first time. “You remember, he taught me all those magic tricks as a kid? Those skills, they’re like the foundation. This is a way I can honor that, feel close to him.”
“By stealing?” Robert says harshly, offended. “How dare you.”
“At first, you’re right. But later, by using what he taught me for the good guys. By being one of the good guys. The agent I work with? We’ve taken down businessmen who think the rules don’t apply to them, black-market masterminds who use their funds to bankroll terrorist groups, and caught scammers who steal thousands of dollars in fake auctions and insurance claims each year. So yeah, I think Granddad would be proud of what I do with what he taught me.”
“An undercover FBI agent that steals art?” Robert asks, and I can tell he’s starting to believe Connor too.
“Not quite, I never went to Quantico to become a special agent . . . and I’m retired,” Connor points out, “but basically, yeah.” He takes my hand, much like his mother took his father’s, and holds it tightly. “As for us, I met Poppy on a job recently, and she changed everything.”
Debra still looks confused. “What about Scarlett?”
Connor shrugs one shoulder, not ashamed and simply admitting the truth. “Another lie. I don’t date, Mom. Relationships are impossible when I can’t exactly explain why I’m gone or what I’m doing. My work is all-consuming, but I didn’t want you to worry.”
Debra smiles sadly. “I . . . I’m sorry.”
“Look, I know this is a lot, and you’re not going to understand everything all at once. You’re going to have questions, but I wanted you to know that I’m not still the black sheep of the family you’ve made me out to be. Once upon a time, yeah, that was true. But not anymore. And now that things are changing, I want to fix this.” He moves a hand from his chest to his parents and then to Caylee and Evan. “If you want to.”
Debra speaks for her and Robert, saying. “Of course, we do.”
Robert is still holding Debra’s hand, though, and also nods, so he seems on board too. “It’ll take some time.”