The Sinners - Ruby Vincent Page 0,59

right. The lake house. I’ll search every inch of it. Any chance you could give me a ride?”

“There’s a chance.”

I chuckled. “Thanks for today. It helps not doing this alone.”

Royal emerged carrying two sandwiches and a couple of water bottles. “I said I’d help.”

Flipping over, I lifted my legs for Royal to sit under me. We got comfortable. Him eating off the plate on my legs and me resting my food on my stomach. Suddenly, a vision of our future flashed in my head. Royal and me on the couch. Cassius and Clay on the carpet, leaning their heads against my thigh as we watched one of the two decent Thanksgiving movies that existed. And Hiro was in the kitchen—

I cut the daydream off. Why did I add Hiro to my happy family scene? The guy said he liked my smile. It didn’t mean he was hopping on a plane to live a New York fantasy with me.

“Soup is heating on the stove,” Royal said. “In case you’re still hungry.”

“Royal Cruz.” I poked him with my toe. “I love this whole domesticated thing you’ve got going on. You’d make a great house husband.”

Royal threw his head back laughing. “Think I’ll fit in with the moms in baby yoga class?”

A rather rough snort burst out of me. Just picturing the tattooed, muscled Royal doing downward facing dog with a chubby-cheeked baby was too much for me to handle.

“You’d be fighting them off.”

He smirked. “Now that’s true.”

I poked him again. “Keyword is fighting. You’ll throw them all off and then come home to me.”

“Is that right?” Royal grasped my nudging foot. Warm fingers encircled my ankle, tracing soft patterns that popped goose bumps on my legs. “You’re going to domesticate me, Ember Bancroft?”

“A life making love to me in a city loft is much better than being stuck in this town jacking cars for Rio.”

Royal pressed a kiss on my calf. “No argument here.”

I held my breath, heart singing at his agreement. That even a part of him saw a life with me was more than I hoped.

“What do you want, Royal? If there was no Rio and no Horsemen. What would you do? Where would you go?”

He leaned back, looking up to the ceiling. “Tattoos. I’ve designed all of mine and a few for Cas, Clay, and Hiro. I’d get my own shop.”

“That’d be perfect for you.”

“But it won’t happen.” Royal moved his plate and set my feet on the floor. “We need to talk about tomorrow. We’re not after a specific car.”

Royal flipped the script so fast my head spun. The conversation about our futures was over.

“I’ll scope out the parking lot and choose the best one. Older cars are ideal. Don’t have to hack a computer and if it’s old enough, the parts are worth more.”

“And the party? My aunt throws these events with her country club friends. I’m sure she and my uncle will be there.”

“It’s about timing, princess. We arrive when the party starts. Seven o’clock. We nod to the valet, say hi to the guys holding the door, and make sure security sees us go inside the party. Then we walk out onto the terrace and keep out of sight. The ballroom will fill up with people, and when it’s crowded, we’ll randomly go in and out, so when the police are called, witnesses will swear they saw us inside.

“The trick is to be seen, but not to draw attention. It’d be trouble if someone did notice how long we were out of the room. I’ve been doing this for years and that’s never happened. The Raveners are too wrapped up in themselves to care who or where I am.

“As for your aunt and uncle, they might notice you, but you have every right to be there. These parties are open to everyone in the Estate and their guests.”

I bobbed my head. “Okay, okay. Makes sense. Establishing an alibi when you don’t have one. Smart. What do we do after we take the car?”

“We return to the party. You’re ridiculously slow even for a new carjacker.”

I shoved his shoulder.

“But the car I’m going to pick out for you should only take five or ten minutes to get inside,” he said with a laugh. “Getting it to start will be on me, so fifteen minutes to get out of the parking lot and ten minutes to Donny. We’ll be back acting like nothing happened in less than an hour. After the party is over and the cops