Free A Touch of Minx by Suzanne Enoch Page B

them on items. lapanese collectibles had a small but fierce following—his two pieces of armor and half dozen daitu and wakizashi swords had mostly been to round out his ancient warrior collection, but there were people who collected nothing else.
    "Okay," he mused, ticking off the names on his fingers, "Ron Mosley collects, and—"
    "Not Mosley," she interrupted. "I saw his spread in Fabulous Homes. He doesn't own anything even close to the value of that armor."
    "Okay. There's Yvette and August Picault, Gabriel Toombs, and Pascale Hasan."
    Beneath his arm, Samantha stiffened a little. "Gabriel Toombs and the Picaults both have houses here in Palm Beach."
    "Yes, they do. And we all have townhouses in Manhattan. And I'm certain there are a couple of others."
    "Don't get all high-and-mighty on me. You'd be surprised how many of your acquaintances have sent work my way. In my old line of work, that is."
    "Close to the same number you've stolen from?"
    "Probably," she returned, surprisingly without heat. "Somebody wants something, somebody else loses something. It kind of has to work that way."
    He gazed at her profile. In those clothes, in this house, she looked like she belonged here. She blended in anywhere; that was part of why she was—had been—so successful. But in this setting it would have been easy to forget that until a year ago she'd been a high-class cat burglar and had made an exceptional living at it.
    "Have you worked for or against anybody I just mentioned?"
    "Toombs," she returned after a moment. "He wanted a
    Japanese war horse's bridle, of all things. I tracked one down for him and made fifty grand."
    Alarm sped his heart. "So he knows you're a thief?"
    "No. He knows that Stoney's a procurement agent."
    "Was a procurement agent, now retired."
    "Well, now working in security. Like me." With a sigh she sank back again. "Looks like I'll be checking out Toombs."
    "Checking him out legally," he said carefully.
    "Mm hm."
    "Samantha, Toombs acquires weapons because he thinks he's some sort of Spartacus reincarnation or the Japanese equivalent thereof."
    He felt her shoulders shake as she laughed silently. "'Spartacus'?"
    "It was the first name that came to mind."
    "I don't know if I'd admit to that, Sparky. Maybe he thinks he's the reincarnation of Minamoto Yoritomo."
    "Which doesn't say much for his mental stabil—"
    "Look, I'm going with what I know. Toombs spends most of his time here in Palm Beach. If he's got the armor, he'll have it here with him so he can admire it. Whoever has it, it's going to be where they spend the most time. That's just… human nature, I guess. You don't take that huge a risk and spend that much money without being able to enjoy the results."
    "So thieves are predictable?"
    "Everybody's predictable, once you learn their habits. Except for you, of course."
    He gave a half grin. "You're just trying to flatter me, now."
    "Is it working?"
    "It always works. Sam—"
    "Shh," she interrupted, holding the popcorn bowl up for him. "I like this part."
    Richard ate popcorn and watched the movie with her. Only later did it occur to him that she'd never actually given her word to do her investigating legally. She had good instincts, but she also had a very deep craving for danger and excitement. Until he knew which Sam would win out, he needed to keep an eye on her—something that wasn't easy even under the best of circumstances. Thankfully he enjoyed a challenge.
    When Samantha opened her eyes to look at the clock beside the bed, the time read nearly three o'clock in the morning. Stifling a groan, she slowly and silently rolled out of bed, grabbed up her emergency clothes from under the night stand, and slipped into the bathroom to dress in the dark. That done, she leaned back into the sleeping area to see Rick on his back, his chest moving slowly up and down, his face relaxed. So far, so good.
    Given that it was the weekend, she could probably go by Olivia's school any time she wanted. With