He moved across the room and pulled me into his arms. “Stop worrying. The Duke’s a man of his word. So long as I hold up my end of the bargain, he’ll hold up his.”

I buried my face in the crook of his neck, but for once, I didn’t feel calmed. Just because Stu trusted this guy didn’t mean I did. I simply couldn’t believe that a man who would lower himself to threatening the safety of somebody’s family could be trusted.

Stu pulled me closer, hugging me tight as we waited for Alfie to emerge from his bedroom. He inhaled deeply, smelling my hair. His lips brushed the top of my ear and a tendril of desire stirred within me despite the current circumstances.

A minute later Alfie returned, silently handing the case back over to Stu, his words solemn. “Thank you. You’re proven yourself a kind and selfless person today, Stu Cross, and I won’t forget it.”

Alfie’s emotional words took me by surprise, and the way he looked at Stu told me he truly meant them. He considered him a friend now—one of us. And for someone like Alfie to accept and trust Stu, well, it spoke volumes. Stu’s face reddened a little, like he was just as touched by Alfie’s sentiment as I was.

“I owed you,” he replied. “I couldn’t have pulled this off without you. I’m just the muscle. You’re the brains.” He paused and then glanced at me before whispering, “She’s the heart.”

Everything seemed to still and I couldn’t seem to get my pulse to slow down. Everything inside me wanted to grab him and kiss him until we were both breathless, but now wasn’t the time. A moment passed before Stu looked away. He clipped open the case and took a quick peek inside. He smiled when he looked to Alfie again. “No offence, but you can never be too careful with these things.”

Alfie held his hands in the air. “Oh, none taken. I completely understand.”

Stu exhaled a long breath and stood up straight. “Right, well, I’m off. I’ll call you once I’m done to let you know everything went as planned.”

My stomach quivered as I watched him leave the flat, a painting potentially worth millions in his possession. As soon as the door closed I grabbed my coat and car keys.

“Where are you off to in such a hurry this time?” Alfie questioned.

“I’m following Stu. He might trust this guy, but I don’t. I need to be there in case anything bad happens.”

“And what are you going to do if it does? Take them all on with your mad fighting skills?” Alfie scoffed.

I shook my head, already out the door and halfway to my car. Alfie followed me, not prepared to let me go so easily. “I’ll figure that part out when I come to it.”

“No, you won’t. You shouldn’t be doing this, Andie. It’s a terrible idea.”

I slid into the driver’s seat while Alfie got in and strapped on his seatbelt. I stared at him. “What are you doing?”

“I’m coming with you so I can stop you from doing anything stupid.”

At the end of the street I saw Stu’s car pull away. I started up my engine and immediately followed, making sure to stay a fair distance behind so he didn’t realise he had a tail.

“I’m not going to do anything stupid,” I huffed.

“And I don’t believe you. You’ve been acting out of character these past few weeks. Who knows what kind of unpredictable decisions you could make?”

“I have not,” I protested.

“Oh really? Shall I list all the ways you’ve been acting strange?”

“No, thank you.”

Alfie started listing anyway. “Number one, you allowed yourself to get close to a student outside of work. Number two, even though we agreed you wouldn’t be involved in the robbery you still went to that meeting with Renfield, which was ridiculously stupid but you wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Stu needed me—”

“I’m not finished,” Alfie said. “Number three, you wanted to go with Stu to meet the Duke even though it would make you an accessory to the robbery. And number four, you’ve been having sex with your student, which, I must say, is probably the most stupid part of all.”

Fuck.

I gasped in shock before turning to glare at him. “You knew.”

“Of course I knew. I’m not the stupid one here.”

“Stop calling me stupid.”

“All right, I’ll amend my wording. Perhaps misguided is better.”

“I’m not misguided either. I genuinely care for him.”

“Well, yes, that might very well be true. And believe me, Andie, I get it, the guy is a perfect specimen of male beauty, but once all this is over and he has his money he could disappear. Go anywhere. Then you’ll be left nursing a broken heart. I’m not trying to be cruel here. I’m only saying this because I care about you. You’re my family and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

I bit my lip, because at the back of my mind I’d worried the same thing. Would Stu leave me once the excitement of our secret relationship wore away and he had his money? Was he simply keeping me sweet so that in turn I’d continue to encourage Alfie’s cooperation with the heist?

Too many questions. I felt a migraine coming on.

“I can’t believe you knew and didn’t say anything,” I muttered quietly, feeling self-conscious now.

“Andie, the most oblivious person in the world couldn’t stand in a room with you two and not realise you were sleeping together. Your chemistry is off the charts.”

“Don’t say that. What if my other students have noticed? Oh God, this is awful.” If I wasn’t driving right then I’d bury my face in my hands.

My cousin reached over and softly squeezed my arm. “Listen, maybe I was exaggerating a little. If they haven’t said anything by now, they probably don’t know. If they did there’d be rumours. No one can resist the urge to spill a juicy bit of gossip like that.”

“If you’re trying to make me feel better, you’re failing miserably.”

“I’m sorry. Sometimes I say things all the wrong way. I get out of practice with people when I’m stuck indoors painting all the time.”

I shook my head, quiet for a moment before replying, “Don’t apologise. You know what? You’re right. I am stupid. If even a hint of my relationship with Stu got out, I’d be fired. What the hell have I been thinking?”