Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
In my defense, I needed the money those items got me. It wasn’t as if I were stealing them to profit off them. I could only get a quarter of what they were worth, but I’d do anything to help keep the Purry Pussy Shelter doors open. (It got its name back in the '60s, and somehow, no one questioned it.) I volunteer for them every weekend, and they’re the only no-kill cat shelter in the city. I don’t want to think about what would happen to all those cats if that place shut down.
As I was moping over the idea of the shelter closing, I’d spotted one of Mr. Hoover’s fancy diamond encrusted watches. Without thinking, I snatched it off the dresser and stuffed it into my pocket. Sure, I was nervous at first, but that went away rather quickly.
I was shocked with how fast I sold it. Once the transaction was done, I then made the enormous donation to the shelter. It bought the place some time, but it still wasn’t enough. They need more funding. Once two weeks went by and no one said anything about the watch, I knew I would take something else. Things quickly escalated from there, and now here I am.
When I stand fully, my legs sting. I glance down to see one knee of my yoga pants is torn open, and blood is dripping out onto the floor.
Oh shit! That’s like, evidence. I pull my backpack off and search for something to clean it with. All I find is hand sanitizer and tissues. The hand sanitizer might make it impossible for them to get any DNA. That’s how CSI people find you. I squirt the liquid onto the floor and rub it in the best I can with my tissues, but blood keeps dripping from my knee.
My DNA isn’t even on file, so it doesn’t matter. Right?
“Meow!”
“Ah!” I gasp before quickly putting my hand over my mouth. The cat leaps onto the table in front of me. “You almost gave me a heart attack for the second time tonight.” I scratch the little guy's head. He purrs loudly as I continue to pet him. I can’t help it that his cuteness distracts me and makes me forget why I’m here. “You’re making this difficult. I’m trying to steal something here so I don’t end up in the slammer and all your third cousins end up dead!”
“Meow.” He responds to my melodramatic outburst. He must understand, though, because he leads me back toward the same door he and the man went through after they entered the green house. I open it, and he darts inside.
I pull out my flashlight and shine it on the flower. It sits perfectly in its clay pot. I hope it’s pretty when it blooms, because I’m only half impressed with how it looks right now. I reach out slowly and pick the pot up.
An alarm starts to blare the second the vase leaves the stand. “There was a sensor? What is this? Ocean’s Eleven? I'm not prepared for this,” I tell the cat, who now seems a bit smug. “You could have warned me,” I hiss before I bolt out of the smaller room back into the greenhouse, but I slow when a shot of pain sears through my knee. The cat comes after me. It’s on him if he follows me home. I’m not going to turn him away.
I reach for the handle to the greenhouse to make my escape, but it opens before I can even touch it. The same man from before stands there, blocking my exit. He’s staring down at me with a very angry but maybe excited expression on his face?
“Hi,” I chirp. “I’m Marigold.” I try to pretend I’m calm, and this is all normal. “I was hired to do a cleaning, but I think I got the wrong address.” I scrunch my nose, trying to play up the whole I’m lost thing. “You rich people and all the greenhouses. There are so many around here. They all look the same. I can’t even get a normal house.” I start to ramble. “But then your cat distracted me and well…. Sorry?”
“Cleaning? A greenhouse?” His deep voice rumbles as he pulls the hood of my sweater down. “Let me guess, this is your cleaning attire?”
“You know it really depends on the job. Some ask me to clean in one of those sexy maid uniforms.”
His brows pull together. He’s getting more pissed by the second.
“That was a joke.”
“That joke might just be on you, my little cat burglar.”
3
AVERY
I take her elbow and lead her back through the greenhouse and to the table where my golden orchid belongs. “Put it down.”
She looks up at me, then glances at the door.
“You can try to run for it, but I promise you, I’ll catch you, little thief. You might not like what happens after that, but I will.” I stare down at her wide eyes. The thought of chasing her down sends a jolt of heat through me. I should be raging. She’s here to steal my prize orchid–though she’s clearly not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, I’m somewhat amused.