Read The Way Back for Free Online Page B

elegant. The hedge was almost as tall as the mansion-like home itself and provided good coverage. Gigi had decided that midmorning was the best time. The nanny was out with the children, the gardener came on alternate days and this wasn’t one of them, the housekeeper went out for the day on Wednesdays, the husband was at work, the wife was at yoga, and the dog was with the dog walker.
    Milo chose a side door and set about picking the lock. Just as Gigi was good at picking the target, Milo was good at getting them in. What was Colby good at? Not much. She was a very capable pair of hands though. And an extra set of eyes.
    Once inside, Colby headed upstairs to find the master bedroom. As much as people were cautioned to keep their valuables in a safe, or at least in an odd, unguessable place, they usually didn’t. Colby had good luck finding jewelry in actual jewelry boxes on the tops of dressers or out in plain sight in walk-in closets and dressing rooms. People were kind of dense that way.
    Sure enough, there was a small mirror-and-silver jewelry box sitting atop a shelf in the walk-in closet, which was bigger than her and Gigi’s room at Gram’s.
    Colby took the whole thing. She’d have a look at what was inside later. No doubt something worthwhile, if not the box itself.
    She went downstairs, the jewelry box under one arm, to find Gigi and Milo.
    Milo had several reusable shopping bags over his shoulder and an armload of electronics.
    â€œNot the kids’ stuff though.” Colby lifted a few things out of his arms.
    â€œYou’re going soft.” Gigi had a wheeled shopping cart, bulging at the seams. “Bet they send the housekeeper to the store with this thing. I can’t imagine the owners being caught dead rolling it down the sidewalk behind them.”
    â€œLet’s go.” The baby was kicking lots, and Colby was thirsty and needed to pee. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
    â€œGet over it, Colby. You’re pregnant.” Milo pointed to a powder room at the end of the hall. “Use that one.”
    â€œI’ll wait.” Colby didn’t like to do normal things in the houses they were robbing. Gigi liked to help herself to their food, and Milo had no qualms about turning on the TV or taking a piss.
    â€œNo.” Colby just liked to get in and get out. She texted Jordan. “Let’s go.”
    Milo, Gigi and Colby headed to the back gate, where Jordan was just pulling up. She popped the trunk. Colby and the others put the things inside, then got into the car.
    â€œWant some chocolate?” Gigi offered a box of expensive chocolates. “I was totally looking for candy, but this was all I could find.” Colby took one and popped it into her mouth. Milo took one too, but Jordan just shook her head as she turned onto the street.
    â€œYou okay?” Colby asked.
    Jordan looked pale. “Yup. Fine.”
    Gigi leaned forward from the backseat and laughed. “You’re scared shitless.”
    â€œNo, I’m not.”
    â€œIt’s okay,” Milo said. “It takes a while to not be.”
    â€œI’m not scared.”
    â€œIt’s okay if you are,” Colby said. She offered Jordan the bottle of water.
    â€œI’m not scared!” Jordan shouted.
    â€œRight,” Gigi said. “Whatever you say.”
    â€œLet’s just go, okay?” The baby kicked, hard. “Heck, even the baby wants to go home.”
    The four of them rode the rest of the way back to the pawnshop in silence. As the chocolate melted in her mouth, Colby knew that this was the last time she’d break into someone’s house. It seemed different this time. Dirtier. As if the baby and being clean set a new standard of okay, and this failed miserably. Or maybe it was Jordan, and how she nearly vibrated with unease, casting a shadow of disapproval over the whole thing. Either way, Colby was done. The money had been so important