Read To Touch a Thief (An Everly Gray Novella) for Free Online Page A

when I begin to work with these people and need to know you have my back.”
    Jayne spun around, grabbed my arm, and tugged me away from the others. “Are you suggesting that you might actually communicate with dead people?”
    I shrugged. “It’s a possibility. I’d rather be prepared for something like that than not.”
    “We planned this. It’s not real.” A flash of panic crossed Jayne’s face. “What is the probability of a visitation from the dead? In numbers?”
      “You’re such an accountant. I’d give it fifty percent.” It was better to state a number than allow her imagination to tweak the odds. No point explaining that I couldn’t control the images my fingertips see . Some things are better left unsaid.  
      Jayne’s hands clenched. “You don’t have to acknowledge the…images, do you?”
    “No, but in this case, I believe it would be better to talk about something near and dear to the participants. Silence isn’t a widely accepted séance technique.”  
    “Oh, well, no. You’ll have to say something.”
    I shrugged. “A girl’s gotta use the gifts she’s got. It’s the only edge we have, Jayne, and I intend to use it. Hopefully it will protect you.”
    Jayne threw up her hands, then crossed her arms firmly under her breasts. “I’m scared. You know there are officers posted downstairs. I think they’re afraid I’m going to skip bail.”
    “They do stand out, but I’m not sure they’re here because of you. There’s a lot of money being tossed around tonight. I thought maybe Parker had requested—”  
    “No. We have our own security. Those officers are watching me.” Her voice broke.  
    And for the first time, I gave her the Everly version of a hug—tight with lots of positive vibes.
    She broke away. I watched, waiting for her to smooth her skirt. Yep, there it was. Jayne always ran her hands over her skirt when she was nervous. As tells go, it was kind of cute.  
    “Thanks, Everly. I-I’ve never been on the other side of the law before. Sometimes I forget it’s pretend. And those officers, they don’t know the truth. They believe I’m guilty.”  
      “True,” I agreed, then paused just to let her fret. “If you have any hope of pulling this off, they need to believe you’re guilty. There’s no room for error here. I’m going to do my best to give you a good show, but the rest is up to you and Parker.”  
    She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. “You have a plan, right?”
    I avoided her gaze. “If I can get the participants to focus their emotions on the person they want to contact, there’s a good chance I’ll pick up some pertinent, usable information.”
    Jayne’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s your plan? What kind of a plan is that? Surely you’ve practiced this.”
    “It’s not the kind of thing I can practice.”  
    “I knew I should have made time for a rehearsal this week, but Parker and I—”
    “It wouldn’t have helped, Jayne. My gift is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of thing. I can’t plan how it’s going to work.”
    Jayne pushed her fingertips into her temples. “Anything you want me to do if this plan doesn’t work?”
    “Wanna take my place?”
    “This is serious, Everly.” Jayne reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of ibuprophen.  
    Mitch and Parker joined us—Mitch glancing warily at me. “Are they serving alcohol at this thing?”  
    “Absolutely,” Parker answered. “Champagne and hors d’oeuvres before the séance begins. If you need something stronger—” his gaze darted between me and Jayne, then came to rest on Mitch— “let me know.”  
    We turned in unison as voices sounded outside the door. Parker reached for Jayne’s hand, pried the bottle of ibuprophen from her grasp, and dropped it in his pocket. “Time to greet our guests.”
    When everyone was seated and had been plied with the champagne and hors d’oeuvres, Parker gave a brief introduction and then turned the