A Brilliant Deception Read Online Free Page B

underneath mine.
    “When the shot went out, a terribly clichéd thing happened,” she said. “My life flashed before my eyes. And it was a good life, Cat, very good. But there was something missing.”
    I had an unpleasant feeling I knew where this was headed.
    “It was grandchildren,” she said. “I wanted to see grandchildren there.”
    I closed my eyes. This was well-worn territory. Why did she have to bring it up now? I tightened my fists inside my pockets. My mother had almost died—and this was what she was thinking about? My mouth grew thin and hard. It was the last thing I wanted to discuss now.
    “I want you to be happy, Catherine,” she said. “You are my only child. And . . . I can’t help feeling that my life will be left incomplete unless I see you happily married and with a gorgeous, healthy baby.” A tear slipped down her face.
    In spite of myself, my frown softened, just a little.
    “I don’t want you getting all upset about this,” I said, squeezing her papery hand. “Let’s talk about this later. You really should rest.”
    She was tired, obviously, because for once she didn’t fight me on this. I settled my mom back down on her pillow and turned off the lights. I went to the window in her room and stared at the streetlights, the brake lights of the cars on the freeway.
    Marriage. Children. For the first time, I actually rolled the idea around in my mind. A small ache centered in my chest. Maybe it was something I wanted, too, after all.
    Once my mom was breathing steadily, asleep once more, I left the room. In the corridor my father was returning with coffee from the cafeteria.
    “Is she asleep?” he asked, handing me a steaming Styrofoam cup. I nodded and we sat on the orange vinyl chairs in the small waiting area for families, and sipped the weak hospital coffee.
    We didn’t discuss the details of what had happened. I was afraid of what my dad would say. He was not in favor of my chosen profession. He had learned the truth much later than my mom had, and though she had been on board, he had decidedly not been. In fact, for a long time he really didn’t want to have much to do with me, after he learned the truth. Penny, my sister, had always been his baby, but I was “Daddy’s girl”—his partner in crime. We had been inseparable, until he learned my secret.
    I wondered if things would ever be the same between us.
    Somehow, I found myself telling him what my mom had said about grandchildren. For a long time he said nothing, staring into his coffee cup.
    “Well, Kit Kat, maybe you need to think about it. When your mother was your age, we were already married. And you were on the way.”
    “Really?” I frowned into my own coffee cup, processing that.
    Even if this was something I wanted, there was one big, glaring problem. No boyfriend. No viable candidates. It wasn’t lost on me that as of a few months ago, there had been not only one highly qualified, exceptionally desirable contender, but two. Until I’d decided I needed some time to be alone to find the truth in my heart.
    Now I’d lost them both. There would be no marriage on the horizon for me anytime soon.
    My phone vibrated and gave a brief chime. I glanced down to check the message, relieved for the interruption. It was from Templeton. Meet me at The Pacific Summer Fair for the handover. Ferris wheel.
    I sighed. This was normal procedure. After a theft, I always met Templeton in a public place to transfer the spoils and debrief. It was the last thing I felt like doing now, but I didn’t have a choice. The Briolette was still on me.
    “I, um, have to go, Dad.”
    He watched me with suspicion but said nothing.
    “Something I have to do.” I couldn’t explain to my dad where I had to go. But he knew I was choosing my job over my family. I stood and walked away down the corridor before his look of suspicion could turn to one of disgust.
    It is my job, I reminded myself. Right or wrong, it was the path I had chosen,