8
" Back in Brooklyn, the wind was sharp and the streets were slick and Kat just really wished her Uncle Eddie believed in leaving a key under the mat instead of maintaining his strict stance that anyone who could not break into his Brooklyn brownstone had absolutely no business staying there without him.
“Is there a problem, Kitty Kat?” a voice said from over Kat’s shoulder. Kat’s fingers were frozen and her breath fogged, and she’d had a far too upbeat rendition of “White Christmas” stuck in her head on a perpetual loop for the past eight hours. So, yes, there was a problem. But Kat would never, ever admit it.
“I’m fine, Gabrielle,” she told her cousin.
“Really?” Gab asked. “Because if you can’t handle Uncle Eddie’s lock then someone is going to get a lump of coal in her stocking again this Christmas.”
“It wasn’t coal,” Kat shot back. “It was a very rare mineral from a condemned mine in South Africa, and it was a very thoughtful gift. "
― Ally Carter , The Grift of the Magi (Heist Society, #3.5)
9
" Someone’s up early,” Gabrielle said as the first streaks of sunshine streaked across the sky outside.
“Someone’s up late,” Hale told her. Then he turned his gaze to Kat. “Looks like someone also needs a better lock.”
“It took me ten minutes,” she admitted.
“I’ll be sure to pass that along to Silas. The home security division of Hale Enterprises is his new baby, you know?”
“I do know,” Kat said with a laugh. “And my father is blaming me for it. He says putting someone as smart as your head of R&D in charge of home security is bad for business. In any case, you need a better lock.”
“Or a less trouble-make-y girlfriend,” Gabrielle tried, but Hale just shook his head.
“No. Not that. Never that. "
― Ally Carter , The Grift of the Magi (Heist Society, #3.5)