Heist Royale

In this high-stakes, high drama sequel to <Thieves&rsquo; Gambit<, Ross must find a way to out-heist the boy who betrayed her to protect her family&mdash;and her heart.

In the aftermath of the betrayals revealed in <Thieves'' Gambit<, Ross and Devroe are now reluctant partners pulling jobs all over the world, run by Count, the Organization&rsquo;s enigmatic leader. Astoundingly, even after Devroe&rsquo;s treachery has been revealed, he&rsquo;s still trying to make a play for Ross&rsquo;s heart, but Ross can&rsquo;t trust him and staying alive has to be her number one priority. Devroe&rsquo;s wish that could end not only her life, but her family&rsquo;s, is still in force. But when another high-ranking member of the Organization attempts to oust Count, Ross sees her chance to save herself. A new gambit is proposed to see who should lead the Organization into the future&mdash;Count or Baron, a crafty and ruthless opponent who will stop at nothing for the win. And so begins the ultimate Gambit to determine not who the best thief is, but who will rule the Organization of cutthroats, and more importantly to Ross, who will live and who will die.

It&rsquo;s Team Count vs. Team Baron. Whose team will Ross join? &nbsp;After Baron tries and fails to win Ross&rsquo;s trust, Ross decides to stick with the devil she knows and hope Count will make Devroe&rsquo;s wish null and void at the gambit&rsquo;s end should they win. Along with Mylo, Noelia, Taiyo and her mother, Ross faces off against team Baron, led by Devroe and his mother who wants nothing more than to see Ross dead and filled out by her former best friend Kyung-Soon. Though emotional entanglements with her mother, Devroe and Kyung-Soon threaten to throw Ross off course, she is determined to prove she can always count on herself to get the job done. As this gambit takes the globe-trotting crew to such far-flung places as Antarctica and South Africa, the &nbsp;growing stakes will test loyalties and may break more than hearts as Ross tries to fend off death at every turn. &nbsp;May the best thief win....

Autorentext

Kayvion Lewis is a young adult author of all things escapist and high-octane. A former youth services librarian, she’s been working with young readers and kidlit since she was sixteen. When she’s not writing, she’s breaking out of escape rooms, jumping out of airplanes, and occasionally running away to mountain retreats to study kung fu. Though she’s originally from Louisiana, and often visits her family in The Bahamas, these days you can find her in New York—at least until she takes off on her next adventure.

Klappentext

In this high-stakes, high drama sequel to Thieves’ Gambit, Ross must find a way to out-heist the boy who betrayed her to protect her family—and her heart. Now in paperback!

In the aftermath of the betrayals revealed in Thieves' Gambit, Ross and Devroe are now reluctant partners pulling jobs all over the world, run by Count, the Organization’s enigmatic leader. Astoundingly, even after Devroe’s treachery has been revealed, he’s still trying to make a play for Ross’s heart, but Ross can’t trust him and staying alive has to be her number one priority. Devroe’s wish that could end not only her life, but her family’s, is still in force. But when another high-ranking member of the Organization attempts to oust Count, Ross sees her chance to save herself. A new gambit is proposed to see who should lead the Organization into the future—Count or Baron, a crafty and ruthless opponent who will stop at nothing for the win. And so begins the ultimate Gambit to determine not who the best thief is, but who will rule the Organization of cutthroats, and more importantly to Ross, who will live and who will die.

It’s Team Count vs. Team Baron. Whose team will Ross join? After Baron tries and fails to win Ross’s trust, Ross decides to stick with the devil she knows and hope Count will make Devroe’s wish null and void at the gambit’s end should they win. Along with Mylo, Noelia, Taiyo and her mother, Ross faces off against team Baron, led by Devroe and his mother who wants nothing more than to see Ross dead and filled out by her former best friend Kyung-Soon. Though emotional entanglements with her mother, Devroe and Kyung-Soon threaten to throw Ross off course, she is determined to prove she can always count on herself to get the job done. As this gambit takes the globe-trotting crew to such far-flung places as Antarctica and South Africa, the growing stakes will test loyalties and may break more than hearts as Ross tries to fend off death at every turn. May the best thief win.

Leseprobe
Three

EVEN AT NIGHT, Rio de Janeiro is hot as hell in January. Or maybe it was just because I was fuming.

I don’t know how long I walked. Pointlessly, in fast, stormingsteps, from one snug street into another. I left the posh little area around our hotel and found myself venturing through the vibrantly painted downtown shopping districts, where banners connected the rooftops and vendors sold fresh fruits and travel photographers came to get the most exotic-looking pictures. At least, that would have been the vibe during the daytime. Hours past midnight, the city was slumbering. Trucks were packed up, vendor carts were pushed to the side, and only moonlight lit the streets. I wasn’t totally alone; a few people were also out for past-midnight journeys, but for the most part, it was just me and my thoughts.

And my phone.

Kyung-soon
Hey&#160;.&#160;.&#160;.&#160;
did you know?
IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY??!!

I made a sharp turn onto another street, this one with cobble-stone sidewalks. A two-door car playing a muffled Saint Santi song, ironically, passed slowly. Its wheels crackled over the cobblestone.

Kyung-soon sent a GIF zooming in on some K-pop star under a storm of confetti. There was a caption in Korean, but I wasn’t quite at reading level yet. I’d promised Kyung-&#8203;soon I’d learn Korean after the Gambit, and had been, but speaking and reading were two totally different skills.

Smiling, I walked around a middle-aged woman in a smothering wool scarf, waltzing in the opposite direction, who smelledlike the weirdest citrus and savory perfume. I’m aware, lol, I added into the group chat.

Mylo
You can now be tried as an adult in almost every country! 

I turned another corner, and a steady beat of steps turned with me. Curious. I pretended to stretch and glanced over my shoulder. A figure made a quick turn into a doorway. It would’ve looked totally normal if I hadn’t known what it looked like when someone was tailing you.

“What part of ‘leave me alone’ do you not understand?” I spoke loud enough that I knew she could hear me. Not that difficult, since she was only a block behind at most. Mom didn’t come out of her hiding spot. I rolled my eyes and paced even faster in the other direction. Just ignore her. It was a matter of days before Count whisked us away to the next job, and I doubted Count was going to allow anyone to follow us that easily.

It took her six months to find me the first time. Hopefully it’d take her longer the next time around.

Behind me, the steps disappeared. Fat chance of her giving up, though. She probably just trekked back to the hotel to wait me out. Guess I’d be crashing in the lobby if the alternative was dealing with her again.

A man passed me on the sidewalk. That scent again, citrus and meat. It was so distinct. Too weird.

And the same scent I’d whiffed off that woman.

My heart sped as I…