I sprang out of my hiding spot. Halfway across the black stone, Cordelia froze. The stone felt rough and hot under my paws as I raced to tackle the thief. I was too fast for Cordelia to react; crashing into her, I swept her paws from under her belly and raked my claws along her flank. Just before I sprang at Cholo, I had time to be impressed that the overfed male could move so neatly. I landed on Cholo's back; the dark male screeched and collapsed to the ground underneath me. I jumped clear as he flopped sideways, trying to crush me. The weight of his body as well as all that trash tasting fur would have squashed the breath out of me. Behind me, I heard Cordelia scramble to her paws. Her breath came in jagged gasps as she snarled, "Dawn! What are you doing?" I took a step from Cholo and flicked my tail from side to side. "What in the name of God Ares are you doing here?" I took a deep breath, letting my anger root me to the ground through my claws. Losing my temper would be a sign of weakness and right now, I was in control. This was an ambush, not a war.

"I came here to take back what was mine." I nodded my head to the sapphire necklace behind Cholo.

"The necklace belongs with us." Cholo snapped.

"I had it first. You stole it from me." My words hissed through my clenched teeth.

"Guess you should have guarded it better."

"Guess I'll just have to steal it back." At once I felt myself toppling over, crashing down a rock, which sent a stab of agony along my ribs. Cordelia stood over me, her lips pulled back in a snarl. Letting out a quavering breath, I rolled over and pushed myself up. I charged at Cordelia and knocked her into the river beside the road. Cold water rushed up to enfold us in a noisy, bubbling grip. I threw back my head and took a gulp of air before thrusting down with my front paws as hard as I could. Beneath me, Cordelia struggled to get free, sending up another flood of tiny bubbles. I pricked my claws into her skin beneath her thin fur. I looked down and saw Cordelia's eyes beginning to close. Her body hung heavily in my claws and the bubbles were petering out. In horror, I unhooked my claws and stepped back. Cordelia's body twitched in the current as she sank to the bottom. I grabbed the loose skin at the top of Cordelia's tail and hauled her onto the road. The shifter lay still for a moment while I rubbed her chest. Suddenly Cordelia bucked under my paws and coughed up a stream of sticky water. She rolled onto her belly and coughed again. I back up and walked past Cholo to the necklace. "Next time, Cordelia, I won't let you up." I picked the necklace up in my mouth and headed back home.

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"Where the bloody hell have you been?" My brother, Drake, asked when I walked into the house.

"Don't it look beautiful?" I asked, touching my hand to the sapphire necklace on my neck.

"Didn't Cordelia steal that?" Fiona asked.

"Who stole it from me. I just stole it back."

"Dawnna, we told you not to go looking for mayhem. You already have a warrant over you bloody head."

"Relax, Fi, I won the fight. Now, I just came to drop the necklace off, I got some gold watches to steal from some mean ass shifters."

"No, Dawnna, you're going to get yourself hurt."

"Fi, I promise to God Hermes, this is for a good cause. The shifters stole the watches from Edward. I was going to return them. Maybe keep one. Or two."

"Do you know who these guys are?" Drake asked.

"Of course. They're new here in Ireland. And speaking of newbies, who the bloody hell is that?" I pointed the tall, white man at the kitchen table. He had dark black hair with green gray eyes. Absolutely stunning. His looks woke butterflies in my stomach. The man stood up and walked over to me, holding out his hand.

"The name is Michael McBride." He said in a thick Irish accent. I batted his hand away.

"Who's done with. Now time for the why."

"Your brother here said that you were some kind of thief. I say I'm a thief too. Though I'm getting kind of rusty, looking for a partner to back me up on jobs."

"Sorry, I work alone."

"I could take the warrant off your head."

"Don't bother." Drake growled. "She'll just get another one within the first bloody hour." I bit my lower lip and rocked back and forth on my heels.

"Tell you what." I said. "I'm planning on taking that Ruby collar from Elphaba Museum. You help me get, I might consider being your partner."

"Quite a risk stealing that with a warrant over your head." Michael said.

"I'm all about risks."